What I Wish “They” Knew

I Became the Teacher I Needed  By: Erica Battle        E ducation saved me.  But not in the way you think.  It wasn’t my experience as a student that helped me understand my passion for fighting for equitable education for marginalized students, but rather my experience as a first-year teacher. Y ou see, if truth be told, I hated school and everything it stood for.  School, for me, was pleasant until middle school.  From eight grade and beyond, school was not a safe place for me which ultimately led to me not graduating on time.  I dreaded going to school for many reasons. It was traumatizing in a sense because I didn’t feel a sense of belonging with my peers nor with the teachers I saw each day.  I vividly remember my eighth-grade principal vowing to keep me off the cheerleading squad and making sure that I didn’t get to go on any school-sponsored trips.  Not only did she make that vow, but...