Related programs: Fellowships for Aspiring Teachers of Color 

 

The first day that Chantel Renee Wright walked into Rice High School, I thought to myself "who is this crazy lady?" Maybe it was that she was trying to teach a bunch of ill-behaved, young black men a piece of classical choral music that none of us thought we'd ever learn, or maybe it was that she demanded that we wear perfectly manicured tuxedoes at every performance, or that she expected us, in every way, to break the limits that so many other people had set for us. Before she decided to become our choir director, no one had expected that the choir would do anything spectacular. We were actually quite bad, and we knew it, but no one had expected or encouraged us to do or to be anything better.

 

I think that at some point very early on, it became clear to me that Ms. Wright's interest in our well-being went beyond that of most of our other teachers. It seemed that at the moments when we tried to ruffle her feathers the most and drive her away from us, it was then that she was the most adamant about making sure we knew that she was not going anywhere. The moment that is most memorable in my mind from our early interactions was one rowdy day in class rehearsal, when Ms. Wright taught us a lesson that I intend to carry with me for the rest of my life. That day I learned that by misbehaving and acting out we were feeding into the stereotype that society had placed on us as black men - we were rowdy, unteachable, and would amount to next to nothing. This is what was expected of us, and exactly what we were doing. If we wanted to get ahead in this world, she revealed to us, we had to work doubly hard because we had so many strikes against us already. She also made it clear that she was our teacher not because she needed to be, but because she wanted to be; unlike everyone else, she demanded more from us and wanted more for us, and it was that part of her that ultimately made everyone receptive to her as a teacher, and also what brought the two of us so close together.

 

Surely, on thinking upon my decision to be a teacher in my own life, it was a decision greatly influenced by her, her presence in, and impact on, my life. The idea that I could one day have an effect on someone in the way that she has affected me is incredible, and something that I want to experience. Ms. Wright taught me that I should not only use my gifts and talents for personal gain, but that I must always maintain a sense of commitment to the betterment of humankind, and particularly to the community from which I came. What better way to do this than to be a teacher? If I could inspire one child in the way that she has inspired me, I would consider it all worthwhile. So in this endeavor to walk down the path of education which I chose with her help, I want to try to remember all of the things that I experienced as a student of hers, and to someday be to my students what Ms. Wright has been to me.