Hi and welcome to my blog space! This blog was created as a requirement for EDTC 6340 under Doctor Juan Chavez Jr. at the University of Texas at Brownsville. As an educator, I think that I shall use this space to share the importance of character, respect, and responsibility. I was fortunate to have had parents that valued the importance of an education.
My parents raised nine children on my father's blue collar salary. We were given unconditional love, a set of rules to live by, and responsibilities that included household chores, educational goals , as well as our responsibilities to our community and to our church.
Our goals for education were set early on. Older siblings tutored the younger ones. Our dinner meal consisted of our father going over "Words to Know" from Readers' Digest. Reading the newspaper every day was a mandate. We were given a library card by the time we were six years old. Every Saturday, after our chores, we would trudge our way to the city library and bring back the maximum books allowed.
Our report card grades were displayed in a big poster board in the living room for all to see and to give us encouragement (though we didn't always see it this way) to do better. Our daily routine, even during the summer revolved around reading. After school we would sit around the dining table doing our homework. We were not allowed to say "we do not have any homework" because we were expected to "get ahead" by studying our textbooks.
We were not asked IF we were going to college, we were told that we WERE going to college. Yes, it was hard work for our parents and for us, but my parents got to see their nine children graduate from college. Fifteen (15) of my parents' grandchildren also became college graduates. The last one, #16 is in her sophomore year.
My parents' wisdom and values is what guides our family even today. I'd like to share some of these life's lessons with you.
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