In a politically correct world, teachers must be cautious, but we must also be creative. My students learned how to research, but they also learned that just because a teacher teaches something doesn’t mean they have to believe it. Every person has a right to believe as they choose.

While I am a huge fan of compulsory education, I’m not fond of the turn education has taken since this pioneering generation of settlers first began. Education is not a one-size fits all. Back then, it was a treasure and a privilege to learn how to read. Parents were thrilled when they had someone in their home who could read, write, and do math computations. We’ve somehow lost the wonder and excitement of literacy.

As teachers, sometimes our standard that measures success is off. In my book, Lenny made it. He achieved a huge goal by starting a business and offering mechanic services to people in our town. But as teachers, we often snub our noses at “menial” jobs like this. If our students don’t become doctors, lawyers, nurses, or scholars of some kind, they haven’t arrived. But that standard isn’t how we should measure the success of our students. Our students are more than numbers.