Enter to Learn, Depart to
Serve…Mary
McLeod Bethune
In honor of the final day
of Black History Month, my blog is dedicated to the most selfless educator that
I know: Mary McLeod Bethune. I was introduced to her early on, and began
to understand why she risked her life to educate children, specifically
children of color. She is most notably
the woman known for erecting the “college
built on prayer”, vowing to rebuild each
time it was torn down.
Bethune, like many early
educators understood that learning was tied to survival. Once a child learned how to read, the world
could not contain them. For as much as
this is true, Bethune also coined the phrase, “enter
to learn, depart to serve.” As we break apart what Bethune is asking of
students, we realize that she is requiring them to serve others with the same
tenacity as she served them. This
tenacity is an unyielding one; one that is found in many educators.
Bethune understood the level
of service required to educate children.
She took the responsibility of arming her students with the tools
necessary for survival very seriously. I
am compelled this evening to ask myself and encourage you to ask yourself what
tools you are arming your students with.
When they depart or leave
your classroom to serve others in whatever capacity they desire, are they
prepared? On the eve of Read Across
America and the heels of Black History Month, I’m
pondering that very question. Have I armed
my students with the tools they need to be successful this year? Am I preparing them for success and
survival?
