Friday, May 13, 2005

Devotion, passion drive sped teacher with muscular dystrophy

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According to CEC SMART BRIEF, Indianapolis special-education teacher Tamika R. Black, who's battled muscular dystrophy all her life, refuses to let her life-threatening illness slow her down. Her support system includes her mother, who quit her school nurse job to work alongside her, and her middle school students, who take great pride in handling classroom chores for her.

"A teacher she had in elementary school -- a disabled polio survivor -- inspired Tamika Black to become an educator. She carried a full load of classes in college and later in graduate school, earning degrees in business, special education and school administration.

She began her career with high school math and now teaches math, English, science and social studies to her special education students."

"When I see them graduate, it will be my greatest reward personally and professionally," Black said. "One child asked me if this was special ed. I told her, 'All of us are special and learn in different ways.' "

"My career, it is probably coming to an end," she said. "I hope I've made a difference in young people's lives." READ: The Indianapolis Star

She is a hero, a model teacher for me. Can I surpass her passion and devotion? I guess not, but I can always try to be like her in some ways.

10 comments:

Cerridwen said...

she is every bit a hero and a very good role model for those who says "they can't" and "it's not possible"

Ka Uro said...

teachersol, very inspirational. actually any teacher devoted to teaching is inspirational. alam mo bilib talaga ako sa mga teachers because they can really make a difference in the lives of people. you may not be aware of it yet, but i'm sure you too have already made a difference to a lot of your former students.

Anonymous said...

marisol,

teachers like yourself are the unsung heroes in our society --- atheletes, actors, etc.. would tell you themselves, they are not role models or heroes -- they would tell you, that teachers are the ones that are the TRUE heroes and role models in our society.. and without people like yourself, our younger generation would be lost. just like nurses, teachers may not make the money that other jobs offer, but the importance of what you guys do is immesurable. everone knows that teachers are undepaid which is a travesty !!
MARISOL, EVEN THOUGH I'VE ONLY KNOWN YOU FOR A SHORT TIME, I AM VERY PROUD TO HAVE YOU AS A FRIEND !

arvin delacruz

Anonymous said...

CERRIDWEN, hey u're back! very well said...I can't agree with you more

KA URO, thank you for the kind words. good to know i am able to touch the lives of my students with the littlest things i do.

ARVIN, salamat kaibigan.

Anonymous said...

marisol, i like what you write.

incidentally, your name --- maria lourdes --- is also the first two names in my long christened name, which i haven't used since i left manila when i was 11 yrs. old. i am also a teacher --- homeschool --- to my two kids.

thanks for pointing out your blog to me, and thanks for passing by bughaw.com.

x said...

Some people are simply born as fighters. What's more to emulate in them is the fact that they do not only fight for themselves, but to countless and nameless faces who seem so weak to fight for their rights.

Unknown said...

MILKPHISH, I am impressed with the contents of your blog. Yep, most of us are teachers in our own right, teachers to our own kids which is a lifetime teaching profession. By the way, if you don't know yet, a FilAm book publishing company based here in DC (George Washington University) are looking for writers for their Filipino Diaspora edition. Do you know anything about OUR OWN VOICE?

GLENN, unsung heroes most of them...but I am sure the rewards that they get are immeasurable though intangible. Good luck on your new career as a London reporter...I know you will be one of the ace reporters there. Bring glory to our country and to our family! That's one of the ways we can pay back for bringing us up globally competitive.

Anonymous said...

Ooooooh, iBooks. I love it.

Anonymous said...

i googled "our own voice" and found their website. thanks for pointing that out to me --- it's a very interesting project.

Anonymous said...

Hi JOHN!

Hello MILKPHISH! Our Own Voice is looking for Filipino Diaspora writers like you, why don't you try to contact them?

Promethean Planet

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The following is the opinion of the writer and is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company, or individual. Any view or opinion represented in the blog comments are personal and is accredited to the respective commentor / visitor to this blog. This blogger reserves the right to moderate comment suitability in support of respecting racial, religious and political sensitivities, and in order to protect the rights of each commentor where available.

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