Who Challenges You?

He challenges me.

He pushes me to think, to stretch, to be great.

He never lets me rest on my laurels.

He calls me on my bullshit.

He makes me a better teacher.

And the thing is, he’s not a teacher. He’s not one of my students. He is that guy who is always reaching for something better, throwing punches, all for the purpose of strengthening me.

When we ride together, he races up the hills, goading me to beat him (which I often do).

The thing that is most important is that he expects that right back. He wants me to throw punches back, make him stronger.

We are so often aligned, and yet, opposing as often.

I think every teacher needs someone like him. Someone who is not in the edu-bubble who is outside and poking us within to keep pushing against the sides.  Too often the echo chamber is overwhelming, and just hearing the edu-babble can make you deaf. We need the voice from the other side.

I was originally going to write about our need to form a crew of supporters, but in fact, we don’t need supporters because often they just wave the flag. We need something more than support. We need those people that recognize the challenge we face and push us further. We need those people who see how far we’ve come and call us when we sit up for a break.

The thing is sometimes we have too much hand-holding, kumbaya singing in this profession. Sometimes we need the straight goods.  We need someone to put a book in our hands and say, “You need to read this, this will make you better.”

I’m lucky. I have one.  In fact, I’ve got a few. And I hope, I’m that to them. I may not know anything specific about their business, but I challenge them, I push, cajole.

Make a difference today.

Who challenges you? From the outside? Constantly? Who is helping to make you better?