West Virginia: Letters to Future Educators

Andrea Trio (WV ’22)
Principal, Madison Elementary | Wheeling

“You’re off to Great Places! Today is your day! Your mountain is waiting, so…get on your way!” — Dr. Seuss

This quote was on just about every graduation card I received back in May 2005. With my bachelor’s degree in hand, I was ready. I felt prepared. My years spent at West Virginia University had surely given me the tools and resources I needed to help me sail off into the world of education!

I would soon take on my first job in music education just months after graduating. Truly, I was more than ready, but I don’t believe that anything could have prepared me for some of the moments that would lie ahead. Sure, the textbooks had prepared me. I knew the content well and understood the curriculum. I had taken multiple courses in child psychology. I knew the importance of integrating cross-curricular content. But if I could rewind and rewrite my first chapter, it might sound a lot like this:

Dear Younger Me,

You are about to embark on a journey where every page doesn’t need to be written ahead of time. Thankfully, there will be no ink involved, so be ready to erase and rewrite as needed. Take each day in stride and learn from your yesterdays. Prepare yourself for tomorrow, but also be ready for the curveballs that will come your way. There will be days when your plans will look beautiful, but it might not be what your students need. Be ready to readjust. Be ready to take criticism. Dive into opportunities. Strive to make your tomorrows better. Be ready to learn from your colleagues. And be ready to learn from not what, but WHO, is most important: the children.

You have been designed for this great purpose. Being called into education is a gift, and each day you’ll get the opportunity to unwrap something beautiful. It won’t always look that way to you, but with each day comes the good, the bad and the ugly. Don’t you dare give up. Remember, you will have colleagues you can turn to for help and guidance. You’ll soon see that even on your hardest days, you’ll find the beauty that lies somewhere within. Your teaching will get stronger. You’ll find the best practices. You’ll learn the tricks of the trade and your class management will fall into place with great structure and routine. When it seems like you’ll never get caught up, I promise you will.

So let’s set all that aside and focus on what’s most important: Relationships. Relationships. Relationships. You GET to wake up every day and build those with children. Some will be easy to build, while others may take more work, but never forget: you GET to do this. You GET to be a champion for a child. Take hold of Rita Pearson’s wise words, post them everywhere you need to be reminded: “Every child deserves a champion — an adult who will never give up on them, who understands the power of connection and insists that they become the best that they can possibly be.” Go be the champion. This isn’t going to be found on the lesson plan, but let this live in your heart and those mountains that were once waiting for you will be moved.