THE DISTRICT: A Call to the Nation

By Marlowe Johnson

Education is the most precious gift a parent can give to his child. Mr. Johnson emphasizes that. However, education has long since evolved and has been tainted by motives, other than the child’s optimal development. It is good that we put a premium on education, but it would be best if it targets the child’s holistic progress. Turn the page and open your eyes to reality. The facts can be unpleasant, but you have the power to change that.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Page Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Aug 26, 2014
• ISBN: 9781628388213

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Prologue

I was born and raised in Detroit, Michigan. Growing up in my time was totally different from today. I was born in 1967, and children were very respectful toward their elders. Now, before I proceed with details about my experience in El Paso, I think it’s polite to introduce myself. I came from a single-parent home with four other siblings: three sisters, one brother, and our mom. I was the youngest of the siblings, which afforded me an opportunity to learn many things from them. Growing up, I hated being the youngest child because my brothers and sisters had authority over me. However, as I got older, I learned that being the youngest had its benefits as well. The youngest child always tries to keep up with their older siblings; the benefits are they acquire skills at a faster pace, and this is not a phenomenon.

As a child, money was tight and I learned the value of a dollar at an early age. When I was old enough, I went out and got a paper route; however, my mother would not sign the papers because an adult would have been responsible for the weekly paper bill. If I was irresponsible with the money, she would have had to settle the debt. After a few weeks of helping the manager just throwing papers, I decided to take matters into my own hands. I forged my mother’s signature. Since the manager had acknowledged me as being an excellent worker, he never checked. Now, after making such a courageous and stupid decision at the same time, I knew I could never mess up. Before I forged my mother signature, I had formulated a plan. My plan was not to spin any money until I had enough to pay my weekly paper bill. In the event of an unfortunate situation, I saved backup money. Needless to say, my mother knew what I had done, but she never mentioned it to me. I delivered papers for a few years, and I bought my first car.

In high school, I was involved in a club called Avant-Garde, and the sponsor was my ninth grade black American history teacher. I would never forget this man because he was the first one that truly encouraged me. Now, there had been people who had encouraged me, but he was the one that inspired me to believe. However, what he saw in me, I could never see because he always told me you should become a teacher. Mr. Osaka was his name, but we always just called him Sock. Nevertheless, Mr. Osaka encouraged me for two years; not only that, he was willing to help me get into college just as he had for many other students. I never took the challenge because I didn’t believe in myself. This is what I have observed with many of our children today. There is one occasion that I will probably never forget. I crossed paths with Mr. Osaka a couple years after high school, and I told him I was a licensed automotive technician. I would never forget the disheartening look he gave me; he shook his head and said, You should have been a teacher. However, years later I finally went into the educational field.

It was 2002 when I decided to go into education; however, I was very reluctant to enter into this field, but my wife continued to encourage me. I can never thank God enough for given me the wife that he gave me. This woman pushed and encouraged me to acknowledge the gift God had given me. My wife received orders to go to Korea at the end of 2000, and we lived in Korea from 2001 until 2003. For the first year, I worked at the army community services (ACS). Now, I had a true disdain for this job because the services that we provided really didn’t help the people. However, I was afforded an opportunity to coach a basketball team my daughter was on. My wife would always tell me that I was great with children, and I should become a substitute. I truly enjoyed coaching, but I always thought teaching was so much different. After months of my wife sending subliminal messages to me, I filled out all of the documents for employment and gave it a try. I will never forget telling my wife I’ll fill out the paperwork, but I might not do it. To my surprise, I was addicted after two weeks. I was in love with being in the classroom. My passion grew stronger and stronger. After a few months, teachers were requesting me in advance.

At the end of the school year, the most respected English teacher, Mrs. Williams, came and asked me to take over her class when school started back. Mrs. Williams was pregnant at that time; she told me she wanted to spend some time with her new baby. Mrs. Williams was the seventh and eighth grade English teacher and our pastor’s wife. When she had approached me, I knew who she was, but she wasn’t sure who I was. I was in the teacher’s lounge talking with other teachers, and Mrs. Williams walked up to me and asked, Are you Mr. Simmons? I immediately said no! At that point, Mrs. Williams dropped a bombshell on me when she said, Good, Mr. Johnson, we have been waiting for you!

Those are the words she said verbatim, and I can remember it just like it was yesterday. Then I said, What do you mean, we been waiting for you? She replied, We have been waiting for you! At that point, her excitement was making me nervous. Then she began to explain how she and her husband had been praying for someone to take her classes. Mrs. Williams expounded on her statement and said, You are the answer to our prayers. I promptly replied, Mrs. Williams, you have the wrong person. Instantaneously, she spoke as if she knew what I was about to say; she told me not to worry and come see her on our lunch break any time. When Mrs. Williams walked away, I could only stand and stare dumbfounded about what had just taken place.

The next day when I went to see Mrs. Williams, she had everything already prepared. I was impressed when I walked into Mrs. Williams’s room because she had everything organized. More importantly, she had prepared a six-month curriculum for me; she had put together a lesson plan for me to work for half of the year. At that particular time, I had no idea of what Mrs. Williams was offering because she opened the door that changed my life. As Mrs. Williams began to speak, she had this elated expression on her face. This expression was composed by love; it was the countenance that one’s mother has when they are giving you a gift. As she was going through the materials, she was very considerate of my feelings. She was very mindful of the fact that this was very overwhelming. Periodically she would tell me, you will be just fine. After we went through the lesson plans, she told me that I could call her any time. Before I left, she gave me some books and other materials to study, and then she encouraged me again with a You will be fine!

Keep in mind, at this particular time, the only education I had was, graduated high school, graduated from automotive school, and my experience as an air-conditioned mechanic in the army. I had no formal training in the field of education, but I was being promoted to be an English teacher. The day before I became a substitute teacher, my heart was set on being the greatest artisan that I could be. My true desire was fixing cars, air-conditioning systems, fabricating metals, painting, and welding. However, that was not an option because my son was about six months when we had arrived in Korea; therefore, it was in the interest of my family to find employment close to home. Needless to say, what I initially thought was a curse was my blessing in disguise.

At the onset of this assignment, there were quite a few substitute teachers distraught about me being the choice. In addition, some of the teachers had a disdain for the decision, and they became aloof toward me. Nevertheless, I continue to do the best I could and took solace in the fact that Mrs. Williams had confidence in me. I would never leave in the afternoon without preparing for the next day, and I started coming in on Saturdays to grade papers. On one particular Saturday, I was listening to a song Universal Love by The Winans, and I was caught up in the spirit. While I was embraced in the spirit, it was revealed to me what my calling was. The Holy Spirit had revealed that God had given me a teaching and preaching spirit. After that experience, there was a zeal inside of me that cannot be explained in words. There was a deep desire within me to go back to school and get my degree.

After leaving Korea, we went to Fort Campbell; and a year later, I started college at Austin Peay State University. We stayed in Fort Campbell for about eighteen months, and then we were transferred to Hawaii. However, nine of the eighteen months at Fort Campbell, my wife attended an officer’s course; unfortunately, the training was in Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Fort Benning, Georgia. On the positive side, both installations were about six hours from Fort Campbell, and every chance we could visit her, we did. After we left Fort Campbell, we went to Schofield barracks on the island of Hawaii. In Hawaii, I attended Chaminade University, and this is where I took most of my classes. Unfortunately, my wife was deployed to Iraq for one year of the three years we spent in Hawaii. I completed my degree with the exception of a few elective credits. After Hawaii, our family had a permanent change of station (PCS); this was for my wife to attend the captain’s career course in Fort Jackson, South Carolina. This move was only for nine months, and then we went to Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas.

Once again, my wife was deployed to Afghanistan for one year. We arrived at Fort Bliss in July 2008 and exited to Sumter, South Carolina on 29 June 2013. I now work for the Sumter school district and Sumter, South Carolina. I started working for them September 2013. Something in my spirit is encouraging me every day to work arduously and expeditiously because my time in Sumter will be shorter than in El Paso. Therefore, I pray that God will order my steps and lead me to the places that he wants me to be, and have me say what he wants me to say before that time comes.

When we arrived in Fort Bliss, I was fortunate enough to land a job with the El Paso Independent School District (EPSID), and I turned in my resignation 7 June 2013, the last day of school. However, I was offered a position to work as a tutor for summer school, and I did, which ended 26 June 2013. I was hired into the school district in 2008;