Jonathan's Portfolio

I tramp a perpetual journey, (come listen all!)
My signs are a rain-proof coat, good shoes, and a staff cut from the woods,
No friend of mine takes his ease in my chair,
I have no chair, no church, no philosophy,
I lead no man to a dinner-table, library, exchange,
But each man and each woman of you I lead upon a knoll,
My left hand hooking you round the waist,
My right hand pointing to landscapes of continents and the public road.
Not I, not any one else can travel that road for you,
You must travel it for yourself.

--Walt Whitman "Song of Myself"

Education is a journey. It is a journey that every individual must take. What path each student chooses is, in many ways, entirely up to them. As an educator, I will endeavor to point out the road and encourage my students to venture forth in search of knowledge. After all, knowledge is constructed by the individual and their interactions with their world. I cannot force any one child to learn. What I can do, is inspire and assist the children in my classes to take a proactive and assertive role in their own journey. Only then will they understand and appreciate the benefits of a true and meaningful education.