Holy Crap!!
Is Anyone Thinking About the Children?
by
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Claude Bearden traces his career as an educator. He focuses on two separate but intertwined themes. One is on his on personal development from childhood experiences to the influence of professional mentors. The other focus is on the distractions that prevent us from doing out very best in educating and preparing our children for citizenship and adulthood. As he struggles with these distractions, he must continuously reflect back upon the key mile stones in his own development, particularly that which he learned from his mentors, to find grounding in what he truly believes and values. After all, life is the real teacher and we must be prepared to see our experiences as our laboratory for personal growth. Self-examination is an important disciple for someone who chooses a profession that involves an intense working with others. Without it, the tendency is to continuously reflect onto and judge others. Judgement is the principle roadblock to building effective relationships which is the foundation for success. When relationships are built upon honesty, trust, and support, the work moves forward and the opportunity for success is optimized. When relationships are surrounding be deception, fear, and control, failure looms. In this body of work you will witness the growth of an individual through not only love and appreciation but through trial and abandonment. You will witness relationships built upon strong foundations and relationships built upon decay. In the end, we can learn from both experiences.
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About the Book
Over a forty-year period, my career in education expanded the private and public sectors, but mostly public. Hopefully over that period, I grew in my understanding of myself and human nature. While the work I did was intended to improve the lives and opportunities for children, it did not always turn out to be the case. Energy was often diverted to those interests belonging to adults. I am not referring to parents. The adult interest that I speak of here is the interest of those within the system: administrators, school board members, and government officials. While I might have included teachers, I did not, for these are the hardest and most dedicated individuals of this group. Someone once said, “It is about power—who has the power, who wants the power, and who gets the power.” This is the distraction and children are not the benefactors.
About the Author
Claude Bearden is a retired school superintendent. Before becoming a superintendent, he spent twenty years as a public school special education director. Before entering the public school arena, Claude worked with children experiencing emotional, social, and/or behavioral disorders. In that capacity, he held the positions of teacher, treatment team leader, campus supervisor, and school headmaster. Bearden found that in order to do these jobs effectively, self-examination and reflection were essential disciplines. We must continuously examine why we choose to do what we do and how we go about doing it. Integrity and honesty are essential ingredients for one who chooses to lead. To be grounded in purpose is not too far behind.