That student that's got issues, ADD that student is that dibbling, dabbling with some things that they shouldn't be. That student that comes from a broken home, a broken family. Like I'm that student that has all those issues. I'm that student that drives you crazy. I'm that student that makes you say, you know where maybe I don't come in today like I'm that student. I'm that student where I had struggles in schools. Like, I'm that guy. My mom had me when she was 16 years old. I went through all sorts of struggles and failures, Drug and alcohol abuse. My story is long. Diagnosed with ADHDI went to three different schools for the 9th grade. I had a teacher in 8th grade that planted a very unfortunate seed within me. He told me and my mom. He said your son is not high school material. Like he literally said, Jeremy is not high school material. Now I've heard of people say, OK, maybe he's not college material. I've heard of people say maybe he's not. Like maybe he's not going to go to an Ivy League or some big university. Maybe he should go to a trade school or the military or I've heard that. But how you tell an eighth grade student they're not high school material? See this book I read, it says that life and death isn't the power of the tongue. So what comes out your mouth has a whole lot of power and unfortunately I was dealing with a teacher that maybe didn't know any better. He told me I wasn't a high school material, Planted a seed within me. I went to high school and after that first year I ended up getting kicked out. I go to another school the next year, completely fail. Just didn't really value education, didn't really value school. Next school, come around this school here, this was a different school. Now I'm at a school with a group of people who quite frankly, I felt like they were weird because they were saying stuff to me. Like, Jeremy, I believe in you. They were saying stuff to me. Like, Jeremy, we see some great inside you. They were saying stuff to me. Like, Jeremy, I'm so glad I got you in my class. I'm looking like it's another Jeremy in here. What's his last name? I'm Anderson. They're like, Yep, you. I'm like, no way, like, no way. You ain't getting my file. They're like, yeah, I got your file right here. Like every school I went to, there was a folder, this thing that would have a rest and and then suspensions and incident reports. They're like, Yep, you. I'm like, wow, OK, well, I put a wall up. That's what a lot of your students are doing this in your program. They put that wall up. They hear you. You're like, you can do it, Catherine. You can do it, Hector. They're like, they put a wall up because they don't know if they can trust you. But these teachers, they was weird. They was positive. They were optimistic. They kept speaking life to me. A few things start taking place. I started seeing things a little differently. I realized they didn't have to be in this position. I can't explain it to you, but I realized that some of these educators, like, went into this field intentionally. Like, like some of my teachers, they have family members and loved ones who is making 3-4 times as much money as they were. And I'm like, bro, why? If your brother's an engineer and he's making four times as much money as you make, why would you do this? He's like for you. I'm like, you ain't doing it for the money. He's like, ain't no money in this. Here's the reality is, educators, you're going to be overworked. You're going to be underpaid. But the value of what you do is worth it. The reality is it's going to be rough. It's going to be frustrating. But you're changing lives. You are changing whole generations. What happens inside the classroom? Like what happens inside those schools? You are the ones that are shaping our country.
