There were two teachers who influenced and motivated me to want to become a teacher. These two individuals were never my teachers but they played a key role in my life and making me who I am today.

Mr. and Mrs. Jackson were my grandparents on my mother side and they were both teachers. My grandfather was a high school biology and architecture teacher and my grandmother was a kindergarten teacher. They both contributed to teaching for over 20 years in the school system.

My grandfather, Mr. Jackson was born into a very poor family on August 24, 1929 in a small rural town in Louisiana. He was one of three children who was determined to make something of himself. He studied, worked, and paid his way through college all by himself because his parents could not afford to send him to college. He motivated me because he grew up poor with little to eat and made sure as an adult his family never experience that. He was a provider and up till his death always put his family first.

Mr. Jackson received his Bachelor and Master degree from Southern University in Louisiana. He went on to become a high school biology and architecture teacher in a rural town outside of Monroe, Louisiana.   

He knew the important of getting an education and passed that knowledge and wisdom onto his students. Since he knew how it felt to struggle to pay for college he also assisted many of his students in applying and getting financial aid and scholarships to attend colleges and universities. Some of his students had become lawyers and teachers and made something of themselves.

 I remember hearing from my mom about how she accompanied my grandfather to one of his student’s high school class reunions and how his students spoke very fondly of their old teacher. For example, one of his students said that Mr. Jackson always went out of his way to make sure they understood their assignments and always stress the importance of having an education and that knowledge is powerful.