In the 2017 movie The Greatest Showman, Hugh Jackman as P.T. Barnum invites us to, “Come alive, come alive, go and light your light, let it burn so bright,” assuring us, “Cause you’re just a dead man walkin’, thinkin’ that’s your only option, but you can flip the switch and brighten up your darkest day.” He asks us to “Take the world and redefine it; leave behind your narrow mind,” and promises, “You’ll never be the same.”
In that same vein, I humbly share the way I’ve “flipped the switch,” by pursuing my Doctorate in Education at Carlow University as part of the inaugural cohort. I started a journey seven months ago that I look forward to completing in 2027, and I enthusiastically ask readers to consider joining me and Jackman to “Come alive, light your light, let it burn so bright.”
When I graduated from Carlow University with my Master’s in Educational Praxis over a decade ago, I felt empowered having gained a fresh perspective on metacognition. When time gifted me with the opportunity to engage in Carlow’s learning community once more in August of 2024, I couldn’t complete the application process fast enough. Carlow’s inaugural EdD program allows me to invest in my own education as a teacher. Dedicating a reflective investigation towards earning my doctorate in Curriculum and Learning is not only unique, but a calling. Looking elsewhere to pursue my doctorate never even crossed my mind. My mind was made up: “I didn’t choose Carlow; Carlow chose me.”
I’m experiencing a change in who I am as a teacher and learner: I look forward to all of my classes and assignments: Twice a week I join a Teams meet and learn from my teachers and classmates. The time that I set apart to engage in weekly discussions and writing assignments are times I treasure. It’s fun to learn again.
I’ve learned that to become a good teacher, I must continue to be a good student. The learning doesn’t stop because I am a teacher. It’s because I am still alive, that I am still learning. And because I am still learning, I understand this to mean that I have a duty to become the best version of myself for my students, my community, and the future of education because I agree with Virginia Richardson when she writes, “They (teachers) have a sense of obligation to their field in helping preserve the best while promoting change and improvement.” I humbly admit that I didn’t have the language to communicate such a belief until I read On Being a Scholar-Practitioner during the first semester at Carlow. Thus I commit to preserve the best while promoting change and improvement. That is my duty as a steward of education and learner.
But I’m not the only person who has witnessed this change after seven months; my husband has too.
It was a Monday night in March, and while I was getting ready to log on to the Scholar-Practitioner Stewardship II class, my husband found me upstairs in my office with a stack of books and papers beside my laptop.
“You know what makes you a good teacher?” he asked before he closed the door. “You’re a good student.”
I gave him a quick wink as he closed the door and my laptop lit up with faces of my Carlow classmates on the screen. I dove into the discussion, completely immersing myself in the class until it was time to log off; yet my mind wandered in and out of the past seven months, thinking about his compliment: I thought about the long days at work teaching, and the long nights reading and responding to my college assignments. I thought about the times he stayed up late with me to talk about pedagogical dilemmas. The times when I didn’t feel like a good teacher or student, times in fact, when I felt completely clueless about the direction of my dissertation. The burdensome times when I felt stuck on a project and wished my dog Blue was still by my side for company; saying goodbye to him this past October was gut wrenching after 14 years. However, despite the challenges and late nights, there’s this drive within me to learn, steward, and inquire. For the very act of writing this reflection, right here, right now, in this moment, encapsulates the intersection of institutional and personal stewardship. As I close the door on these first seven months at Carlow, I can’t help but smile, and look forward to what comes next.
Perhaps my husband was right all along; him, and Atticus Finch too.
Atticus declares in chapter three of Harper Lee’s 1960 novel: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it.”
As any and all bibliophiles know, To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the greatest works of literature, and as a high school English teacher, never a year goes by that I don’t look forward with anticipation at sharing this book with my students. When Atticus advises his daughter Scout in chapter three to consider things from another’s point of view, the true testament of this book’s power resides in its applicability to all types of readers, both young and old. Both students and teachers alike.
I recommend the pursuit of a doctoral degree for any teacher at any level of their career, especially for someone who might find themselves on the brink of complacency after many years in the classroom. Learning how to learn again has the capacity to change how you approach teaching, and this is a very special time in your life. Seize this time. It’s yours. Because you’re not just a dead man walkin’, thinkin’ that’s your only option; you can flip the switch and brighten up your darkest day. Take the world and redefine it; leave behind your narrow mind. You’ll never be the same. Come alive. At Carlow.
Leticia Harshman is a doctoral candidate at Carlow studying curriculum and learning. She lives in Gibsonia, PA and is a teacher Pine-Richland High School.