Episode notes
Knowing how to teach is one skill. Knowing how to navigate the educational system is another.
In this episode of Educators With Oil, Ronnette T. Branham, M.Ed., sits down with Aquaus Kelley to discuss what it means to maneuver the machine without losing your identity, integrity, or calling. Aquaus shares his journey from entering the profession as an alternate-route candidate to beginning his tenth year as an elementary school teacher, completing an NJEA fellowship, and pursuing an Ed.M. in Educational Administration and Supervision at Rutgers University.
Together, Ronnette and Aquaus explore the written and unwritten rules of education, professional identity, strategic relationships, leadership development, discernment, and the importance of understanding the systems surrounding the classroom.
This conversation is grounded in Psalm 37:23, Proverbs 3:5–6, and Matthew 10:16. Calling may bring you into education, but wisdom teaches you how to move once you arrive.
You can be collaborative without being voiceless, professional without erasing yourself, and strategic without compromising your values. The educational system may influence the conditions under which you work, but it does not determine your identity, value, or calling.
Learn the system. Trust God’s direction. Use your voice. Move with wisdom.