A Mountain of Love

Jo Ann Pierce

Description

When Jo Ann Pierce began her career in education, immersion in the classroom experience seemed like enough of a challenge-balancing the demands of family life as a wife and mother with the steep learning curve of mentoring and nurturing students was as much as she thought she could handle. But as she learned to trust her goat-like sense of balance on uneven terrain, she realized she could see a summit above her, and that it was within reach. Could she trust that God had a special plan to help her discover her gifts of leadership? Bit by bit, her vision emerged; this powerful memoir shares her upward climb as a "wannabe" principal, with successes and failures, personal notes and memories. Deeply personal yet universal not only to teachers and principals, but all leaders, this book illuminates the heart of Dr. Pierce's quest to find her best self, for the service and benefit of others. Let her inspire you to recognize the mountain of love in your own life-and take courage from her journey to climb upward to your pinnacle.

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Vie de famille
• Parentalité et Éducation des Enfants
• Philosophie et théologie
• Christianity

Informations

• Publié par: Outskirts Press
• Date de parution: 10 avril 2018
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781478796862
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

A Mountain of Love
All Rights Reserved.
Copyright © 2018 Dr. Jo Ann Pierce
V4.0 R1.1

The opinions expressed in this manuscript are solely the opinions of the author and do not represent the opinions or thoughts of the publisher. The author has represented and warranted full ownership and/or legal right to publish all the materials in this book.

This book may not be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in whole or in part by any means, including graphic, electronic, or mechanical without the express written consent of the publisher except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Outskirts Press, Inc.
http://www.outskirtspress.com

ISBN: 978-1-4787-9686-2

Library of Congress Control Number: 2017903362

Cover Photo © 2017 Dr. Jo Ann Pierce. All rights reserved - used with permission.

Outskirts Press and the “OP” logo are trademarks belonging to Outskirts Press, Inc.

PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Dedication
To God . . . My gifts and talents are for your glory. I am because of your endless blessings and the sacrifice of your Son, Jesus. Thank you.
To my husband, Joe Nathan Theodore Pierce . . . You are an amazing Christian man, husband and father, friend and lover, supporter and provider. I could not have had a better fan club president than you these past 42 years. I love you.
To my daughter, Amy Nicole Wolff, and her husband, Jeff, and to my son, Kelsey Theodore Pierce, and his wife, Lauren . . . You are God’s special gifts of love, and I am so proud of each of you and your many gifts that you share with others. Thank you for being my fan club and legal backup. Thank you for the special writings about your mother as a teacher. (Thanks to Lauren for editing each chapter with details and suggestions for improvement.)
To my mother, Helen Bronniman White . . . Your constant love and self-sacrifice enabled me to aspire higher. Your beautifully stitched creations that fit my body perfectly were always complimented by friends and colleagues. I love you and miss you so much that it makes me cry. I look more like you and act like you more and more every day. I still can’t sew a stitch, but I love to cook your favorite recipes. I know your dream was to be an attorney . . . It came true times four. Nikki got her law degree, then she married Jeff, an attorney, then Kelsey got a law degree, and he married Lauren, also an attorney. I know that puts a smile on your angel face.
To my sister, Patsy McIlvain . . . You are my best teacher friend. Thank you for listening to my many ideas and putting many of them into action. I am proud of you and your many accomplishments as a master teacher. I still like to play “Pick,” and I always will.
To my mother-in-law, Jo Ann Pierce . . . Thank you for sharing my name, your son, and your nurturing spirit with Nikki so that I could teach.
And finally, to my daddy, Robert Lee Bronniman . . . You never made it to the zenith you dreamed of, but the dreams you shared and the time we had together gave me the courage to be whatever I wanted to be. God is good!
Acknowledgments
I put her on a pedestal. She was my mentor. I was her protégé. During the 1989–1990 school year, I was named as one of our state’s top five teachers. She was by my side nurturing, applauding, and promoting my accomplishments. I was humbled and a little shy when the television station from our capital city landed their helicopter on the school playground to interview me, but she smiled and enjoyed the hoopla. I was overwhelmed. My mentor had been named as one of the state’s best teachers in earlier years. She knew the drill and understood the statewide appeal of being an Oklahoma Teacher of the Year (TOTY) Finalist. Not only was she an accomplished teacher, a respected and admired administrator, she was my principal and my hero. For that, I will always be grateful.
Soon after, I left the stage with a handshake and hug to the state TOTY winner, my principal encouraged me to become a principal. She recognized my leadership capabilities and persuaded me to enroll in Principal Certification classes at the University of Oklahoma. My natural Capricorn spirit told me to climb the mountain (onward and upward!). My principal seemed to have a practical strategy for reaching the top. She inspired me. Preparing to be an elementary principal seemed doable.
Most principal opportunities require at least 3–5 years of classroom experience, but I had a 20-year solid foundation as a classroom teacher that preceded my principal days. I understood innovation, best practices, and the need to lead. Slowly and steadily, I kept my goatlike sense of balance and stability through some tricky terrain, family trials, and tribulations. Those days in the classroom, that mountain of love, are where my heart was first touched and my eyes were first opened to the idea of leading a school. It was through the powerful sequence of time and witness that I began to value me, to honor that I am, and to use my God-given creativity to teach and lead. My story is His glory.
My story involves treating others as I anticipate being treated. I love people, and I need their gifts, talents, and strengths. I think some people need my gifts, talents, and strengths too. I may have left someone out along the way unintentionally as I write my story. I may have included someone that would have preferred not to be, but you touched my life and helped me grow. I have changed many names and location because it seemed like the right thing to do in certain instances, especially those whom I was not able to contact for one reason or another. My intent is to tell my story with the deepest respect for everyone who is climbing his or her own personal mountain. I wish you continual success at your zenith of choice.
Thank you to those who gave me permission to share pictures. Laura Bush’s Spoken From the Heart (which I loved) left me wanting more pictures, so I’m including pictures. I don’t compare her prominence to mine, but she did start out as a teacher and end up on the mountaintop. I’m an advocate for people who genuinely radiate goodness as they conquer their peaks. She did.
My story of wife, mother, teacher, and wannabe principal is a collection of notes on small pieces of paper that I saved in case I ever wrote a book (never dreamed I really would). It includes pictures, scrapbook pages, grade book notes, lesson plans, evaluations, teaching units that I facilitated, memories withheld, memories shared, confusion, clarity, and a lifetime of personal and school relationships that melded. Laugh with me (it helps), criticize me (you can’t be worse than I am on myself), cry for me, but most of all, know that it took some courage to share openly. I hope that in sharing my story with vulnerability and authenticity, you are inclined to share yours.
A big thank-you to Jackie Jacobi for being a cheerleader and coach, Lauren, my daughter-in-law, for editing my mistakes first round, and LaVonna Funkhouser for editing and suggesting changes during the second editing. I found out that teachers are not wonderful at correcting their own work. We need all the help we can get. Melinda Douglas, my sister-in-law, read every word and was the first to encourage me. With a smile, Martha Burger provided the opening photograph of my coat. I had an excellent relationship with Outskirts Press.
Finally, if you are feeling like you could be the principal, you can stay right where you are or you can start learning, looking, and acting like one. Go get the degree, rise above the status quo, and your comfort zone. Look up at your mountain and don’t be frightened to climb—listen to your heart and claim your pinnacle. Mine was A Mountain of Love.
Table of Contents
1. Love Story
2. Reality
3. Wild Things
4. Believing in My Magic
5. Surprise
6. Celebrate
7. Somebody’s Baby
8. Caesar’s Palace
9. Thriller
10. Serenity Prayer
11. Bigger and Better Days
12. Don’t Worry, Be Happy
13. Dreams Come True
14. Heaven Is a Place on Earth
15. When We Went to India
16. Teacher of the Year
17. Stop and Smell the Roses
18. Gifts and Talents
19. Schoolwide Themes
20. Claiming My Pinnacle

Chapter 1
Love Story
Listen to (Where Do I Begin) Love Story recorded by Andy Williams.
I loved the movie Love Story , but it was nothing compared to my own story of love and romance on the college campus of Southwestern Oklahoma State University in the 1970s. We were smitten from the beginning and spent our out-of-class times together much like Ali MacGraw (Jennifer) and Ryan O’Neal (Oliver) from the movie. Our first date was in September of 1973, and we married Saturday, August 17, 1974, in my hometown, Woodward, Oklahoma. We honeymooned in Miami, Florida, until Thursday, August 22, arriving at our one-bedroom apartment around 10:00 p.m. I was exhausted and felt panicked. I had 3 days to set up our new home in Duncan before I reported to Mark Twain Elementary School to do my student teaching.
On Saturday, we bought a secondhand car, a dark turquoise 1965 Chevy Bel Air in dire need of a paint job. It was ugly, but it would get Joe to work and back and be fine around town. It cost $500, all of our wedding gift money. I would drive Joe’s 5-year-old Malibu. Our shrinking budget allowed for a few groceries for the week, rent, utility bills, gas, and the first payment on my student loans.
On Sunday evening, I humbly convinced Joe that I would never be able to find the school. Eighty-one Highway with four lanes bustling with Halliburton traffic seemed more like a booming metropolis freeway for an apprehensive country girl used to single dirt roads. I needed blue skies and green lights for the first day of school, so Joe said he would drive in front of me to Mark Twain Elementary School. I finally fell asleep, dog-tired, still trying to discipline the butterflies in my stomach.
On Monday morning, the Mark Twain princip