Earning My Stripes

To “ace” our big assignment, I researched the country’s climate, so I would know what clothes to pack. I studied the currency to avoid being flustered at local markets. And I listened to audio cassettes to master basic vocabulary.

Still, the transition wasn’t easy. But I’ll never forget my fellow educators on the base. We were all a long way from home, and we became a family.  

Teaching abroad also set my “gold standard” for what education should look like. The pay and benefits were fair, and everyone—from the people on base to vendors at the local market—held educators in high esteem. The students benefited from a rigorous curriculum as well as top-notch books and classroom materials. Every student, regardless of their parent’s rank, was treated equally and taught with the same goal in mind: to prepare them to excel at whatever school they attended next.

When we returned to the States, I eventually landed at an elementary school at Marine Corps Air Station-New River, in Jacksonville, N.C. I was disheartened to find a glaring difference between overseas and stateside schools in how teachers were treated. So my fellow educators and I joined the Federal Education Association, gaining representation and bargaining rights. Together, we improved conditions for teachers, including winning duty-free lunches and guaranteed planning time.

It wasn’t easy, and it took a lot of persuasion and hard work. A prized memento of mine—a gallon-size bag containing copies of letters I wrote to state and federal representatives—is a testament to how persistence pays off.

This touchstone experience served as a catalyst for my union activism. I retired in 2019, and I now live in Alabama, where educators desperately need help. I continue to advocate for better pay and other critical issues for educators through the Alabama Education Retirees Association. I also serve on the education committee, as housing chair, and as legislative representative of NAACP—Lee County Branch, in Opelika, Ala., where we work to enact fair housing laws, educate parents on education issues, and protect voting rights.

Like the struggle for civil rights, my mission to improve schools will never end. I know firsthand that no matter the school setting, all students, stateside or abroad, deserve the best our country can offer, and so do their teachers.