Introduction to Porch Conversation with Josephine, Sheena & Kaeli
Kaeli McCarther, former agriculture science teacher, often spends time in her yard with her loyal and handsome dog, Sokka. While playing frisbee after a long day of teaching agriculture chemistry and swine showmanship, Kaeli reflects on the events that led to her decision to teach. When Sokka tires of the game, he and his owner lay their hammock to enjoy a steady breeze, which wafts the delicious smell of fresh cinnamon rolls from the bread factory a black away. They drift back and forth in the hammock, and Kaeli drifts to sleep. She dreams of being a curious child interacting with a historical teaching figure her adult self read about, and a fellow science teacher she recently met.
Eight-year-old Kaeli sits poolside in an apartment complex. Her mom is the manager of the complex and had to step in her office. Kaeli is not allowed in the water when her Mom is unavailable to watch her, so she sits on a lounge chair with three plastic cups of pool water. She silently pours the chlorinated water between the cups, imagining she is making a volatile chemical concoction or perhaps a potion Professor Snape would be proud of. One of the cups spills on the pebbled concrete, and knowing she would be scolded for approaching the pool without her mother present, Kaeli heads to the water fountain to fill her cup. The pool is crowded neighbors from the complex. She walks past several, smiling and saying hello to the ones she recognizes. There are two black women sitting next to each other. One of them is an older woman wearing a large sunhat. Her townhouse is near the playground in the center of the complex; Kaeli recalls her name is Mrs. Silone Yates. Next to her is the mother of a few younger children Kaeli had been playing with in the pool, Sheena Carbaugh. As Kaeli walks by, Sheena calls out to her and begins a conversation.
Hey, Kaeli, where are you off to? Looking for your mom?
Hi Ms. Sheena, I'm just headed to the drinking fountain to fill my cup.
I sure hope you aren't going to drink out of that cup. I saw you playing with it in the pool.
Good afternoon, Mrs. Silone Yates, I'm not drinking from it. Just playing.
And what are you playing?
I'm mixing up potions.
Haha, potions, huh? That pool water is a real-life potion. There are chemicals in it to keep the water clean.
Yeah, it burns my eyes when I swim for too long. Is that because it is trying to clean the germs in my eyes?
That's pretty close! Where did you learn that?
My mom. And school.
It's good that you pay attention in school, that will get you far in life.
That's what my mom says.
Listening to your mom will get you far in life too.
School is important for a young black woman like yourself. I was one of the first black women to hold a professorship in the United States. Education gave me many opportunities to grow and help others do the same.
What did you teach?
Chemistry
That is like potions!
There's no potions about it, it's all science. Do you like science?
I do! It's one of my favorites in school.
Mine too, that's why I became a science teacher. I teach high school biology.
Teaching is one of the most noble professions. To teach is to share everything about yourself. Your mind, your heart. You touch hundreds of lives, if not thousands over the course of a career. You have the power to make positive change in the world, one student at a time.
It's about love. We love our students enough to teach them, challenge them, and support them. With science, we help them understand the world they live in and make sense of things that are new to them.
I love my teacher. She cares about me.
Maybe one day you will be a teacher with students that love her.
You think I can do that?
Absolutely, you can.
Sokka wakes Kaeli from her dream by jumping up to bark at a cyclist going past the house. Kaeli reflects on her dream and remembers why she teaches: it's about love.