Character. One simple word that means so much. I typed "character" in dictionary.com just to see what it came up with and there were a couple of responses that I really liked because I think they define it well: "the aggregate of features and traits that form the individual nature of some person or thing;" "moral or ethical quality;" and "qualities of honesty, courage, or the like; integrity."
On a larger scale we are seeing so much about the character of the different Presidential candidates as we see more and more of their personalities as there are more and more debates. In these debates we hear lots of lines but not an entirely large amount of substance. We hear, I think, even less substance than we think because on that level any positions being taken by the candidates have likely been vetted numerous times so we can't be sure that the candidates are actually endeared to the positions or if they are just trying to tell people what they think the people want to hear. Therefore, what I try to get out of the debates is a snapshot of what kind of character each of these people has so I can determine if they have the character that I think is necessary to lead our country.
On my level, I think character is an extraordinarily important aspect of each and every race for School Board. We need the right people who have the right character to make the tough decisions that our School Board faces. We need people who are students can see as people who are honest and have high moral and ethical quality. We need people who reflect well as the leaders of our schools to prospective companies that are looking at our market. These companies that want to bring jobs to our market want to see a good education system. They look at the School Board when doing their reviews. We need people we can trust.
I loathe being a braggart but I like to think I have the character that is right for the Guilford County Board of Education. I think I have the qualities of honesty and courage along with the morals to bring about a difference to our schools. I think I have had the experiences in life that have shaped me to bring me to the position where I think I have the right character to lead our schools. You see, in my 37 years of life I have been through a lot of different experiences. Those experiences have served to shape me in ways both good and bad. The experiences have taught me what is and has been good about me. The experiences have also taught me about what has not been so good about myself. When I have recognized what has not been so good about myself I have worked hard to change myself for the better. When I have made a mistake, and I am happy to say I have not made any huge mistakes that carry large consequences, I have recognized my mistake, served my punishment, and learned from my mistake.
All in all, I believe these numerous experiences or groups of experiences have shaped my character. These experiences will allow me to become a more effective and better member of the Guilford County Board of Education. I could go on for a long time about all of my character traits, good and bad, but I won't. Instead, I wanted to explain how two experiences and one group of experiences would guide me as a member of the Board of Education.
On a larger scale we are seeing so much about the character of the different Presidential candidates as we see more and more of their personalities as there are more and more debates. In these debates we hear lots of lines but not an entirely large amount of substance. We hear, I think, even less substance than we think because on that level any positions being taken by the candidates have likely been vetted numerous times so we can't be sure that the candidates are actually endeared to the positions or if they are just trying to tell people what they think the people want to hear. Therefore, what I try to get out of the debates is a snapshot of what kind of character each of these people has so I can determine if they have the character that I think is necessary to lead our country.
On my level, I think character is an extraordinarily important aspect of each and every race for School Board. We need the right people who have the right character to make the tough decisions that our School Board faces. We need people who are students can see as people who are honest and have high moral and ethical quality. We need people who reflect well as the leaders of our schools to prospective companies that are looking at our market. These companies that want to bring jobs to our market want to see a good education system. They look at the School Board when doing their reviews. We need people we can trust.
I loathe being a braggart but I like to think I have the character that is right for the Guilford County Board of Education. I think I have the qualities of honesty and courage along with the morals to bring about a difference to our schools. I think I have had the experiences in life that have shaped me to bring me to the position where I think I have the right character to lead our schools. You see, in my 37 years of life I have been through a lot of different experiences. Those experiences have served to shape me in ways both good and bad. The experiences have taught me what is and has been good about me. The experiences have also taught me about what has not been so good about myself. When I have recognized what has not been so good about myself I have worked hard to change myself for the better. When I have made a mistake, and I am happy to say I have not made any huge mistakes that carry large consequences, I have recognized my mistake, served my punishment, and learned from my mistake.
All in all, I believe these numerous experiences or groups of experiences have shaped my character. These experiences will allow me to become a more effective and better member of the Guilford County Board of Education. I could go on for a long time about all of my character traits, good and bad, but I won't. Instead, I wanted to explain how two experiences and one group of experiences would guide me as a member of the Board of Education.
The first experience that I would share is that I was bullied as a student. It's not something that I like to talk about that often but I am not scared to say that I was the brunt of a lot of jokes growing up through school. None of the jokes were too mean in the big picture, but they were constant and they were often times more than just good-natured ribbing between kids. I became pretty good at laughing off most of the jokes and taking them in stride, but that didn't mean they didn't bother me. In fact, for a period, I think the jokes made me a worse person because they made me put up a wall that made me not as nice as I should have been. I think this was the case because in many ways, these jokes led to self-esteem issues that I battled with for some time. I think I have been able to put those issues behind me and now I recognize what an awful thing that bullying can be. I have seen and felt firsthand what damage bullying can do to people. So, how has this shaped my character? I think going through the bullying I went through, among other things like having a child with autism, has led me to have the heightened sense of empathy I have written about in a previous blog. It has made me see that people need help in a lot of cases and that I need to do what I can to be that help. It has made me see that everyone deserves to get the help that they in fact need. In the school setting, every child needs to be given a fair chance for an education where they are not being put through a silent torture. If I am elected to the Guilford County Board of Education, I will make sure we keep this bullying issue at the forefront. If I am elected, I will make sure we are constantly addressing the bullying issue and making sure that every Guilford County student has a safe and positive experience at school where they realize they can enjoy their education.
The second experience that I would share is that I have gone through the process of losing a parent to cancer. Too many people I talk to these days have gone through a situation similar to the one that I went through in 2013 when I lost my father at an all too young age to lung cancer. Saying a final good bye to my Dad I told him all about how much he did for me and what a difference that he had on my life. In fact, at the very end I told him it was ok for him to go and be at peace because he had provided me with everything that I could ever ask for as a son. So how did this experience change my character? Well, it has made me realize that I have some large shoes to fit so that I can match that what my Dad did for me. I now feel an obligation to make sure that my kids can say the same thing to me whenever it is time for me to move on. I work every day to make sure my kids can say that I have done everything they could have asked for to make their lives better. In my mind now part of that work is trying to become a member of our Board of Education so that I can improve their educations. I can promise that my character will drive me to continue the fight because I will not give up on my kids or on any of our other Guilford County students.
The third experience that I would share is more of a group of experiences rather than any particular experience. I like so many other kids have been let down numerous times by people who have not been true to their words. In fact, may be even a little more because for awhile this was one of the tactics that kids used to bully me. For awhile, in fact, some kids thought it was funny to invite me over to play with them and then hide as though they weren't home. This has had a lasting effect on me. I am sure I am not alone in this phenomenon but I can say that it has had a distinct impact in me. I now have no time for people who are not true to their word and I am not going to be one of those people. I believe one of my biggest and strongest character traits is that I am a man who will do what I say I am going to do. One of my favorite sayings is "My word is my oak" and I truly believe that. As such, I promise I will bring that character trait to the Guilford County Board of Education.
I could go on further, but I know this is getting long so I will stop. But I do ask that as the voters make their choice in District 3, I hope that they will keep Character in mind. If they do so, I believe they will find that I have the Character that is necessary for the job.
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