Try the Impossible

There is power in words and in the idealism that comes from them.

A phrase "try the impossible" or "do the impossible" comes off to some of my students as nothing but empty words from another teacher's mouth. Since birth they are inundated with these types of phrases. They are told they can be President. They are told they can be rich, powerful, and can have things most of us can only dream about. If only you try. If only you work hard enough. The American Dream. As they become teenagers they begin to see the truth in the world- that these words are mostly empty promises. They begin to see through a sub-standard education system that receives pennies compared to a military budget.

But I believe in the dream. Not in the "American Dream" - but in a dream of changing the world, one person at a time. See - I don't believe that everyone can be rich. The classic "American Dream" is simply not real. But that's OK. I don't believe that everyone can have the stuff you see on MTV Cribs or the Lives of the Rich and Famous.

I believe in something different.

It seems to me that we can change the world around us by bettering ourselves - by believing in ourselves and what we believe even if those notions are unpopular - and by expressing those beliefs to others and trying to do what's right.

I believe in my students. They don't have much money. They don't, in all honesty, have much power in conventional terms. Yet they do have the ability to make a difference.

If you look at American history, the most powerful movements haven't been created by politicians or the military. Even with billions of dollars - money to throw out windows - they have not been the driving force. Common people - like you and I - are the ones who have changed the world.

I think of the civil rights movements, and the freedoms we have today. The government didn't just freely give us these rights. People marched - tens of thousands - hundreds of thousands - to change the world around them. Each one of those people that marched - even if only once - made a difference by being one cog in those important movements.

I think of, outside of stricly American history, of the man who stood up to a row of tanks in China. No one knows his name, he's now known as "The Unkown Rebel." Yet he continues to inspire people to face seemingly impossible odds.

He stood up to tons of rolling steel and a government without mercy. He tried the impossible. He lived. He changed the world.

I hope that some of my student's do indeed try the impossible. One of my former students, currently becoming an architect, can change things. She can tell her story to others, and because of her success, she can inspire change that will challenge the course of history.

Some of my current students, some rebels, some outcasts, some troublemakers - they can make a difference. I wouldn't teach if I didn't believe it, and after five years of the profession, I believe it more every day.

I will fight for this generation. Even as the media portray them to be stupid, to be ignorant, to be careless and crass. I'll fight for them because I see something most people don't - the power in these young people to make a difference. To do something wonderful.

To try the impossible.