The Story That Drives You, Can Change Lives
The Story That Drives You, Can Change Lives
What drives someone to become a teacher? What propels them into becoming a High School Principal? It’s not the kind of job someone does just for the money – so why?
For Marthaa Torres, Principal of Thurgood Marshall High School in San Francisco, it’s about the learning, it’s about her school experiences as a child and her realization that not everyone “gets” school the way she did. The passion that drives her is about helping kids learn by opening their minds so they can see how it matters. She is focused on working with students to discover what they love to do and how to turn that into something that they can embrace throughout their lives.
For her, education is not just about memorizing the correct answers for the next test. It’s about giving kids opportunities to explore what ideas make them tick, what kinds of learning excite them and how creativity can help them both thrive and share their passion out in the big bad world of adulthood.
Marthaa wraps learning in a story; when I was ’taught’ math, it was a grumpy guy in an old brown suit writing illegible stuff on the chalk board. It made no sense then; it makes no sense now. At Thurgood Marshall, the teachers have created an environment where the students learn through application – do you know how to design a mobile app? Do you know how to code a computer game? I don’t – but her students do. She and her team put facts into context, give it meaning and real world application, and then show students WHY it matters – and WHY it will make a difference in their lives.
She believes that education is not about expecting all students to learn the same way. Education is so much bigger than that. Education is about giving all students a chance to discover what lights them up inside as individuals.
Marthaa may not be a traditional SMB but she is in the business of educating our future entrepreneurs and small business owners. Hers is the story that acts as a ripple effect by creating outward change in the world. And it all started from her WHY.
In storytelling, sometimes we find that our WHY stories are actually about how we love helping others discover theirs. Marthaa’s WHY story is about helping kids expand their horizons by encouraging them to explore their own potential beyond the covers of a textbook.
What’s your why story? What drives you?
Need some inspiration? Watch the Video of Martha and her journey. I asked her “Why Teaching?” and this is her answer:
