By: Christi Ham
Many are asking what Ruth Bader Ginsburg had to do with education. LESSONS learned from her life, her commitments, her focus and her dedication are innumerable and immeasurably connected to education.
The children of America should take a moment to get to know RBG, if they don't already. She was someone who lived her life in a way that should force us to consider all that she accomplished while considering how to live our own lives.
She wasn't very tall, But her lack of height didn't prevent her from rising to great heights.
She was very, very smart. And her thirst for learning and her abilities to think, consider and develop big thoughts never slowed. She was never ashamed of being intelligent and she used her mind to find important ways to change those things she learned were improper or required change.
She was quite determined, in all aspects of her life. That allowed her to do well in school, head to college, tackle law school and become only the second woman to sit on the Supreme Court --- because she was determined to use the gifts she'd been given for the betterment of those in our nation. While it sounds trite, she was determined to make a difference ---- and she certainly did.
In addition to assuring a seat for a girl in any classroom, a place for a woman in any program, a degree for any female candidate in a university , she offered so many other possibilities and lessons.
She was an early advocate for the rights of women in our society. She sought for understanding that all of us should have the same rights and opportunities -- the same chances to excel to wherever we want our lives to take us -- whether we are men or women, Whether we are Hispanic, Black, Oriental, Jewish, young, mature, disabled, athletic, thinkers, designers, mechanics or leaders.
She mirrored all that our young people can become. Everyone doesn't need to be a Supreme Court Justice. Or a judge, Or a lawyer -- all that she was. But what she showed was that everyone needs the chance to become who they are and then impact the world from that accomplishment. She highlighted that whatever your ambition, work to fulfill it and apply that success in ways that affect the lives of others in ways that are enriching, positive, and good.
The children of America have the chance today to consider this woman's life in great detail. And in doing so, they can explore the attributes she succeeded in corralling for great gain and impact. Looking into our own souls, there will be evidence of some of those same elements in each of us. Realizing the strengths we own and working to refine them, develop them, and apply them to life situations will allow a generation of young people to become more like her. And that will allow more doing of good things - more dedication on important issues -- more influence on topics that affect and shape our world.
What did RBG mean to education? Rather, what DOES Ruth Bader Ginsburg means to education? She will impact the future of education by her action and example. She will further excite young minds and encourage them to their full potential. She will continue to improve our nation by continuing to improve the young learners and spirits who are set to shape our tomorrows. We've LEARNED so much from her -- and life is the test of how well we took to those lessons learned. May every one of those exams warrant an A.