Mici Bos and Dav Rudzinskidi are MEA members from different sides of the state, but both are career changers who chose to become educators from deep self awareness and commitment—and both recently completed a virtual MEA book study on Teaching When the World is on Fire.

Edited by acclaimed education researcher and MacArthur Fellowship recipient Lisa Delpit, the book is a collection of essays by educators on how modern-day politics permeates classrooms with advice for colleagues looking to help students understand the world around them.

Delpit has said of the book’s purpose: “School is the place for young people to be able to look at their world… If we can’t connect to it in some way, children, like adults, just refuse to engage.”

Bos is a paraeducator in her first year as a reading interventionist working with small groups of elementary students in rural Greenville schools northeast of Grand Rapids. She is in her fifth year as an educator after quitting a 30-year purchasing career in manufacturing.

A foster parent for 10 years, Bos said, “I’ve always had a love for children and seeing them succeed, so it’s been rewarding to watch the ‘aha’ moments when they remember to use something they learned.”

Rudzinski is a sixth-grade teacher in his 20^th year working in the state’s second-largest school district, Macomb County’s Utica Community Schools, after a long career in restaurant management. He wanted a role where he could make a greater difference in the world, he said.

“Growing up I had several teachers who provided a stable home base for me when my home life wasn’t always so smooth. I was always that kid eager to help out my teachers before and after school, too!”

Bos attended the five-week book study because the book’s title interested her and the meetings were conveniently held in evenings, she said. Her biggest takeaway was a greater awareness of cultural differences and the need to understand and respect them.

“I wanted to hear what Michigan teachers are seeing because I’m in a little bitty town, and that can be a whole different world from the bigger cities,” she said. “It was interesting to read the essays and then listen to discussion from all the different perspectives.”

Rudzinski said he joined the book study because educators have navigated so many challenges over the past several years: “We had to essentially assemble a plane mid-air in order to meet the needs of our students in 2020, but to be honest, that assembly has never quite stopped.”

His biggest takeaway was a sense of community, he said. As a delegate to the NEA Representative Assembly, Rudzinski has talked with educators from districts big and small across the country and has concluded, “We are truly teaching while the world is on fire.

“One thing remains, though—we cannot give up. As educators, we’ve been through tough times before, and I can honestly say right now in this moment, our students need us to provide a safe space for them more than ever.”

Watch your email for regular AT THE CENTER e-newsletters featuring the latest SCECH-eligible course offerings and book studies from MEA’s Center for Leadership & Learning.

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