11th
The Tragedy of Hope
In a poor neighborhood in Charleston, SC (close to my hometown) a dedicated teacher gave hope to the community. She found food for hungry families, helped pay long overdue electric bills, and took a poor performing school to excellence. She was just an normal school teacher who cared about the struggles of her students families. Her work and success inspired the community around her, who, like many disadvantaged neighborhoods in SC, desperately needed something to celebrate.
Only one major problem. It seems that her successes were a fraud. The New York Times covers it pretty thoroughly and it would be extremely difficult to shrug off the condemning evidence as merely circumstantial.
So this is the tragedy of hope — disappointment.
An entire community believed that their children’s gains in education were real. They had been told by the world around them that their kids would never be as smart, never have the abilities, and never have the life that the white kids in Mount Pleasant would have. This teacher’s work gave the community real ammo to call that what it is — an ugly and oppressive lie.
And now it’s broken. This courageous teacher became a symbol of hope to this neighborhood. Tragically, her fall is just as much a fall for her community as it is for her individually.
South Carolina needs educational leaders who inspire hope. I think this is greatest function of leaders tackling our biggest problems. But to every talented leader who truly is inspirational, I say to you what one of our investors has said to me when handing over the investment check:
“Don’t F$*k it up”.
