And...he is an Arkansan. He was born and raised in Mountain Pine, Arkansas (a tiny town outside of Hot Springs). He graduated from Henderson State University and began his career at various radio stations in central Arkansas. He bleeds Razorback red and is loyal to his roots here at home. He is not shy about sharing where he came from.
And that is what I connect with... his is story. In his first book "Bare Bones", he details how he grew up facing adversity. The same adversity that many of my students face. He was born to a teenage mom who struggled with substance abuse. His dad was absent. He was raised predominately by his grandmother. He lived in extreme poverty...the kind of poverty that most folks aren't even aware of. He knew hunger. He lived in a very small town with limit resources. He was teased...a lot.
Do any of those sound familiar to you? Do you put student faces to them as I do?
But what makes Bobby so unique is that he realized at a very young age that the only way out of his situation was through education. He immersed himself in education. This wasn't something his family expected him to do...he just did it...on his own. He began to shine academically...winning Quiz Bowls and being the first in his family to go to college. In his book he details how a few teachers and coaches helped him in his success.
He was driven. He was focused. His motto is after all, Fight. Grind. Repeat. And boy does he live that motto out.
When I heard Bobby's story I couldn't help but think of my students over the past fourteen years. It occurred to me that many of those kiddos might not know of anyone who has become as successful as Bobby Bones has. But I do know that students would identify with him. They could connect to his story. They could see themselves in him and hopefully they could see success in their own futures as well.
When I was announced Arkansas Teacher of the Year last fall, I promised myself that I would try to get Bobby Bones to help me advocate for students and teachers in Arkansas. I wanted to collaborate with him to share his story...inspire students to fail until they don't...and provide an example for teachers of how powerful they really are. Now...I had absolutely no idea how I could obtain this goal...but I did know that it was worth a shot.
In January I attended my first state teacher of the year event in California. Our meetings were hosted by Google. The first evening of our trip, we were at dinner at Google, and this super cheerful, warm Google employee named Brendan asked to sit by me. We made small talk and upon hearing where I was from he made the following statement, "The only connection I have to Arkansas is Bobby Bones."
My mouth fell open. My fork hit my plate and I know I went completely white. I had not told one soul about my promise I made to myself. Brendan went on to explain that he used to work for Bobby in Texas and I, of course, began spewing out all my ideas of how I would want to use his story to help students in Arkansas. Brendan was all in...we snapped a picture...tweeted it out...and nothing happened.
With Brendan's help I emailed Bobby. I messaged him. I called the show. I texted the show. I tried social media...but all to no avail.
My only hope was attending his upcoming show here at home...in Little Rock. The moment that tickets went on sale my husband and I were online trying to snatch those coveted VIP meet and greet tickets. My husband even had them in his cart but they were snatched before he was able to complete checkout. No meet and greet for us but we did snag some decent floor seats.
Fast forward to last night...it was finally the night of Bobby's show. I was ecstatic. We arrived two hours early...and headed straight to the merchandise booth where I saw a box with "Questions for Bobby" written on the outside. Immediately I thought...this just might be my chance! So...I stood in line...for what seemed like forever...and finally got to put my question into the already half full box.
Halfway through the show Mike D. brought the box onto the stage and pulled out a handful of questions for Bobby to answer. My heart raced as they began to read the final question...and....I heard Mike begin to read my words.
"What would your advice be for students in Arkansas who face adversity as you did?"
His response (paraphrased ) was that it's not a matter of IF you face adversity in life...but rather WHEN...because the truth is...we all have our own battles. And if you surround yourself with good people...you might just make it through just fine. Good people help you get through those rough patches.
So...Teachers...that's it. We must be those good people our kids need. We might be the only good people they get to interact with. We might be the only smile...the only stability...the only reason they face another day. We might be the ones to help our students learn to fight through those rough days.
Teachers...I challenge you...look around your classroom. Do you see Bobby? If so...what are you going to do to make him learn to never give up...to FIGHT. GRIND. REPEAT?
And to Bobby...if by some minuscule chance you actually see this...I would still love to chat with you about how we could use your story to impact education in Arkansas. I'm going to take a cue from you and not give up on that promise I made to myself a year ago. I will continue to fail...until I don't!
