"You Are Your Best Investment" says Alternate Route Alumna

The challenges and triumphs of experienced educators inspire and guide aspiring and novice teachers. That’s why we’ve launched our Alternate Route Champion Spotlight blog series, featuring the stories of Alternate Route graduates and advocates who are taking charge of their professional destiny.

To kickoff our Alumni Spotlight series, we have Rutgers Alternate Route graduate, Lolade Onashile, who currently serves as the Director of Talent Recruitment at Foundation Academies in Trenton, NJ.

What inspired you to become a teacher?

When I first considered teaching as a profession, I thought that teaching was going to be easy. I expected that we would read Malcolm X, go to museums every month, wear dashikis…But it didn’t quite work out that way.

The biggest challenge I faced was students neither performing at grade level, nor being held to high expectations, and as a result being comfortable with mediocrity. Even so, I had this determination to meet students were they were. What I mean by this is I wanted to teach the “whole child”. I taught them science and history but also taught them about character traits. I introduced and promoted college to them, showed them leaders in their community, and taught them how they, too, could be a leader among the pack.

I tried to make the lessons more relevant to their lives. I wanted them to understand that education could afford them the freedom and opportunity to rise above the statistics and stereotypes that were placed on them.

Being an educator is not easy work. If you need someone to tell you "good job", or ask you how your day was, you might be in the wrong business. You see the fruit of your labor when you see the students you taught in 7th grade now applying to college, or you're teaching children whose older siblings told them that you assign a lot homework and don’t mess around. That's when you know that it was all worth it and you are making an impression on young minds.

Why’d you decide to enroll in Rutgers University’s alternate route teaching program?

I chose Alternate Route because I felt like it was a robust program that would enable me to not only get certified but more importantly have the tools I needed to become a more successful teacher handling the classroom.

For four hours once a week, we talked about different pedagogies and teaching styles, and engaged in projects where we had the opportunity to design our own classrooms without any limits.

What was the most memorable project you participated in as an Alternate Route participant?

My most memorable project was one where we had to bring in a 3D model to present what our 21st century classroom would be like. I also enjoyed discussing how to differentiate various pedagogies and learning styles for auditory learners, visual learners, kinesthetic learners, and so forth.

What is the biggest lesson you learned from Rutgers University’s alternate route teaching program?

During and after my Alternate Route coursework I came to realize that you can’t teach in isolation. We have to collaborate; we have to invest; and we have to be committed in order to evolve. Alternate Route inspired me by surrounding me with a network of professionals dedicated to finding the best in kids and pulling the best out of them.

Did any of the course instructors have a strong impact on you?

My professor, Dr. Hall, the principal of Discovery Charter School in Newark, NJ, enhanced my perspective of what teaching is and what it can look like. Her school involves hands-on learning. She was kind of quirky, but at the end of the day, she taught me how to handle everything from kids’ diets to what homework may look like from each student to parental involvement. In my current role as Director of Talent Recruitment at Foundation Academies in Trenton, NJ, I look for the best educators to teach our students. I couldn’t do this job without first having been trained as a teacher myself.

Do you consider yourself a lifelong learner?

I’ve learned in my career that leaders are learners and learners are leaders. Therefore, you must make professional development an intentional habit to keep growing. A leader’s effectiveness will never be higher than their own personal development. What that means is that you are your best investment. The more you can learn the more you can give. The tools I use to seek professional development are articles, books, blogs, and podcasts. I have also sought out a mentor who is grooming and framing my thinking. When I learn something new I always push myself to put it to good use!    

What questions would you like to see more experienced teachers and educators answer? Share your suggestions in the comments below.