“Desire creates intelligent ignorance,” according to Zig Ziglar in the See You at the Top program. He defines this ignorance as the characteristic or capability of not knowing what you can’t do… and doing it anyway.” It seems many people have accomplished the near impossible just through this intelligent ignorance.
I must admit that I, too, have realized the possibility of this intelligent ignorance, for I have enjoyed a most successful career in education in spite of the fact that I began my career without a single college class in education courses! Perhaps my motivation was a major factor: my husband and I were dirt poor at the time, and I needed the work to help him provide for our two young children and ourselves.
Someone once said, “Some folks fall into fortune; but nobody ever yet fell into success.” This certainly is true. I was able to lay a foundation of excellence in my teaching career, but it took hours and years of hard work which demanded long hours of planning outside of the regular school day. I tried things which other educators said “couldn’t be done.” Amazingly, the students hadn’t learned that it couldn’t be done…so together, we accomplished many great “impossibilities!”
As J.G. Holland said, “The heart is wiser than the intellect.” I had a heart for students and a desire to help them learn beyond what was “average.” Thus, I always was able to extract “more” than the usual from familiar lessons. I realize that the gifts God gave me were an important part of this journey. My mother sacrificed to get me guitar lessons and piano lessons because she never had that opportunity when she was young. These talents along with a gift of art have served me well in teaching my students to go beyond the usual.
When I first thought of opening a private school, I was met with much discouragement and even anger by people in the community. However, I was encouraged by my husband and God set things into motion, which challenged me to establish Lawton Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1998-99. “Discouragement is like a baby, the more you nurse it, the bigger it grows.” So…I chose to ignore all the discouragement out there, and God has richly blessed us all…teachers, students, parents, and even our community. God has kept me in the intelligent ignorance by blessing me with my daughter, Michelle and son-in-law, J.T. Smith, who are two of the most positive and enthusiastic cheerleaders I know. They, like my husband and me, go ahead doing what seemingly can’t be done! Kay