As I read and re-read the article inspiration for my essay, I revisited my thesis statement at least 10 times.

My mind was a jumbo of APA formatting, Core Curriculum theory, technology, and Biblical Integration; just to name a few of my thoughts. As I considered my audience and the outline that I so easily discarded; I thought about my educational journey and determined that I think of myself as well educated. My story begins in the 4th grade in Buffalo, New York at Public School 74. I guess you could say that this is where I was being mis-educated based on the premise that memorization of a bunch of facts was the fast track to becoming well educated. Little did I know that one phone call would forever change my life. My grandmother who essentially was a smart woman was raising me.

There are two reasons I can say that with confidence. The 1st reason I considered her a smart woman was because family history tells me that she was born in 1927, a child of a black father who was a numbers runner and a mother who as far as I can tell by the stories was a stay at home mother of Caucasian and Native American descent. Her brother, Uncle Jerry taught her how to read at the age of three using the comics from the local newspaper. She embraced learning and was enrolled in school at five, set to graduate at the age of 18. She was intelligent for a young black girl going to a predominately-white elementary school in the 30’s. She skipped two grades and graduated high school at the tender age of 16. The second reason she was smart was because she listened to my 4th grade teacher, Mrs Hayes who “strongly advised” her to do whatever it took to get me out of the public school system because according to Mrs Hayes, I had abundant potential and was extremely bright. My grandmother immediately sought the counsel of a Church member who had a love for education.

She obtained a