As a woman of color, Leslie Fagin’s ethnicity has influenced everything about her. And although her ethnicity comes with a lot of baggage, her experiences have been mostly positive. But one incident when she was a teenager has stayed with her for decades. In high school in the 1980s, Fagin was a high achiever. But her efforts to take an AP Literature class were blocked by a teacher. When Fagin asked why, the teacher responded: “You’re not smart enough.” When Fagin protested that she was in the gifted program, the teacher stuck the knife in further with her response: “They have to let one of you in.”
It was a shattering moment and stayed with Fagin for years. Eventually, Fagin realized that the problem wasn’t with her, it was with the teacher. Fagin’s career path eventually led her back to her alma mater where she ended up teaching the class her teacher said she wasn’t smart enough to take. The incident impressed upon Fagin the power of teachers. Her message to teachers: Appreciate the diversity of your students and what they bring to the table for they create a far more interesting world than one that is monochromatic.
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