What is my first priority? In a world full of money, in a world full of selfish people around every corner, in a world of corruption and sex and love and drugs and partying, what is my first priority? I was recently asked this at an interview. I am currently a teacher and for a couple of weeks, I decided to look for a new job. I went to an interview for a management position and one of the questions the interviewer asked me was “What is your first priority in life?” It did not take me long to answer that question.

My first priority? My children. My kid’s health and well-being. My kid’s happiness. Making sure my kids have coats on days to which the temperature has gone below 40 degrees. Making sure my children, who have been awake since 4:30 A.M. because they have to take care of their little siblings, eat breakfast. Making sure my kids leave satisfied or even full, because they do not know when their next meal is. Allowing my children to sleep on the couch of the classroom, keeping them comfortable, because they sleep in a sleeping bag on their floor, on nights when they do sleep.

My first priority is my children. I come from a school district where we were required to buy the big pack of colored pencils so we have more colored options. I currently work in a school district where a common question asked is “okay does everyone have a pencil today?” My first priority is getting my kids out of this town as fast as possible. I encourage them to learn, to educate themselves beyond reasonable doubt, to do things they never could have imagined possible. I dare them to dream, to find new problems and new solutions, to learn about this corrupt world we live in so maybe one day my kids will be the ones to solve the problems.

I’ve provided meals for families who had not eaten in three days. I provide coats for children who are wearing torn, small clothing. I provide shoe laces so children can actually tie their shoes and keep them on their feet. I provide an education, teaching Hispanic children English, learning that they later go home to pass the language use onto their parents so their Hispanic parents can live comfortably in this country.

I understand how terrific private schools are, but please look past that spectrum. Public schools have been and always will be the back bone of this country. An education is something that is as natural a right as speaking and everyone deserves a good chance. We need to take our inner city children and provide more money, more education, more love and attention. We could be holding the cure for cancer in the mind of a child from an inner city school who cannot afford a college education because of where they are from. We need to remove the children from the harm, we need to think about the children with every decision we make. I spend about 60% of my paycheck on my children and you will never hear me complain because my kids need coats way more than I need this disposable money. So Mr. Interviewer Suit Man, what is my first priority you ask? My current job, my current children, and thank you sir for the honor of this Manager Position, but I think I’ll stay with my priorities.