I Am Not Your Zombie Apocalypse Leader (but I Do Have a Question)

Strength – both physical and intestinal fortitude – was usually assigned to me. As a young girl, my mother never commented on what I wanted her to (that is, my physical beauty or even my intelligence). 

As the years passed, friends and colleagues began to not infrequently comment (once literally in a letter of recommendation) that if there was a zombie apocalypse, I was the one they would ask to lead them. I became what parents and friends saw in me – I am strong and dependable. 

But now I ask: What if I had asked for help? What if I had demanded that this ridiculous amount of responsibility and work was just too much for one person? What if what I needed all along was more collaboration and support and a little less autonomy?

Recently, my student teachers and I met virtually with Rebecka Peterson, the National Teacher of the Year in 2023.

In thirty minutes, Peterson shared with us more insightful guidance and practical education tips than I learned in my 36 years of professional development. What resonated with both the new educators in the room and this veteran is this: Students do not learn in isolation, nor will they learn from a teacher they dislike or cannot trust. 

She also shared that she believes all teachers should find their people – fellow teachers who will nurture and support them. This job is too hard to do in a vacuum. 

She even introduced us to her Mindful Mondays, during which she guides her students through a calming breathing exercise, with the goal of rebalancing and re-focusing. Peterson has created a program – called Serve and Create – in her high school calculus class that requires her students to seek ways to support their community and share their talents with the class. Peterson insists that these lessons do not detract from students learning the math curriculum, but, in fact, enhance their productivity. They feel supported, connected, trusted, and able to be vulnerable. Her students can ask questions, express a need for help, and never do it alone. Peterson has created a community of learners that grow with each other and not against each other.

In all of those zombie shows and movies, solitary heroes are few; in each story, what gives humanity a moment of reprieve and hope are the plans executed by a supportive group. Often, when they fail, it's because one individual wanted to be a hero for all the wrong reasons – narcissism or power.

The message is the same: Collaboration and support will bring out the best in all of us. We should be allowed to ask for help and say we can’t do it alone. Instead of praising our strength, why not praise our vulnerability and insight, for knowing when we are drowning instead of swimming, working to death rather than growing in life?