editor’s note. This essay ran in the May 2008 edition of The Redwood Gigantea. It is being republished here to commemorate Doris Lowe, who passed away on Valentine’s Day in 2008.

Doris Lowe 1951-2008

So few of us commit ourselves selflessly.

This is true. Regardless of our into our lives and current concerns, our day to quickly go. Some day rituals, and our hobbies and passions- we tend to stay for awhile and return to a spot that allows leave footprints on us to say, “

This isn’t a criticism; rather it is an assessment of the way the world actually is. Life is this rather confusing rapid paced chaos that at times has so many factors contributing to it and detracting from it that we often have to ask ourselves, “How much am I willing to commit myself to this and how much do I stand to lose in doing so?”

When it all comes down to it, what we choose to commit ourselves to and our level of commitment will determine our life’s value.

Doris Lowe understood this. And she chose to throw herself at her commitments fully. I cannot recall or even imagine a teacher as passionate and enthusiastic as she was when it came to seeing her students succeed. Ever. Redwood embraces the most diverse community Visalia has to offer. Should Doris have been half hearted, she may have quit there. We teach the children who have parents that either built the school or clean the school. Redwood’s classroom teachers work day in and day out with students who bring poverty, gangs, and close-mindedness into the teaching environment everyday. They bring really expensive calculators and wealthy lifestyles into the room as well. While this is not a rare instance for teachers in any community, Redwood is special in its complexity. This is the world that Doris was asked to commit to, and she chose to dive in wholeheartedly- smiling all the time.

I want Doris back. I just want her back.

I cannot have this. But I can rest assured in my hope that her life and work has inspired someone to pick up the challenge that Doris took on 30-ish years ago. The call to teaching and inspiring the youth of this country should be the call for us all. Teaching is not a profession in the way professions are traditionally considered. It is a responsibility for all those who choose to live fully. Doris chose to live fully, and the Redwood community’s feelings of loss now are a testament to her very full life. We need, in some way, to let Doris’ life motivate us to find a “thing” that we can call our own, which allows us to accept full responsibility for our children, and allows us to be genuine. We need to embrace our responsibility for inspiring our children’s desire for success and fear of failure. We need to grasp and vehemently hold on to a passion for living and genuine commitment to our thing. Should we do otherwise, we are risking the betterment of this world.

Doris made this world better, and my teaching life is better for her inspiration.

Nick Miller

Teacher at RHS