I have always loved the play “A Raisin in the Sun.” I have read it a million times and watched the Sydney Poitier and Ruby Dee version too many times (I could not bring myself to watch the one with P. Diddy). I have found myself so inspired by how the family goes to a place of such deep darkness and despair, and then it ends at a place of hope that explodes in the last scene. This is what I think Langston Hughes was expressing at the end of his poem. After all of that death of a dream, maybe it eventually explodes…into HOPE! A seed has to go into the ground and die, before it can “explode” into a beautiful and fruitful tree. The darkness doesn’t always last. The sun always rises after night time. This has been my experience throughout my life and that is what I am experiencing right now. I would say that this journey to finding a new “home” in my career has been one of darkness, despair, hopelessness, and questioning myself AND GOD, but then slowly the clouds began to part and I began to see something “exploding.”
In November 2023, my journey to finding a new home for my career began. I was coming to the end of my almost 2 years at the Johns Hopkins Institute for Education Policy. Because of a budget cut in the IEP, 5 of us lost our positions. Along with everyone else, I started out applying to new positions within Johns Hopkins, but at some point I felt like God was telling me that my time there was over. He had a new assignment for me. He did not tell me where or when, but I felt within, that I was supposed to just wait.
I was finishing up a project for DCPS and the IEP asked me to stay on longer to finish, so they extended my time to February. I decided to stop applying, focus on doing my best work for DCPS, and then I would reassess my next steps. When I finished the DCPS project, I still felt like I was not supposed to apply to work any where, but instead focus on resting, running The Living Water School, caring for my family, playing with my animals, knitting, reading, playing on social media, and basically enjoying a little reprieve. I had been grinding for a LONG time….many years and my soul needed a break. I also wanted to take time to think about what would be the best new home for me. I was looking for a home that valued classically inspired K12 education, racial equity, and even if it was not a place of faith, respected my deep faith. This would be a very hard home to find, but I was determined to wait for it, until it made itself known to me. The “explosion” of hope began for me the moment I began to articulate what I wanted in a “home.” I do not just want a job. I want a “home” in my career.
This post does not hint that I KNOW where my new home should be yet. However, there are some strong possibilities happening and I am really excited. There are 3 possibilities: staying in academia, working in K12 education or focus on continuing to build my consulting company while running The Living Water School (the school will always be present because it pretty much runs itself now, but I like to make “cameo” appearances”). I do not have a clear answer of what path to take. So I am praying. I am waiting. I am resting. I am enjoying my husband and kids. I am spinning yarn. I am crocheting (finally finished that blanket for the young lady at church who had a baby). I am sleeping. I am reading. I am writing. I am traveling. I am teaching an art and culture class at The Living Water School. I am enjoying the peace that is found in leaving everything in God’s hands, while I rest and wait to see what His perfect will is. I know the path will be made clear and when it is, I will praise Him for his provision, while I waited (I lost a whole salary folks). I will praise Him for this time of rest (I have been grinding since I started my PhD in 2005, basically). I will thank Him for leading me to a new home where I can continue this work of bringing us together through bringing our human stories into conversation with the classical tradition.
Stay tuned, because I believe my new home is just around the corner and I cannot wait to tell you all about it. Wherever it is, I am full of faith that it will be amazing.
Dr. Anika T. Prather 