Today we’d like to introduce you to Elizabeth Bentrup.
Hi Elizabeth, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
For 30 years, I’ve worked with students from pre-schoolers to octogenarians. I’ve been blessed by working with and learning from amazing people and teams who make me a better educator and human. I love observing the way people think and connecting ideas, and I have found that in education. My co-parent is a priest, and while we are no longer married, partnering with someone else in the business of fiercely loving other humans has made us both stronger in our vocations. I believe whole-heartedly that where I am today is a result of the fantastic humans I’ve been privileged to know.
After graduation from TCU, I spent three years at Britain Elementary in Irving ISD. When my husband’s job took us to Houston, I taught in Cypress Fairbanks ISD for six years. We moved to Alexandria, Virginia right when our oldest was starting kindergarten, so I stayed out of the classroom to learn the school system there and worked at the seminary making coffee, answering the phone, and sorting mail. I spent my days getting to know people and how higher education worked. Eventually, as an administrative coordinator in academic affairs and student life there, I got into the nitty gritty of schedules, commencement services, faculty tenure, and student life.
When we moved back to Texas, I tried out middle school English at an Episcopal school and loved it. Our Head of Lower School moved on mid-year, so I filled in for her while balancing 7th grade literature. The next year as Head of Lower School there, Hurricane Harvey hit the third day of school, and thus began an education in logistics and human need. We moved on to South Carolina, and I did some part-time work at the Episcopal Cathedral where I was introduced to The University of South Carolina. There I supervised juniors and seniors in the School of Education in their field education and coached first and second year teachers post-graduation through a phenomenal research and support program called Carolina TIP. When COVID hit, I was asked to teach an online course at the Shepherd’s Center at St. Andrew’s, and my students were Harry Potter enthusiasts in their 60’s, 70’s, and 80’s, eager to dialog about the theology they found in that franchise.
When we moved back to Dallas, a high school best friend talked me into looking into a position at ESD. I am so grateful for my campus family and the families who are now a part of my life because I listened to someone wiser than myself. In my time at ESD I was introduced to an organization called Students Shoulder-to-Shoulder, whose goal is “to help students build character and develop as ethical leaders through immersive global programs alongside inspirational changemakers.” Getting to be in conversation with like-minded educators and non-profit leaders and then walk alongside students as they ask questions about the lenses they use to see the world is such a privilege.
Lastly, since college, I have worked for the Cotton Bowl Athletic Association during the December/January bowl season. The staff there have taught me scads about hospitality, discipline, governance, and teamwork. Our ability to make experiences better for those around us is an opportunity to infuse joy into the lives of others. It can be done in any arena, so to speak,
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Like our local highways, my road of life is consistently under construction. Sometimes it’s been bumpy, sometimes it’s been smooth. Lots of detours, windy gravel paths, ups, downs, u-turns, and some opportunities to coast a little too. One of the struggles I had to learn early was how to make friends as an adult. Because our family moved around, I had lots of practice. My parents were great about giving me opportunities to engage with people of all ages while I was growing up, so I had an advantage, but making new friends was definitely an on-going opportunity for vulnerability.
In all my struggles, from the tiniest challenging student, to financial misadventures, to navigating either personal hurt or professional failure, the lesson I learned over and over was the value of compassion. There is no greater gift we can offer others in this world than presence and attention. I firmly believe that when we are truly present with the people around us, give them our full attention, we can’t help but be compassionate and offer support in another’s time of need.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I love being a teacher, but perhaps the part of that work that ripples most loudly through my being is my love of being creative. In an independent school, I am not tethered to a rigid curriculum. My colleagues and I are able to design learning experiences through novel studies, special days, guest speakers, and other less traditional opportunities to learn. It’s why I love my work with Students Shoulder-to-Shoulder as well; the learning happens in gulf marshes, Atlantic coral reefs, Puerto Rican rain forest farms, and around the dinner table.
Perhaps my most favorite foray into instructional design is our 4th grade celebration of our reading of Wendy Mass’ The Candymakers. At the conclusion of our reading, we mark off a whole day of school to celebrate. When students arrive that day, they find our 4th grade neighborhood transformed into the candy factory from the story. In our chocolate room, they get to learn more about how cacao is processed and a local chocolatier. In the marshmallow room, students experiment with 3D shapes and engineering using marshmallows and toothpicks. In the beekeeping room, students sculpt candy of their own design from beeswax and learn more about types of bees and allergies. In the cafeteria, students personalize an apron with their memories of their time in lower school. Of course each room includes a small sweet treat. Lastly, at the conclusion of the day, students open a tin full of their “secret ingredients,” traits shared by parents and teachers that we see in our children – a tangible reminder that we see their friendliness, their candor, their thoughtfulness, and their gratitude.
One thing that sets me apart from others is probably the amount of words bubbling around in my head. As a result, I do a lot of writing. Most of it is for myself, but for a while, I was an author for a blog called Grow Christians, and I write creatively with a friend of mine. In all that writing, I have the opportunity to reflect on what I’m noticing. That reflection reminds me over and over again that we make mistakes regularly, shows me the parts of life I value the most because it keeps coming up, and helps me connect people, ideas, and opportunities, that I might miss otherwise.
Risk taking is a topic that people have widely differing views on – we’d love to hear your thoughts.
I think risk taking is an essential part of living life fully. Naturally in life, I have had periods when I have felt immense amounts of fear. At a couple of points in life, I (and my therapist) have labeled those feelings as social anxiety. That level of anxiety is paralyzing. But when I am in part of my life where and when I am living true to how I feel and who I think I am, that anxiety fades away, and the risk becomes just that: risk, and a little challenge. It comes down to the “why.” I have found the social anxiety comes in when my why is based on someone else or what someone else might think or some “should” that has surfaced culturally, rather than my own intuition.
For example, moving around as a family was a risk. It’s also expensive. If we hadn’t made those moves, we wouldn’t have broadened our world view, met amazing people with stories different from our own, and gained a little adulting knowledge we may not have gained if we stayed close to home.
Trusting my teenagers feels like a risk. My just-barely 18-year old is traveling the country for his second summer with Drum Corps International. I miss him terribly, but he is living his best life and now learning from the way of life and wonderful people he’s traveling with. He’s at his happiest in the color guard, and when we are our happiest, we are most open to learning. My 16-year-old is in Peru learning about ecosystem conservation and eco-tourism. I’m not sure if this or his first few independent drives with his drivers license felt more like a risk, but risk is how he and we grow.
One of the greatest risks I take regularly is being honest with families when their students are struggling. Honesty is HARD when you know you may disappoint or even offend someone. Sharing information about student progress when you’re talking to people who value little if anything more than their child is scary. But the risk is critical. Clear is kind, and being direct is a service.
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