Trusting in ourselves and in others can be a challenge. Many of us struggle with the concept of trust for a whole host of reasons. Some are related to childhood or a pattern of feeling as though we've misplaced trust. Other people have a hard time with trust issues because they've yet to unlock the key to learning how to develop self-trust.

Cassandra Pawling, a culinary arts teacher at Desert Pines High School in Las Vegas, has noticed that it’s the stressors outside the classroom that have created internal conflict for her much more than the day-to-day stress of teaching.

As educators, it's this uncertainty that is driving so much of the stress. Educators work well within systems and rules-based environments. They enjoy routines and understand the language of rigid regulations. Uncertainty throws a wrench into carefully laid plans.

Dockter-Rozar sees this upheaval as an opportunity for educators to chart a course toward meaningful change. “Education may be broken,” she says, “But the universe is providing an opening for us to rebuild. In many ways, this is a perfect opportunity.”

Emotional intelligence, also known as emotional quotient, or EQ, seems simple enough on its face. It's the ability to process and manage your emotions, as well as those of the people around you. Easy right? Not so fast.

Curriculums based around skill development at the expense—disregard, even—of knowledge have failed. They’ve led to kids “drawing clowns” when they should be “drawing conclusions,” unable to recognize the more sophisticated word “conclusions” or to engage with a different definition of the word “draw.”

To be an educator means to perform courageous acts on a daily basis. It takes heroism to break free from the status quo—not only to question a failing system but to dig deep and resolve to change it through sheer will and determination.

Those who have dedicated their talents and energies to the field of education understand this need fundamentally. Call it a passion, a gift, or a skill, but the fact is, educators change lives by answering the call for learning, inside and outside the classroom.