essayist Joan SkibaEach week, we’ll hear a new This I Believe essay – this week by Joan Skiba. As a young military brat, she was intensely patriotic. Growing up, our beliefs are often shaped by our parents. But as we get older, those beliefs usually change. For Skiba moving out into the world didn’t change the belief she learned in her family so much as it changed how she lived out her belief. She decided that part of being patriotic involves questioning her government’s decisions. After four years in the military (including a 16-month tour in Vietnam as a combat nurse) and more than 20 years in emergency medicine, Joan Skiba went back to school to become an elementary school teacher. She says her goal is to impress upon her young students the importance of critical thinking and the value of knowing, not simply believing.
Click here to read a transcript and to listen to the audio of her This I Believe essay.
Click here for guidelines to submit your own statement of beliefs.