God Appointed Authorities – By Phoenix Rising
Let me tell you something that every Haitian mama knows but might not say out loud: the road from the classroom to the cell block is shorter than you think, and it often starts with how we treat the teachers God places in our children’s paths.
I’m writing this from a place I never imagined I’d be – behind bars, watching my two babies grow up through video calls and weekend visits. My name is Phoenix Rising, and at 26, I’m learning lessons I wish I’d understood when I was sitting in those plastic chairs for parent teacher conferences, rolling my eyes when Ms. Johnson called home about my oldest acting up in class.
Growing up in a Haitian household, our motto was sacred: “Lekol, Legliz, ak Lakay” – School, Church, and Home. Those were the only three places you could go without prior permission; otherwise, you’d find Manman waiting outside with la savate (and trust me, Haitian mothers don’t miss when they aim that slipper). What I didn’t fully grasp then was that this wasn’t just about control – it was about recognizing God’s order of authority in our lives.
God’s Chain of Command: More Than Just a Suggestion
Romans 13:1-5 tells us: “Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. God has established the authorities that exist. Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience.”
Now, I know what some of y’all are thinking: “Phoenix, that’s talking about government authorities, not Mrs. Thompson, who teaches third grade.” But hear me out. God establishes order in every sphere of life, and teachers are His appointed authorities in the educational realm. They’re not just there to teach ABCs and times tables – they’re there to shape character, instill discipline, and prepare our children for life in a world that demands respect for legitimate authority.
When we teach our children to disrespect their teachers, we’re not just undermining education – we’re teaching them to rebel against God’s established order. And baby, let me tell you where that road leads.
School: Your Child’s Second Home (Whether You Like It or Not)
School really is a child’s second home, and the math is simple but sobering. Children spend at least 8 hours a day at school. After 3 PM pickup and the usual dinner, bath, homework routine, most school-aged children (10 and under) are in bed by 8:30. That means from Monday through Friday, parents really have about 3-4 hours of quality time with their children each day. Weekends should be dedicated to family time because, honestly, that’s all we really get.
This reality hit me hard when I realized that my children’s teachers were spending more waking hours with them than I was. These weren’t just educators – they were daily influences, character shapers, and yes, God’s appointed authorities in my children’s lives for a significant portion of their week.
The Haitian in me wanted to maintain that “I’m the only authority my child needs to respect” mentality, but prison has a way of giving you clarity. When your child spends more time with their teacher than with you, that teacher better be someone you can trust to reinforce the values you’re trying to instill at home.
Teachers: The Unsung Heroes We Often Don’t Deserve
“Let’s keep it a buck” – teachers dedicate their lives to educating and nurturing young minds, often with little appreciation and even less pay. They deal with a classroom full of children from diverse backgrounds, with different learning styles, behavioral challenges, and, yes, varying levels of home training. And they do this while parents like me (the old me) sometimes treated them like overpaid babysitters instead of the God-appointed authorities they actually are.
Surprisingly, I didn’t have significant issues with my teachers during my school years. School was actually my escape from street life and home drama. It was the one place where structure made sense, where effort was rewarded, and where someone cared enough to correct me when I was wrong. Looking back, those teachers were preparing me for life in ways my chaotic home environment couldn’t.
But somewhere between being a student and becoming a parent, I lost that perspective. I started seeing teacher conferences as interruptions instead of interventions. I started viewing their concerns about my children’s behavior as attacks on my parenting instead of attempts to partner with me in raising responsible human beings.
The School Selection Process: More Than Test Scores
When choosing a school for our little people, it can’t just be about providing them with the best education, though that’s important. We need to be evaluating the people who will be around our children just as much as we focus on testing scores and academic rankings.
An A+ school rating means absolutely nothing if your child’s teacher scolds them instead of motivating them when they get an answer wrong. It means nothing if the staff doesn’t understand or respect your cultural background. And it definitely means nothing if the environment doesn’t reinforce the values you’re trying to instill at home.
But here’s what I learned too late: we also need to evaluate ourselves as parents. Are we preparing our children to receive instruction and correction from their teachers? Are we teaching them that these adults deserve respect, even when they’re not perfect? Are we modeling the kind of partnership with educators that sets our children up for success?
Classmates: The Friends Who Shape Your Child’s Future
Let’s talk about those classmates who will soon become “friends.” In my Haitian household, friendship was monitored with the intensity of FBI surveillance. Manman would interrogate me about every child I mentioned: “Ki kote yo rete? Ki jan manman yo ye? Eske yo ale legliz?” (Where do they live? What are their parents like? Do they go to church?)
At the time, I thought she was being extra. Now I realize she understood something crucial: your child’s classmates will influence their character, their choices, and ultimately their destiny. The kids your child sits with at lunch, plays with at recess, and collaborates with on projects are shaping their worldview in ways that will impact them for years.
This is why school choice matters beyond academics. You’re not just choosing an education; you’re selecting a peer group. You’re choosing the social environment where your child will learn about friendship, conflict resolution, and social dynamics.
When Correction Officers Become the Teachers
Here’s the hard truth that nobody wants to talk about: if your child doesn’t learn to respect and respond appropriately to their teachers, they’ll eventually encounter correction officers who serve as much harsher versions of the same role.
Consider this – both teachers and correction officers are authority figures appointed to maintain order and facilitate learning (yes, even in prison, the goal is supposed to be rehabilitation and education). Both sets of rules enforce consequences and attempt to guide behavior. The difference is in the environment and the severity of consequences.
In school: “Please take your seat and pay attention.”
In prison: “Get on the ground NOW or face additional charges.”
In school: “You need to complete this assignment to pass the class.”
In prison: “You need to follow these rules to avoid solitary confinement.”
The underlying principle remains the same – authority figures are in place to maintain order and facilitate growth. However, when children fail to learn to respect the gentler authority of teachers, they often end up learning from the harsher authority of the corrections system.
I’ve seen it happen repeatedly in here. Women who talk about how they “never respected any teacher” or “always fought the system” in school. Guess what? The system always wins eventually, and the lessons become much more expensive when you’re learning them from correction officers instead of classroom teachers.
The Pipeline: From Classroom Defiance to Cell Block
The school-to-prison pipeline is real, and it often starts with small acts of rebellion against educational authority that get reinforced rather than corrected at home. When parents automatically side with their children against teachers without understanding the whole situation, we’re teaching our kids that authority is optional and that respect is only required at home.
Here’s what that progression often looks like:
Elementary school: Child acts out in class, parent blames the teacher or makes excuses Middle school: Defiant behavior escalates, multiple teacher complaints, and the parent continues to defend the child
High school: Truancy increases, academic performance drops, and authority conflicts become the norm
Post-graduation: Difficulty maintaining employment due to authority issues, increased risk of legal troubles
Each stage represents a missed opportunity for correction and growth. Each time we excuse disrespectful behavior toward teachers, we contribute to a pattern that becomes increasingly difficult to break.
Cultural Context: Respecting Authority the Haitian Way
In Haitian culture, respect for authority isn’t just a cultural phenomenon – it is also biblical and practical. Our parents understood that in a world where we already faced additional challenges due to language barriers, economic struggles, and cultural differences, we couldn’t afford to also have reputations for disrespecting authority figures.
“Yo ap gade nou deja” (They’re already watching us), Manman would say. She knew that, as immigrants, people of color, and individuals trying to build better lives, we were already under scrutiny. Disrespecting teachers or other authority figures would only make our journey harder.
This wasn’t about being subservient – it was about being strategic. She taught us that you can disagree respectfully, advocate for yourself appropriately, and still maintain the respect that opens doors rather than closing them.
The Humor in Hard Lessons
Now, let me add some levity to this heavy topic, because if I can’t laugh from where I’m sitting, when can I laugh?
Y’all remember that Haitian mama who would show up to school in her house slippers and headscarf when you acted up? The one who would switch between Creole and English mid sentence while reading you for filth in front of your whole class? “Sa w ap fe la a, foolishness! Mwen pa voye ou nan lekol pou ou ap joke ak moun yo!”
That embarrassment was nothing compared to having your mama show up to parent-teacher conferences with backup – your grandmother, your aunt, and your godmother – ready to form a tribunal of accountability. By the time they finished with you, you’d rather face any teacher’s correction than deal with the collective disappointment of the Haitian mama squad.
But here’s what’s funny in hindsight: those same dramatic interventions taught us that education was serious business, that teachers deserved respect, and that acting up in school had consequences that extended far beyond the classroom.
Prison Teachers: The Irony of Late Lessons
The irony of my situation isn’t lost on me. Here I am in prison, finally appreciating the teachers who tried to keep me out of here. The GED instructors, the vocational training teachers, the counselors who facilitate our rehabilitation programs – they’re doing the same work that my elementary school teachers were doing, just with higher stakes and a more challenging audience.
These prison educators are still God’s appointed authorities, still trying to shape minds and change lives. The difference is that now the students (me included) are paying a much higher price for the lessons we should have learned in regular classrooms.
Mrs. Davis, my current GED instructor, reminds me a lot of Mrs. Peterson from my fifth-grade class. The same patience, the same dedication, the same belief that education can change lives. The only difference is that Mrs. Peterson was trying to prevent futures like mine, while Mrs. Davis is trying to salvage what’s left of them.
Teaching Our Children: Practical Applications
So how do we break this cycle? How do we teach our children to respect teachers while still advocating for themselves? Here are some strategies that I wish I’d implemented:
Before the School Year Starts:
– Have conversations about the role of teachers as God-appointed authorities – Explain that teachers are partners in their education, not enemies
– Set expectations for classroom behavior and teacher interactions
During the School Year:
– Regularly ask about their teachers (not just about grades, but about relationships) – Address any disrespectful attitudes toward teachers immediately
– Support teachers’ classroom rules and consequences at home
– Attend parent-teacher conferences as partnerships, not confrontations
When Problems Arise:
– Listen to your child’s concerns without immediately taking sides
– Contact the teacher to get their perspective before drawing conclusions
– Work collaboratively to address issues rather than defensively
– Use conflicts as teaching moments of respect and problem-solving
The Biblical Model: Jesus and Authority
Even Jesus, who had every right to challenge earthly authority, showed us the proper way to handle authority figures. When questioned by teachers of the law, He responded respectfully while still maintaining His convictions. When brought before Pontius Pilate, He answered appropriately while never compromising His mission.
Our children can learn to advocate for themselves, ask questions, and even disagree with teachers while still maintaining respect for their position and authority. This isn’t about creating passive children – it’s about creating respectful ones who understand how to navigate systems successfully.
The Long View: Preparing Children for Life
Ultimately, teaching our children to respect their teachers is about more than just academic success – it’s about preparing them for life in a world full of authority structures. Whether it’s bosses, police officers, judges, or government officials, our children will encounter authority throughout their lives. How they learned to handle their first real authority figures (their teachers) will largely determine how successfully they navigate these future relationships.
From my current vantage point, I can see how the women who learned to work with authority figures rather than against them are the ones who succeed both in prison and after release. They know how to communicate respectfully with corrections staff, follow institutional rules without losing their dignity, and participate in programs that actually help them grow.
A Mother’s Message from Behind Bars
To every parent reading this, especially my Caribbean and Haitian parents who understand the value of education: don’t wait until your child is learning from correction officers to teach them
about respecting authority. Don’t wait until they’re sitting in a cell to realize that teachers were trying to save them from this fate.
Support your children’s teachers and partner with them. Attend conferences, volunteer when possible, and demonstrate that you value education and the individuals who provide it. When your child sees you respecting their teachers, they’ll learn to do the same.
And to my babies, who will hopefully read this someday: Mommy made mistakes, but you don’t have to repeat them. Listen to your teachers. Learn from them. Let them help you become everything I know you can be. Don’t let pride, stubbornness, or misplaced loyalty lead you down the path that brought me here.
The road from the teacher’s classroom to the correction officer’s supervision is one-way, and the lessons get much harder along the way. Choose to learn from God’s appointed authorities while the consequences are still manageable and the love is still gentle.
Remember: “Lekol, Legliz, ak Lakay” – but most importantly, remember that God places authorities in each of these spaces for your good, even when it doesn’t feel that way.
Phoenix Rising is a 26-year-old mother of two, currently serving time while working toward a bachelor’s degree in psychology and advocating for educational programs in correctional facilities. She writes about parenting, authority, and second chances from a perspective she never thought she would have. This piece is dedicated to her children and to every teacher who tried to make a difference.