August/September 2013 - Inspired Woman Magazine

Kirsten BaeslerHow Are the Children?by Deb SeminarySuperintendent of Public InstructionKirsten Baesler is a Class B girl andproud of it. Growing up in Flasher,North Dakota, the youngest of sevenchildren, she knew it wasn’t a questionof ‘if’ she and her siblings gave backto their community, state or country,it was ‘how could they best serve.’“My mother and father were, in myopinion, the perfect parents,” she said.“They were servant leaders before theterm was coined. Both of them werevery involved in their community, so Ilearned by example. I knew that had tobe part of the purpose in my life.”Baesler originally wanted to go tocollege to become a lawyer, but herlife changed direction early in her adultlife when she became a young wifeand mother. It soon became apparentthat the well-being and care ofchildren were her passion. “My ownchildren were, and remain, my motivationand inspiration for what I do,”she explained. “As a young mother Iwanted my children to have someonethey could trust, rely and depend onto have their best interests in mind. AsI grew in my desire to be that kind ofmom, I realized every child deservedto have somebody like that, someonewho would support them and provideresources for them so they could besuccessful.”She was conflicted in those earlyyears, trying to balance career andfamily. Then Baesler read a book thattalked about having things in your lifethat were complementary. If they werecomplementary, they wouldn’t conflictso much and that’s when she recognizedher purpose was to dedicate herlife to the education of children.She went back to school to get herelementary education degree, andwent back again to become a librarymedia specialist. “Then I went back toschool and got my Master’s Degreein Education,” said Baesler. “I haveserved as a teacher, library media specialistand assistant principal. Duringthat entire time I was always involvedin my community, whether it was thePTO, Boy Scouts, church youth groupleader, or the Mandan School Board.All of those things complemented eachother. Being a parent made me a betterteacher, and being a teacher made mea better vice principal, being a schoolboard member made me a better viceprincipal, teacher, parent and all ofthose made me a better mom. It wasall interconnected.”While she was on the school board,she realized how important it wasto create good policy that impactswhat happens in the classrooms andschools. “I spent that time learning andgrowing and really preparing myself, Ithink, for this job,” she said. “I take thisjob very seriously. My children were mymotivation for the beginning of my journeyand remain my inspiration, but ALLchildren deserve to have that advocatefor them. The children are my constituents,they are the people I serve.But they can’t vote or organize to hirea lobbyist. I am their voice. The K-12students of North Dakota need me torepresent and support them.”Educational PhilosophyBaesler shared a story which helpsexplain her educational philosophy:“The Masai Tribe is centuries old. Theyare the most famous, fiercest tribe inall of Africa. Their traditional greetingtranslates to, ‘And how are the children?’Every person in the village greetseach other with these words. And thetraditional response translates to, ‘Allthe children are well.’ That surprisesa lot of people, given the warrior-likenature of the tribe. But the reason theygreet each other that way, is that it isthe central core of what they stand for.If all the children are well, the defensesare strong, there is enough food in storageand there is no sickness or death inthe village.”When she came to the Departmentof Public Instruction, she shared withher team that is the culture she wantsto create. “Every decision needs tocome down to, ‘And how are thechildren?’”She also talked about an experiencethat taught her many things:One of Kirsten’s favorite sayings . . .“Be kinder than necessary to everyone you meet, because you haveno idea what journey they are on and what troubles they face.”AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2013 ■ INSPIRED WOMAN 7