One God, Two Voices
An inspirational, faith-based guide to raising the next generation of leaders—based on the real-life experiences of two amazing educators.
Hailing from the hills of West Virginia and the ghettos of New York City, two teachers—one an older Caucasian and the other a younger African American—somehow find each other in the halls of a middle school in Hampton, VA. Becoming the best of friends, Deidre Hester and Sue Whited join together to educate their eighth-grade students in curriculum and life.
One God Two Voices comes from their hearts as they speak to teachers, parents, students, and the world at-large on diverse topics, such as the racial divide (from the O.J. Simpson trial to the tragic deaths of Trayvon Martin and Michael Brown), repeating history, “acting white,” and the reality of being a teacher while maintaining your integrity, sanity, and sense of humor.
From the tragic shooting death of a student who had sung Boyz II Men’s version of “It’s So Hard to Say Good-bye to Yesterday” in the eighth-grade talent show to the guidelines for setting a model of leadership in the classroom, One God Two Voices weaves together the authors’ unique and personal teaching experiences to create an inspirational tapestry of faith and education. In this updated version of their 2004 title For Such A Time As This . . . We Are But Small Voices, Hester and Whited make a difference for today—and the future.
Deidre Hester, Sue Whited
Deidre Boone Hester holds professional certifications as a secondary English teacher and a guidance counselor with the Florida Association of Christian Colleges and Schools, Inc., and began her career as an educator in 1985. She has taught in public and private schools in Charlotte, North Carolina; Killeen, Texas; Newport News, Hampton, and Suffolk, Virginia; Gates County, North Carolina; Yokosuka, Japan; and in Jacksonville, Florida, where she resides with her family since her husband’s retirement from the United States Navy. She and her husband of twenty-seven years are active in ministry at The Potter’s House International Ministries, where Deidre continues to serve students at The Potter’s House Christian Academy as well as helps with the food, clothing, and discipleship ministry of their church.Sue E. Whited experienced life as a military wife for twenty years before her husband retired from the United States Air Force in Hampton Roads, Virginia, where she completed her bachelor’s degree in Middle School and Gifted Education at Christopher Newport College (now University). She worked and taught at three middle schools in Hampton, Virginia, for twenty-fours years while growing in her Christian faith at Liberty Baptist Church. Her retirement from the classroom led to a home in the “Whited Woods” of rural Washington, West Virginia, with her husband of nearly fifty years, and becoming involved in the music, food pantry, and children’s ministries of Fairlawn Baptist Church in Parkersburg, West Virginia.
