Musical invite ushers in bevy of great memories
- col-dave-mast
- March 10, 2023
- 859
My wife Ann has been teaching for 36 years and still has an incredible passion for touching the lives of young children in positive ways. After that length of time, one might think it would be easy to experience burnout or be ready to move on to greener pastures, but for her, there’s something about connecting with kids in meaningful ways — not just in their academics but as individuals — that has kept her focused and inspired.
On March 1, she had the joy of realizing exactly why she does what she does.
We were blessed to be invited to the final dress rehearsal for the West Holmes High School musical presentation of “Bye Bye Birdie” by former student Aiden Piatt.
We took our seats and proceeded to watch the presentation, enjoying the performance. Suddenly, it dawned on my wife she had taught several of these students aside from Aiden. There was Jonny Shedron crooning on stage as Conrad Birdie, the heartthrob to teens everywhere. There was Addison Streer, who had us cracking up as Mae Peterson.
“Hey, I know her,” my wife said when Streer strutted out on stage.
Following the presentation, the lights came up, and the students celebrated a fantastic performance. One by one former students came over to Ann to chat. First Carolyn Miller, then came Piatt, who was beaming. Shedron came over and gave her a huge hug, then came Streer and Olivia Estill and Piatt’s younger brother Elijah.
It was at that moment Ann realized these were young adults with whom she had made an impact.
More importantly, these were young people who were coming up to her to express their gratitude that she took the extra time in second grade to do special things for them, to make their second-grade experience more enjoyable and meaningful, to help them build character.
Their joy in seeing her there was incredible, and as they posed for a photo, my wife broke down in tears.
That is the impact a teacher can have on their students, that they would remember him or her so fondly after a decade.
In his recent visit to West Holmes High School to speak to the entire district staff, Roy Hall, Jr., former Ohio State Buckeye wide receiver who played in the NFL and is now an inspirational speaker, talked about the importance of a teacher’s role in society today.
“These kids spend half their day with their teacher, so you better believe it’s a vitally important role,” Hall said. “Teachers today have a chance to make an impact as to how our children grow. It is a huge responsibility.”
Hall’s words hit home for my wife and challenged her to work even harder to be that light for the kid who is struggling or to be the inspiration for students to develop a zeal for school.
He was a blessing to her and I’m sure many other teachers who listened and gleaned from his words.
However, this singular moment, when her former students were gathered around her and fellowshipping and expressing their gratitude, sharing old times and memories, spoke volumes too.
It is oftentimes simple acts of kindness and compassion that lead to the most meaningful experiences.
I doubt that at that moment any of those young people recognized the impact their actions were making on Ann. They were simply being themselves, and that was more than enough for my wife.
But for a teacher, to have her former students express their gratitude is an amazingly beautiful thing.
Now not every former student is going to come back some day and express their thanks and recall their days in second grade as something awesome. But that’s not why my wife teaches.
She has often expressed the desire to connect with that one child who really needs it — to see growth as they start to understand and grow, not necessarily in math, science or reading, but to see them overcome difficulties in life or to see them come out of their shell and create friendships.
There’s a lot to teaching that goes beyond the books. There are lessons no new math or reading curriculum can match.
These were all her kids, and now they’re all grown up.
And on this night, seeing her former students showcasing their immense talents on stage and then taking the time to share their lives with her was more than enough to inspire her all over again.