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Flowers from a Teacher - August 29, 2007
The handwriting on the envelope attached to the flowers looked familiar in the nearly perfect script of an English teacher.
Now, over the years I had sent (or taken, myself, in my childhood) many foil-scrunched bouquets of flowers to teachers. And I'd probably even borne candy at times.
But I had never ever received flowers or candy from a teacher. Have you?
My benefactor was one of my high school English teachers and it was probably one of the sweetest Mother's Day gifts I've been given, coming so unexpectedly. It just happened to be Mother's Day when I was visiting the congregation of my former school teacher (and yes, she is now elderly, although not old that way). She greeted me after the service bearing a small bouquet of lilies of the valley (did she know they are one of my very favorite flowers?), a small rose, and a small tin of homemade English toffee exactly like my grandmother used to make.
But her note was what really caught my breath, saying, "You are one of my joys from Bethany. I'm proud of you!"
In a follow-up e-mail to one of fellow church members, I asked for this teacher's home mailing address so I could send a thank you note. The church member e-mailed back, "We appreciate Florence Hoover also, very much. She is such a ray of sunshine--an infectious laugh and straightforward and honest opinions about everything."
Now, high school students can be pretty mean to high school English teachers. I'm sure I didn't appreciate Miss Hoover as much as I should have at the time, but she was one who helped shape me regardless: giving uplifting feedback on papers and complimenting me which was the boost I needed to keep going in the direction of writing as a career. Her handwriting on the card brought to mind her notes of praise and critique on papers handed in long ago.
Almost 4 million teachers in the U.S. have already headed back to school this fall in public and private elementary, middle and high schools (Bureau of Labor Statistics). There are about 300,000 similar teachers in Canada. Teaching is a career that, while it is still held in high esteem, offers more in relationships built and intangible rewards than pay, prestige, glamour or awards. Some of these teachers are the very best: men and women who work hard for long hours and low pay. Some teachers, let's admit, are not very good and would be doing themselves, their students and the whole community a favor if they woke up and realized that teaching wasn't working for them. Many are in the vast middle--teachers doing a good job, day in and day out. Today the fears and stresses that accompany the job are enough to scare many fine teachers away.
On that same trip, it just happened that a retirement open house for another teacher from that private school was being held. Dan Bodiker, a coach and athletic director at Bethany Christian in Goshen, Ind., was also one of our class sponsors. To give you an insight into the quality of this teacher's life, both in school, on the court and at home, his son, in a tribute said, "I never heard my father use profanity." Ever. That spun my head around. Of course Christians are not supposed to cuss, but most of us do from time to time. For a son to say that about his father was just very inspirational. And a coach, too!
My hat is off to the many, many fine teachers I've encountered over the years. I am probably even more grateful for the teachers my children encountered in elementary, middle and high school in their public schools. They were top notch: Ms. Tate, Ms. Hiney, Ms. Leach, Mr. Hershey, Mr. Guengerich, Ms. Showalter, Ms. Proctor, Ms. Wenger, Mr. Galt, Mr. Bodiker, Ms. Hoover--I run the risk of omitting some very special teacher's name in this short listing. What made these teachers top notch were their care for the individual student and person, their creativity, and their love of teaching. That they were masters of their subjects goes without saying, but the best teachers love their jobs. Period. So, if you love your job, love your students and know your topic, you are probably doing a great job. We as a collective public owe you a huge debt of thanks. Here are some flowers for all of you!
Contributed by Melodie Davis: [email protected] Melodie is the author of eight books and writes a syndicated newspaper column, Another Way
The handwriting on the envelope attached to the flowers looked familiar in the nearly perfect script of an English teacher.
Now, over the years I had sent (or taken, myself, in my childhood) many foil-scrunched bouquets of flowers to teachers. And I'd probably even borne candy at times.
But I had never ever received flowers or candy from a teacher. Have you?
My benefactor was one of my high school English teachers and it was probably one of the sweetest Mother's Day gifts I've been given, coming so unexpectedly. It just happened to be Mother's Day when I was visiting the congregation of my former school teacher (and yes, she is now elderly, although not old that way). She greeted me after the service bearing a small bouquet of lilies of the valley (did she know they are one of my very favorite flowers?), a small rose, and a small tin of homemade English toffee exactly like my grandmother used to make.
But her note was what really caught my breath, saying, "You are one of my joys from Bethany. I'm proud of you!"
In a follow-up e-mail to one of fellow church members, I asked for this teacher's home mailing address so I could send a thank you note. The church member e-mailed back, "We appreciate Florence Hoover also, very much. She is such a ray of sunshine--an infectious laugh and straightforward and honest opinions about everything."
Now, high school students can be pretty mean to high school English teachers. I'm sure I didn't appreciate Miss Hoover as much as I should have at the time, but she was one who helped shape me regardless: giving uplifting feedback on papers and complimenting me which was the boost I needed to keep going in the direction of writing as a career. Her handwriting on the card brought to mind her notes of praise and critique on papers handed in long ago.
Almost 4 million teachers in the U.S. have already headed back to school this fall in public and private elementary, middle and high schools (Bureau of Labor Statistics). There are about 300,000 similar teachers in Canada. Teaching is a career that, while it is still held in high esteem, offers more in relationships built and intangible rewards than pay, prestige, glamour or awards. Some of these teachers are the very best: men and women who work hard for long hours and low pay. Some teachers, let's admit, are not very good and would be doing themselves, their students and the whole community a favor if they woke up and realized that teaching wasn't working for them. Many are in the vast middle--teachers doing a good job, day in and day out. Today the fears and stresses that accompany the job are enough to scare many fine teachers away.
On that same trip, it just happened that a retirement open house for another teacher from that private school was being held. Dan Bodiker, a coach and athletic director at Bethany Christian in Goshen, Ind., was also one of our class sponsors. To give you an insight into the quality of this teacher's life, both in school, on the court and at home, his son, in a tribute said, "I never heard my father use profanity." Ever. That spun my head around. Of course Christians are not supposed to cuss, but most of us do from time to time. For a son to say that about his father was just very inspirational. And a coach, too!
My hat is off to the many, many fine teachers I've encountered over the years. I am probably even more grateful for the teachers my children encountered in elementary, middle and high school in their public schools. They were top notch: Ms. Tate, Ms. Hiney, Ms. Leach, Mr. Hershey, Mr. Guengerich, Ms. Showalter, Ms. Proctor, Ms. Wenger, Mr. Galt, Mr. Bodiker, Ms. Hoover--I run the risk of omitting some very special teacher's name in this short listing. What made these teachers top notch were their care for the individual student and person, their creativity, and their love of teaching. That they were masters of their subjects goes without saying, but the best teachers love their jobs. Period. So, if you love your job, love your students and know your topic, you are probably doing a great job. We as a collective public owe you a huge debt of thanks. Here are some flowers for all of you!
Contributed by Melodie Davis: [email protected] Melodie is the author of eight books and writes a syndicated newspaper column, Another Way
