Teachers can make a difference

Hope A. Smith
Published: May 29, 2008

Yes, it’s that time of year when schoolkids start getting the “short-timer’s syndrome.”

Short-timer’s syndrome is, by my definition, the time when students are “so over” the school year that their schoolwork is almost an afterthought. Seniors know it as “senioritis.”

It’s also the time of year to reflect on all we’ve learned and to show appreciation to our teachers. Teachers lay the foundation for some of the knowledge we’ll use for the rest of our lives. But they teach us so much more than book knowledge. Unknowingly, we’re taught social lessons and real- life lessons.

Henry Adams once said, “A teacher affects eternity; he can never tell where his influence stops.”

Just like students, teachers can be classified in so many ways. There’s the cool teacher who catches up on the current happenings with the kids, all the while sitting on his or her desk, legs dangling. This is the teacher who makes you comfortable enough you can come to them when you have a problem you can’t communicate to anyone else.
Roy Hall, my 11th-grade history teacher, was a cool teacher — he was also an excellent teacher who made learning fun. Every Friday, we’d play “Current Events Jeopardy” where Mr. Hall would write categories on the chalkboard with questions below them. We’d split into two teams and have a great time while learning and retaining important information on the state of our country in 1987.

Remember the one teacher all the upper classmen warned you about? “Wow, I hope you don’t get Mrs. So-and-So for chemistry. She’s so strict!” Guess what? I got Mrs. So-and-So for chemistry. Yes, she was strict, but thanks to her, I maintained a B average.

It wasn’t until the end of that year that I realized what an incredible teacher she was. She was always willing to help the students, as long as they were serious about learning. She had no patience for insolence, like my good friend Mike, who sat behind me. His goal in chemistry class was to see just how low of a grade he could get.

Don’t get me wrong: Mike was a great guy, he just didn’t dig chemistry, except for the lab part.

Then, there are the teachers who recognize kids that truly have the desire to excel. Teachers who will write recommendation letters to colleges and complete applications for scholarships.

Charles Smith, one of the business teachers at Broad Run High School, was one of these. He realized something within me that I didn’t see. Mr. Smith approached me to ask if I would consider applying for a scholarship to Washington Business School. Thinking it would actually come to fruition was a doubt of mine, but I believed Mr. Smith and completed the application and all the essays that it required.

Guess what? I got that scholarship, thanks to Mr. Smith, a teacher who believed in me and pushed me to reach within to achieve something he knew I was capable of.

Some teachers — thankfully most of mine with a few exceptions — truly teach from the heart.

My fourth-grade teacher and I still exchange Christmas cards, and each year I thank her for the education she gave me. At our high school reunion, I would love nothing more than to see a lot of our teachers attend so that, as adults, we can truly show them our appreciation!

As our children start school and we meet their teachers, we’re moved to show those teachers our appreciation. We know what it takes to raise our kids, and to educate them is a completely different task. They have a classroom of 15 to 20 different personalities and attention levels with which to work. Sometimes we cant get one of those children to give us full attention, much less a classroom!

In talking with other parents, we can only assume that our kids’ fifth-grade teacher at Grymes, Wendy McClellan, must have the patience of Job. Thank you, Mrs. McClellan, for helping my child and instilling in her a fine education, something that can never be taken away from her. You make the world a better place!

Hope A. Smith is an independent columnist and resident of Orange County. Her column appears on Friday.
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