Have you ever had a favorite teacher? Thinking back to my years in school, I can remember all of my teachers....every name and every grade. It's just one of those things I remember, kind of like birthdays, I guess. But, there was one teacher in particular who had a reputation, that she lived up to quite well, as being one of the meanest and strictest teachers in the school. Little did I know, the summer before my second grade year, when I found out that she was going to be my teacher, that she would, to this day leave an imprint on my life.
Mrs. Lasley was probably in her late thirties when I had her as my teacher. Of course, then I thought she was old - now that I myself am in my late thirties, I of course know better :) She had a certain look that she gave when she was upset or irritated at you, and the goal was to never get that look. However, being an 8 year old kid, sometimes you got the look no matter how hard you tried.
It was in December, of my second grade year, that I saw a different side to Mrs. Lasley. We were preparing to do a Christmas program at the school, (when you could still sing Christmas songs) and we were going to sing "Silent Night". She started telling us about her life growing up, and how both of her parents were deaf, due to a horse accident. Being unable to speak to her parents with her voice, she became very fluent in sign language, and that was how we were going to sing our song that year at the Christmas program...with our hands.
On the day of the program, after we performed Silent Night in sign language, we were in our class having a party. It was afterall, the last day of school before Christmas break. Suddenly she sat us all down, and had began taking small beautiful wooden ornaments out of a bag. Each one had our name on it, her name on it, and the date - 1981. She had carved and polished each one by hand, and wanted us to take them home and hang them on our tree...it was a gift. This teacher, who was known for being strict and mean, had made an impact on my heart, right then in that classroom . I never looked at her the same.
Though I still got in trouble that year, and had to put my head on my desk or do an extra assignment here and there, I always loved Mrs. Lasley. It wasn't that the gift she gave was elaborate, or that learning sign language has been a big part of my life. It was the spirit in which she was giving those things to us. It was from a pure heart, out of love, from a teacher, to her students. It impacted me. To this day, I still hang that star ornament on my tree every year.
I want to leave you with two questions. Who are the unexpected people in your life who have made a difference in one way or another? Maybe it was a teacher who believed in you when nobody else did, or a friend or relative that was just always there. Possibly it was a complete stranger that helped you in a time of need, or a nurse or doctor who made you feel like everything was going to be alright. The other question is, Who have you been there for? Are we looking for ways everyday to make an impact on the people we love or even complete strangers?
Through unexpected people many times come unexpected blessings.
I thought this morning about that very thing a teacher I had that was out of the ordinary... He looked at learning with the eyes of the forth grade class he was teaching, Mr Kudrna always found a way to make learning interesting to those of us who... shall we say... were sometimes focus challenged. As I look back I think his teaching style influenced my homeschooling style.
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