Yesterday, I tossed out the blog challenge. Today I received a response, complete with blog entry, from my 5th grade teacher, Art Drescher. To say that this man is a lifelong teacher and learner would be an understatement. In addition to his volunteer service at the Vietnam Memorial, he continues to serve in classrooms around the east coast, teaching and sharing his stories. Oh, and there isn't a single class of graduates from the 70s, 80s,or 90s -- and probably later than that -- that hasn't run into "Mr. D." at a class reunion at one time or other.
So, friends, on this day that started at 6 am and will end at 9 pm when the last parent exits the annual OPEN HOUSE at the high school, I am pleased to turn this page over to Mr. Drescher, allowing him to share a wisdomed retrospective of a career well lived.
See you all tomorrow!
Food for Thought and Encouragement
by Art Drescher
I am a retired elementary school
teacher who taught grades 3-6 for 36 years. Several years ago I attended the 35th
high school reunion of students who were in my first sixth grade class 45 years
ago. I knew I hadn’t seen some of the students since they left my classroom in
1965. Looking back all those years doesn’t make me feel old. I feel blessed.
After all, when I taught them I was twice their age. Now I am just 11 years
older. It’s just a matter of perspective.
The evening turned out to be one I
will never forget. I am sharing my experience with you to make you think and
also to give you hope that you can make a difference.
I Didn’t Know
This title describes two very
different feelings that dominated the evening.
When
I taught them in 1964-65 I was 22 years old and fresh out of college. There
were 35 students in the class and I knew at least 5 of them would be attending
the dinner. I wondered how they had changed over the years and what kind of
adults they had become. What would they remember and how would they remember
me? I was a bit anxious about that.
What I learned was both rewarding
and sobering at the same time. There was so much I didn’t know back then. Cheryl
and Kate were two of the students who I knew would be attending. In sixth grade
they were physical opposites. Cheryl was very overweight and had dark hair. Kate
was a thin, blond girl who would later do some modeling. I remembered each as
being happy in my class.
After dinner I spoke with each of
them individually and then together. What I didn’t know was that each had been
physically abused at home by the time they entered sixth grade. (Cheryl* by her
father and Kate* by her second step-father) Each told me stories about her home
life I couldn’t believe. I hadn’t known any of it.
Cheryl had been told I would be
attending the dinner. She gave me a book and a note for me to read after she
left the reunion. The first thing Cheryl told me was that she had been
searching for me on the internet. Again, I didn’t know. I asked Cheryl if she
would write down her thoughts for me, also. I have permission from each of them
to include their notes which follow. (Cheryl’s
note is first, followed by Kate’s letter.)
“
When you came to us right out of school we were blessed to have a teacher who
was kind and caring of his students. For one student you made a great
difference. I was a shy, fat girl in the sixth grade and just an average
student. But you made your students feel like there was nothing they could not
do or accomplish. And I for one believed you and ran with it. I would love to
say I became a professional or did something great to help the world or
graduated at the top of my class. I did none of those things. But I did pass on
what you gave me – the belief that my children can do anything or be anything
their heart desires. I must say my oldest son has gone on to become a teacher
like you and has touched the lives of some of his students like you. I am so
very proud of him. My daughter is becoming a nurse and my youngest will be
starting college this fall. I just want to thank you for helping a shy girl
know that she can help change the world by passing on what I was taught by my
special sixth grade teacher. Thank You, Cheryl.”
“ How can
you thank someone for making a difference in your life so long ago? I’ve wanted
to do that for many years to my 6th grade teacher. Finally, I got to
do that. How lucky am I? This man, this teacher, showed me and many other
students how to be accepting, and fair, and fun and compassionate, and to be a
good person by example. It was the way he handled different situations. It was
the way he paid attention to you and everyone else in the class. It was the way
he taught us about nature and life. He was not prejudiced. He was cool and interesting
and he opened our little minds to other experiences.
This is very
emotional for me. It’s been a long time that I wanted to tell him about the
impact he made. I am sure he doesn’t even know. I want him to know. All
teachers need to know the impact they could and do have on children that grow
into adults that needed a positive role model. He was that for me.
As I am
writing this, I am crying and I can’t seem to stop. But they are happy tears,
for I finally got to see him and personally tell him what he was to me. I was
so glad! I think he wanted to make a difference but did not realize how much of
one he did make. He was just being himself.
Little kids
need that positive role model in their little lives. I did. There was abuse in
my home. My life was very uprooted. I had been through a lot in my short life.
I had no positive men around me. Then came this handsome, neat, energetic
teacher with this quiet strength and his big heart. I could tell he wanted to
be a good teacher. He tried. He handled his students with respect and caring. I
remember different situations that came up with classmates. Every time he took
control, but in his way. You knew he cared. You knew he was going to take care
of things. I felt safe. He impressed me.
To this day
I recognize birds and birdcalls from the fieldtrips he took us on. How much fun
we used to have. I would tell my daughter and now my grandchildren about the
teacher that taught me all about it. Now they get interested in the nature
around them. So I am passing it on. Thank you.
I believe
kids recognize good when they see it, when they experience it. They want that
in their lives. I did. When you have a lot of bad in your life you need to be
around good to see the difference. It is so important.
Through all
the abuse in my life I single-handedly raised a wonderful daughter. I wanted to
turn it around, to make a difference. It was hard but I did it. She is a great
person with two degrees, working with abused children and is a wonderful
mother…passing it on. Life is good.
I’d like to
think we all benefit from those great teachers that everyone can look back to
their childhood and remember their contributions. I hope everyone gets to tell
them. Thank you so much. You made a difference. I hope you had a good life so
far. You deserve it. Love, Kate”.
These
letters have been very rewarding to receive after all these years. At the same
time it is also sobering. Even as adults we are attracted to others who are
attractive and outgoing. I cannot help but wonder how many shy, less
attractive, or less intelligent students I overlooked. And would I have been a
better teacher if I had received these letters a long time ago?
I did
discover that all of the students who attended the reunion that night still are
very interested in birding and remember the bird hike I took them on. How
amazing is that?
I
realize teaching is not the way it used to be, especially like the “good old
days” when I began. But won’t all of you look back some day to the “good old
days”? My wish for you is that on your
most difficult days, you will still believe you can make a difference in the
lives of at least some of your students. I know you will.
It
took 41 years for me to discover things I never knew before. Until that night I
didn’t know. Now I know. Some day you will know how important you were in the
lives of your students, too. Isn’t that why we all wanted to teach in the first
place?
*Names changed
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