There is actually a tie for this. There were plenty of influential teachers who
were amazing at their craft and their impact on my life was felt. From English teachers to History to Coaches to band directors,
but there were 2 that impacted me far more than the others.
First was my third grade teacher, Mrs. Aycock. Now let me set the scene. When I was in third grade I went to Paul Keyes
Elementary. At the time this was an
upper middle class area of Irving and the school population was 99% white. There were 3 other Mexican kids in the Third
grade. Raul and Leticia Sosa and Joseph
Castro. Raul and Leticia did not speak English
and me and Joseph did not speak Spanish.
They made us sit in the back of the class when we first started. At lunch we had to wait at the back of the
line because we were on government assisted lunch programs so they wanted the
paying kids to get the hot meals. We sat
at a separate table as well. I didn’t
know what or why but that is how it was.
I have talked about this all before but me and my brother
were latch key kids. We walked home from
school and fed ourselves and stayed until our mom got home from work. Our dad was not really around at all and did
not pay child support so we did not have much.
We did not have good clothes and I was a dirty stinky kid. I had friends
and all but I was not all amazing as I am today. Ha.
I remember it was close to the Christmas Break and the
school was going to take all of us to see a play that was being put on by the
drama department at MacArthur High School.
Looking back, those kids seemed like old adults. The school sent home
permission slips and requested that the students be in dressy clothes. Sunday
Church stuff. I didn’t have clothes like
that but my mom dressed me as best as could be afforded. I remember getting to the school and the boys
were dressed up and the girls were in dresses and there I am with ratty jeans
with frog knee patched sewed on them. I was a hot mess.
One of the biggest things was getting to sit with the
teacher. Back then it was a honor and kids
who sat with the teacher were treated like they were the shit.
One thing about Mrs. Aycock was that she was a caring
woman. I never felt like she felt sorry
for me. I was a good student and
smart. She put me in class lead type
roles like being in charge of games and stuff.
The play was about to start and everyone was wondering who
was going to get to sit by the teacher.
In shocking fashion, I was selected.
At the time I did not know why but I believe she understood where I was
at in that world. She knew the play and
I believe she wanted to make a point.
The play was a similar story to The Little Drummer Boy. It was about the 3 Kings and one of their
stops while they were following the star.
They came upon a village full of people in fancy clothes and money with
the exception of one family. It was a
poor family with a crippled little boy who walked with a crutch. The 3 Kings told their story to the people
about why they were taking these expensive gifts to the new born King. The poor family had nothing to give but the
boy spoke to the Kings and said all that he owned was his crutch. He said he wanted them to take it to the new
King so if he ended up crippled, he would have a crutch. His gesture was recognized by the Kings and
they told the boy that his gift was the greatest of all because it was
everything the kid had. As the kid left
the Kings without his crutch, he fell to the ground. The Kings told him that if he had faith, he
would never need a crutch again. The boy
then rose to his feet and was healed.
Show ended. Kids clapped, the
adults were teary eyed. I didn’t get it.
As we boarded the bus, Mrs. Aycock told me to sit next to
her. Once again, I was the cat’s meow to the other kids. When we got back she
asked me where my ride was and I told her my mom was across the street
waiting. She wasn’t because she was at
work but I didn’t want her or the kids seeing that I had to walk home. Mrs. Aycock then pulled me aside and told me
the most influential thing said to me at that point in my life. She told me that she wanted me to sit with
her at the play because I deserved to sit on the front row. She told me that she saw that play before and
that I reminded her of the little boy. I
said I didn’t have a crutch. OF course I did not understand what she was saying
at that moment. She then went on to tell
me that no matter how poor I may look or feel, that I had a place in the front
but I had to work hard and sacrifice.
I thanked her and hugged her. I went inside the school to use the bathroom
and hid out until everyone was pretty much gone so I could walk home. At the time there was a large field across the
street that we had to cross to get to the sidewalk. As I walked on that dirt path the story of
the play and what she said made sense to me.
Granted I was in third grade but I did understand. I remembered the kids being nicer to me
because I got to sit with the teacher. I started to cry. I cried and cried until I got to my
neighborhood. I sucked it up and went home and played.
Sadly, later in my life towards the end of my high school
years, I found out that Mrs. Aycock passed away. Every time I felt isolated or
less than, I always thought of her and her words to me.
The other teacher was from my time in Junior High. I went to Stephen F. Austin in Irving and by
that time it was more diverse. I played
football and, even though we sucked, if you played football you were somewhat
popular. By this point my mom remarried
and we lived in a better house and I had slightly better clothes. We never had real money though so I never
really got to participate in outside of school activities. We just could not afford it at all. I focused on my school work and I was a good
student. National Jr. Honor Society and
all.
One of my teachers was Mrs. Garrett. She was an amazing teacher. She was so involved with her students and was
a leader in the school. She was big on
reading and always told us to get into books.
She always had us doing projects and artsy things. She would sit and talk to her students and
would really get to know them.
I was in band in 7th and 8th grade and always had to carry
around my instrument case. Even though I
played football and was one of the “cool” kids, the other students really
ripped on band kids back then. It was
brutal at times. It’s like one minute I was
cool and the next I was a dork. It was
weird. Mrs. Garrett saw that treatment
and was not going to sit by and let it continue. Since she was the cool teacher, she would go
to the band concerts then praise the band kids the next day in class to make
them feel cool. I was one of them. She always told me that I was creative. I would write book reports and she would
always compliment me.
She took care of our fragile egos during that time in our
lives where they are the most fragile.
She was always supportive and would always have an open door for us to
come talk with her or just hang out.
Since I could not do a lot of the cool things due to no money, she would
always treat me like I was rich in many other ways. She paid attention to my strengths and would
help me to see that I had value as a student and as a person. I grew so much from her teaching in class and
about life. She cared and she loved her
job. Even after I was gone, I would go
back and visit with her to let her know how I was doing. She was that teacher
that you would go back to see even after you moved on to the next level of
education.
She ended up leaving the school due to health issues and
passed a few years after due to cancer.
I remember when I heard about it and I was heartbroken.
I am a 48 year old man and I can still remember their faces,
what they said to me and their impact on my life still happens to this
day. Both passed before their time and
that breaks my heart. I know if they
were still here today, I would probably still be visiting them like I was still
that little kid. I would tell them that every time I would train someone or
mentor, it was because they believed in me and knew I would accomplish anything
if I worked for it.
Teachers are amazing.
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