Teachers and their impact

I remember our time at Fraser Valley Elementary like it was yesterday. My son (2025 MPHS graduate) does too. Every so often he will comment, “I miss Fraser Elementary - I wish I could just go back there when my life was simpler and the teachers took care of me”. In many ways I agree with him!

I just spoke to one of those teachers and she reminded me of a time when my son was getting in a little trouble for being disruptive in her class. To apologize for his behavior, he wrote her an apology note and on the back side of the paper he taped the following gifts: $.62 in coins, a Sharky’s sticker, 3 golf tees and a mini Twix. She still has his gifts, minus the mini Twix : )

To hear her recall this memory with such fondness and clarity after 10 years and countless students, really touched me. This is the same teacher that pointed out something about our son at our Parent/Teacher conferences that changed the trajectory of his learning and put him on course for academic success. It is not an exaggeration to say that she quite literally changed his (and our) life.

Of course this teacher at FVE isn’t the only one who made an impact on our lives, but this story is a great illustration of the amazing teachers we have in EGSD. I encourage you to think about the teachers that made a difference in your life, or your child’s life.

A teacher I spoke to the other day said the “higher ups” determine curriculum and policies and the Principals manage their schools and their teachers, but it is up to the teachers to create success in their classrooms. This is a huge responsibility. From managing Kindergarten classrooms to kids with Senioritis, I have lost count of the times over the years I have thought to myself, “I don’t know how they do it”.

I will fight for teachers at every opportunity.