Thankfulness

I am writing this blog on Wednesday before Thanksgiving Day, and like many of you, I am trying to finish all the chores related to Thanksgiving and leave time to rest in order to enjoy Thursday. I am not sure this will happen. I wonder how we have digressed to the place in our culture that we dread days that should be filled with happiness, celebration, and contentment. As a teacher, the Thanksgiving break was not much of a break. I was often too busy grading student assignments that were turned in before the break. However, I think as teachers we have often missed the opportunity to make this attitude of “thankfulness” a significant part of our teaching and learning experience with our students.

I want to tell you a story that forever made thankfulness a significant part of my life. My first-grade teacher was Ms. Presley. She and her husband were not from the East Tennessee region. I do know that her husband was a scientist at the Oak Ridge Nuclear Laboratory during World War II. They chose not to live in Oak Ridge and ended up in a rural area of Loudon County. By the time I became a senior in high school I had long realized that she had been a significant part of my educational experience. I didn’t know what made her better than most other teachers, but I knew that she was. Consequently, in the spring of 1967 when I graduated from Loudon High School, I sent four “thank you notes”--two were sent to individuals who I felt had made a significant difference in my life. One of those was Ms. Presley, my first-grade teacher.

She did not teach the next year because her children were entering high school, and she wanted to be able to spend time with them in their activities. After her husband died and with serious health issues, she moved to Maryland to live with one of her daughters.

I came to Maryville College in the fall of 1990 and began my 28 years in teacher education at the College. In the mid-1990s, while we were living on the family farm in Loudon County, I received a phone call from Carl who lived not far from our home. When I answered the phone he asked, “Can you come over to my house; there is someone here that wants to see you?” As I drove to his house, I had no idea who this individual was.

As I walked into the home, I saw an older lady sitting by the kitchen table. Carl asked, ”You don’t know who this is, do you?” I suppose all I did was nod because I did not know who she was. With a big smile on his face, Carl said, “This is Ms. Presley, your first-grade teacher.”

Ms. Presley also smiled and said, “Terry, I cannot really see you because I am almost totally blind. I can see the outline of your body but not your face or any physical feature. However, I wanted to come and see you.” She went on to tell me that I was the only student that she taught who came back to say “thank you” for being my teacher. She was nearly 90 years-old. She shared with me that one of the reasons she had to make this trip to Tennessee from Maryland was to say “thank you” to me--her student.

I always told this story to my teacher licensure students right before the Thanksgiving break or at the close of the semester. I would tell them to think of that teacher that made a difference in their lives, to write the “thank you letter,” and to give specific reasons as to why that teacher made a difference.

Have you ever been thankful for your students? Have you told them? You still have time before the close of the semester.

Bless You My Children, 
TLS