It’s crazy to me that in today’s society that we have to point out how valuable teachers are. In most cases, your child’s teacher spends more time with them than you do throughout the school year. Eight hours a day, five days a week, pouring into and shaping young minds. And they don’t do that for just your child, no. They do that for over twenty-five children.
School teachers are ACTUALLY heroes. Seriously, WHO willingly CHOOSES to spend every day, nine months out of the year with second graders? Who does that?
And while all teachers are pillars in the lives of our children, it’s the really great teachers—the ones who take the time—who leave their mark for a lifetime.
We all have that one teacher who believed in us unlike anyone else. For me it was my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Stanforth. For Dan Lok, it was Ms. Fallon.
In a video for Goalcast, Lok shares the touching story of the teacher who took the time and believed in him.
As an immigrant who didn’t hardly speak a lick of English, Lok lived much of his school life in fear. Fear of having to speak, fear of messing up, fear of being seen messing up because he was completely out of his cultural comfort zone.
One class in particular required that he deliver a speech in order to pass.
Mortified, Lok spent every day hiding in the bathroom as to not have to speak in front of his peers.
“Ms. Fallon saw that,” he says, explaining how the teacher sought him out, eager to help.
After explaining that she couldn’t pass him if he didn’t give the speech, Ms. Fallon offered something more valuable than anything: her time.
“Why don’t you come to my office after class and I will help you,” she told him. “I will coach you.”
Ms. Fallon helped Lok work through some of his shyness, and overcome the fears he had of failure. He eventually delivered the speech and passed the class.
Most teachers don’t have the pleasure of seeing the fruits of their labor.
Ms. Fallon believed she had seen it when Lok was finally able to deliver his speech after they had put in the hard work to overcome his fears. But the real fruit came many years later.
A grown man and several learning experiences later, Lok returned to the school where Ms. Fallon had so generously cared for him.
What he gave to his teacher then was a “Thank You” she’ll never forget.
Watch the video to see for yourself!
