“Teacher : The child’s third parent.” – Hyman Berston
As the school year ends, the kids & I have been planning on a gift to their teachers before they go on their summer break. While planning on the gifts for their teachers, Meg called me at work to tell me that her teacher Mr. Murfin was leaving her school and returning to his hometown for better opportunities. She was a little disappointed by the fact that she would not be meeting him again when she returned to school after summer break. She was disappointed also that Raul will not have this teacher when he gets to 5th grade. She and I spent a few moments talking about how cool he was to the kids and how she will miss him. I pointed out to her that she will miss him for sure but will always remember him fondly and encouraged her to keep in her mind everything he had done for their class the whole year. I have been meaning to write about these amazing teachers who have been an integral part of Meg & Raul’s life this year and this seemed like the perfect opportunity.
The OH & I have struggled just as every other parent when it comes to the decision of the school we wanted Meg & Raul to attend. There are obviously the wide variety of choices ranging from the expensive private schools to the Montessori schools to the public/charter/specialized schools etc etc. Both the OH & I decided not to enroll them in the private schools that cost an arm and a leg as we believe that the money spent there is much better off being saved for their college education. After all, if the kids learns their alphabets a year later than the kids at the private school, that was just fine by us. We always believed that the teacher the children learned from made a bigger impact on their lives than the school itself.
Meg & Raul have had their fair share of good/average teachers (thankfully no bad ones — anti jinx here). Fortunately both my kids are fairly easy to please and it doesn’t take much for them to warm up to their teachers. They have always had issues moving up a grade for the fact that they lose the teacher they have had the previous year. Meg has always had her friend, who is a year older than her, to give her tit bits on her next teacher prior to her starting school. Meg started with Mr. Murfin in 5th grade and anything I can say about how much she has enjoyed this year with him will fall short. Mr. Murfin has proved over and over again that it is not the experience of the teacher that makes them special but how much they enjoy and value shaping the lives of little children who look up to them. Not only has he worked with them throughout the year on learning to be independant thinkers, but has very beautifully taught them to survive in the real world without hurting their little hearts. He has demonstrated to them the love for animals by encouraging them to care for their class pet, Shadow. He has endeared himself to them by sharing personal stories from his life. He has taught them the wonders of music by playing to them. He has always been available to them to encourage, coach them while maintaining their respect and fear of their teacher.
For the parents, he has been a treasure. It is not always easy to get your child to say everything that happens at school. Kids have so many things on their mind that details that are important to parents are things that kids mostly forget to communicate. Mr. Murfin has been amazing via his weekly emails, letting parents know about important lessons being taught in class and requesting help to reiterate these lessons at home. His communications have given us a glimpse of Meg’s day when she is away from us. Mr. Murfin, you have truly been awesome. Meg & I have enjoyed having you as her 5th grade teacher. I am confident that Meg will carry the lessons and memories from your class for many many years. You have been a wonderful guide in channeling her through an amazing year. We wish you the very best and hope that our paths cross sometime in future.
While Mr. Murfin showed us how experience is not always the best teacher, Ms. Vaughan demonstrated to us how experience can be absolutely priceless when working with children of different personalities. Apart from being a truly amazing teacher, Ms. Vaughan was extremely skilled at channeling her teacher based on each child’s personality. She believed in motivating the kids with little treats for work well done. During one of our parent teacher meetings, when I asked her about these little bribes, her thoughts were that when we as adults expected bonus or time off in our work lives as motivation for good work, it was only fair to encourage children similarly. She never hesitated spending her own money to buy treats for the kids while at school. She infused the school day with anecdotes of her children and their experiences to enrich the lives of her students. She always encouraged them to achieve over and above their capabilities and never forgot to reward them for their efforts. The few times that Raul has gotten into trouble, she has been truly amazing and understanding. I don’t know too many teachers who would challenge the kids to get their answers correct at the expense of shaving her head. I don’t know of any teacher who would take the trouble of buying jalapeno bagels for her students to taste and experiment with while teaching them about the different kinds of bagels. I could go on and on about the things that she has done for her students over the year. She is a spectacular teacher and blessed and lucky is Raul to have had to opportunity to learn & guided by Ms. Vaughan. Raul already worries about missing Ms. Vaughan in his new school. Ms. Vaughan, thank you for everything you have done for Raul as his 2nd grade teacher. He is truly a better child in the one year that he has been with you. I truly appreciate what you have done for him and am sure you will continue to touch and enrich the lives of many more kids just like you have for Raul. You are truly special and will remain in our hearts and memories forever. We look forward to keeping in touch with you in the coming years.
Edited to add: Ms. Vaughan, Raul’s words in his card for you summed up all I had to say in one line. I quote Raul here: “I wish I could have you as my teacher forever.” 
