The Greatest Honor

Laurie Harding - 5th grade teacher:

One often hears the expression that teachers touch a life forever. I wonder though if students realize that the expression goes both ways. There is a statement that an eighth grader made last year that will always stay with me. It reminds me that God has placed me in this profession.

It was the very end of May and I was beginning to feel very tired and worn out from all the countless hours at my job, especially all the evening and weekend hours. I was finishing my eighth year of teaching, and I found myself questioning the worth of it all. I wondered if I was, more often than not, just forgotten as a nameless teacher that some St. Joseph student had some year. After all, it wasn’t often that I received any positive feedback. Then Matt Rundle gave me a very special gift.

It was the last day of school for the graduating eighth graders. Matt had written a reflection on his years at St. Joseph and was selected to read his essay after our all-school Mass. Starting with kindergarten, Matt went through his memories of each school year and of each of his teachers. Now Matt was always a very bright student and, as he read through his elementary memories, he repeatedly referenced his desire to be challenged throughout the years. As I waited for him to get to his fifth grade memories, I reflected on all the ways I had worked to offer him academic challenges: small group work, challenging math lessons, independent research, and a special book club. Still, somehow I felt I was sure to be forgotten.

That’s when Matt stated what he remembered most about fifth grade. He said I had taught him how to pray. What an unexpected statement! That was never a lesson plan objective or a unit goal. I came to realize that God was working through me to inspire my students. To date, Matt’s statement is the single greatest honor that I have ever received as a teacher. It will always be a special memory for me, and it inspires me to continue my work as a religious educator.