Leastwise I did last night.
At our school, everyone does their share at taking tickets at each home game. It's not a paying position, rather it is just something that you do. It was actually a pretty nice experience as things like that go. Thankful that I can still add in my head and make change back for folks. My nearly 4 hours went by pretty fast and before I knew it, the time had come to count up the proceeds and balance the books.
Yet in the meantime, I found out a great deal about the community that I teach in simply by watching the people who came to the game. I liked what I learned.
For one thing, those who are over 62 get in free to basketball games at our school. It was sweet to see all of those people stop by the table and happily exclaim that they definitely fit that description. You could tell by the looks on their faces that coming to the high school game was a highlight of their week. They joked back and forth with one another, often encouraging me to check the other person's ID's before I really let them in for free.
For the record, I didn't check.
But it sure made me happy to see them there supporting the local teams.
One of those "senior citizens" lingered a bit longer at the table. I told him that he and his wife, both local folks, could just head on in and enjoy the game. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crisp $100 bill. At first I didn't know why he was trying to pay me but I soon learned as he pressed the bill into my hands.
"Please put this in the till. Our school needs this."
And he was right.
We surely do.
School funding for the state of Oklahoma goes by two names, "Slim" and "None". School districts in the Sooner State, just like many of those across America, scrap for every dollar that they can receive. Budgets are sliced to beyond the bare bones, staff is not hired, and those that remain take up the slack. Not too much a person can do about it. It is what it is.
Dismal at times.
My salary as a veteran teacher of 40 years now is $15,000 less than what I made when I retired in Kansas. I was advised many times by different people to remember that I would make very little in comparison to what I was used to. My paycheck definitely shows it each month, but we get by just fine. As I have always said, I never got into this business for the money.
I got into it because I love children and the chance to be called their teacher.
Simple as that.
That wonderful gentleman who lives in our community knows the value of a good education. He knows very well how much it takes to have a successful school, and he also knows that the current budget can come up short from time to time. That's why he gave me that $100 bill last night.
It wasn't necessary.
He did it anyways.
Today I have been thinking about that man and his kind offering of extra money to the school district that I now teach at. The more I thought about him, the more I realized that he gave me more than $100 last evening. He gave he something else as well, a gift that he didn't realize he was giving.
Through his kind heart and gentle spirit, he gave me the gift of hope.
Sometimes it's easy to think that no one understands the struggles that we sometimes go through as educators. So many educators, myself included, reach deep into our pockets to provide the things that we know our students need because there isn't enough money in our budget. I haven't met a teacher yet who didn't do that and even more so, I've never met one who truly complained about it. It's just what we do.
I believe that wonderful benefactor of Big Pasture School District understands the need so very well. Last night his simple act of kindness lifted the spirits of one tired school teacher.
And she was me.
These are the 19 reasons that I get up each and every day. They deserve a chance in this life to have the very best education that any kid could receive. Some very kind friends in Kansas made sure that all of them had KU shirts to wear. The goodness of people never ceases to amaze me.
I told Mike when he married me that he got more than just a wife. I reminded him that I came with 3 children of my own plus about thousand or so that have called me by the name of "teacher" throughout the years. He married me anyways.
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