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Reaffirming my Role

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osugrad21

osugrad21

Capo Regime
Staff member
Sometimes we all need a little perspective in life...something to reaffirm why we are actually here I guess.

A number of you received my weekly PM detailing that friday's game. As some of you know, I lost one of my best players to a nasty knee injury in week seven. The initial evaluation said three torn ligaments and probably the end of his career. His surgery was yesterday and I took two players with me to visit him in the hospital today. He was on too much morphine to really carry on much of a conversation, but his mom gave me the great news that only the ACL was actually torn. He will be back on the field next year.

However, the reaffirmation came after we left the hospital and headed for a bite to eat. We passed an Outback Steakhouse and the boys started chattering about the commercials they always see. I asked the question and was told neither had ever actually been to an Outback...of course we did a U-turn right there as I am a firm believer that no American citizen should ever be deprived of the Outback experience.

We sat down and I ordered a Bloomin' Onion while the boys stared wide eyed at the menu. Again, I didn't realize how ignorant I was to the situation until the Onion came. One of the boys asked the waitress for some napkins...he was completely oblivious to the fact that he was supposed to use the linen containing his silverware. It really hit home when neither boy knew how to order...when the waitress asked how one wanted his steak cooked, he read her the menu "grilled and seared to perfection." On the outside, I smiled, but my soul was honestly bruised. The waitress was great as she patiently explained the various ways to cook the steak. After she left, I showed them how to fold and place the linen on the lap, but by now, their nerves were really working them over. Of course, the huge chunks of meat we devoured eased those nerves and the dessert certainly made every little discomfort go away.

As I drove home, all I could think about was how damn fortunate I was to have the childhood and teen years that I experienced. By the time I was a teenager, I was a veteran of restaurants, knew that I would have clean clothes to choose from every morning, and it was a fact that Mom would have something for me to eat when I got home from practice. These seventeen year old boys had never been to a decent restaurant. Their only experience was fast food or a local diner. I cannot fathom that. I always had a confidence in certain things...basically took them for granted. Christmas would be a time to load up, someone would make my birthday special, and I would have new clothes for every school year. How could everyone not have that?

I am a teacher and a coach. The salary of my profession is the punchline of many jokes.

However, nights like tonight have me convinced that this is where I am supposed to be and a bigger salary would not replace the goldmine I am in right now.

One of the boys, who is becoming more of a major D-1 prospect every day, said to me, " Coach, when I sign that big contract, I'm gonna make your life easy."

You already do kid. You make it better every day.

This was the best damn $90 I ever spent.
 
grad21,

That's the things that makes most of us teachers.

I wouldn't trade experiences like that for any sum of money.

When you see the home lives some of these students live, you see why school is the 3rd or 4th most important thing in their life instead of 1st like we'd like to think it should be.

I have kids who come from homes where parents fight or beat them every night, live in hotels, don't get any meals except at school, and have siblings and parents who have died all before age 12. Heck, if my family had even moved while I was in school, I'd have been devastated, let alone what these kids go through.

Thanks for the positive post grad21. There's somedays when you just want to bang your head through a wall with these kids but it's instances like this that they and you will never forget.

Someone please give this man a Great Post award.

Thank you.
 
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Grad,

Cooincidentally, I had recently decided to get my masters in technology education. There are very few people at my age that are able to get a job with the security that I presently have, but I have quickly come to realize how unimportant moneyand benefits are in my value set.

I've discovered that my personal self-fulfillment comes through changing lives of people that I contact. The corporate life isn't for me...I'd rather teach someone skills and life lessons to enhance their life, than to enhance a stockholders portfolio.

Regardless of your beliefs, when you leave this earth, you will leave a legacy through the lives of the kids you have impacted...and even further onto everyone they impact. Teachers don't get paid what they deserve, but they end up with so much more.

Congratulations on your epiphany...it's an inspiring story.
 
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That is without doubt the best real life story I've read in quite some time.

You ought to polish it off and send it to a magazine that accepts such content.

As you bought the future D-1 prospect dinner, just make sure the magazine isn't in any way connected to the NCAA :wink2:.
 
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A friend of mine used to respond to "How's it going?" with, "Just another day in paradise." Isn't that the truth.

Thank you, Grad... both for being there for your kids and for the reminder. I think I just reprioritized my projects for tomorrow morning... a few of the truly important but less urgent ones have been slipping dangerously far down the list. And I'm so, so glad to hear the good news about your player. :)

While I'm at it - thanks to all of you who teach. There is no more important work. You all have my utmost respect.
 
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Great post Grad. If I could give you an award, I would do so. My parents both being teachers, I know the kind of influence you all can have on youngsters.

My father, being a band director, takes part in many camps over the summer just for the sake of seeing kids improve on their own time (voluntary camps). He sends out weekly emails to his families of students updating them on different events and on their own child's progress.

My mother is a music history teacher and has gone so far as to participate in bands during talent shows with her students. She even hangs out with students on the weekends sometimes and goes out to dinner with them.

Seeing the type of people my parents are and the things they do to enrich the lives of their students is wonderful. Keep up the good work Grad and know your efforts are more important than anything us office workers could possibly be doing :)
 
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