A Word of Encouragement to Teachers

I want to speak a word or encouragement to all teachers. I have been blessed to have many mentors in my life. Probably the most instrumental single individual who helped me to recognize that we live in community to support one another was a middle school teacher by the name of Paul Haas. I learned last week of his passing at the age of 71. My classroom experience with him was 35 years ago. His energy, obvious love for teaching, words of encouragement, and friendship, had a profound impact on my world view. As I heard people talking last Sunday about their future teaching positions, externships, and hearing one speak about how overwhelming the demands appeared, I first thought of Paul. He showed me what the Kingdom of God is like by the way he lived day to day. We never talked about religion that I can remember. His generosity was visibly displayed when he took three middle school students, of which I was one, several hundred miles to provide Thanksgiving supplies to an economically depressed family in Appalachia. His teaching about racial equality is still memorable to me today. The times that he showed us how we could talk in small private groups, hold confidence and trust among fellow classmates, and be vulnerable to one another is now amazing for me to think about. We were in an 8th grade public school. He was a humanities teacher but he had football players and underprivileged street thugs reading poems and opening our minds to the value of literature. He saw in me leadership qualities that I didn’t see in myself. He wrote recommendation letters so that I could participate in student government leadership training and personally took me to student government events over summer vacations. I occasionally wish I had been gifted like Paul. His presence in my life makes me very proud to have known him and to encourage others who make it their life’s ambition to mentor and educate young people. You are all putting yourselves in a place where you have the opportunity to impact students way beyond anything you can imagine. Grace and Peace to you all.