I teared up this morning in front of our entire staff.
One of our new hires is a former student and during his introduction he thanked two of us for recognizing his potential and not letting him "wallow in mediocrity" (it's a mantra I preach to the kids). He credited us for him getting his GED and pursuing college when no one in his family had ever graduated high school. He's here to pay it forward. "I hope I live up to the standard you taught me Mr. Yoshida." (that's when my eyes leaked). It's a good day.
It's weird. You never know what will resonate with the kids but as teachers we really do have tremendous influence.
. . . and never underestimate the power of a chocolate chip cookie recipe in teaching a youngster about life