When Nancy Flexer opened the door to her classroom near the end of her final school year this past spring, all 41 years of her career as a beloved first-grade teacher in Nashville came to life right in front of her.
With the help of Kid President and the creative group Soul Pancake, Cole Elementary School in Tennessee surprised Flexer with a memorable and emotional retirement party featuring former students of all ages, dating back to the first class she taught in the 1973-74 school year. A video of the event shows an overwhelmed Flexer being moved to tears as she hears former students who are now adults tell her how much she affected their lives.
"I'm one of the luckiest people in this world," Flexer told TODAY.com. "I remember I opened the door to the classroom thinking no one was in there, and it was wall-to-wall people and banners and everything. It was the coolest thing that could've ever happened in my life. How many times do we really realize the lives we've touched, the manner in which we've touched them, and that these are memories that stay with them for life?"
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Saturday, August 16, 2014
Very Nice Tribute
Sometimes it's cool being a teacher:
Thanks for posting this tribute. It reminded me of favorite teachers that I have never forgotten.
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this tribute. She stayed in the same school - how wonderful.
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful. I kept up with a few teachers from high school. Almost none of my students, even the ones for which I wrote glowing recommendations, have remembered me. Something like this makes me realize how we have changed as a nation.
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