This past Saturday my son Jackson, that's what his Mom calls him, graduated from college. He now has a degree in Aerospace Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology. To you and me that's Georgia Tech and it's one hell of an engineering school.

Jack plans to pursue a Master's Degree after working this Summer with Space X. Yes, my kid is going to be a rocket scientist. If you know me, then you know that makes absolutely no sense.

To say I am proud is an understatement. To understand how Jack, what his Dad calls him, was able to earn his diploma is a story that I feel really needs to be told. But, this isn't a story about a father crowing about his son. This is a story about a parent gratefully acknowledging the commitment and dedication of the educators who saw the potential in my son and wouldn't allow him to fail.

In 5th grade, Jack was an average student. He frustrated his parents by waiting until the last minute to complete assignments, he wouldn't study spelling words, he was more interested in  SpongeBob than math.

Then Rachel Delcambre happened.

Mrs. Delcambre had such an easy way about her demeanor. She was one of those teachers that a kid like Jack could trust. She was also one of those teachers who wouldn't accept anything but a student's very best effort.

Rachel was Jack's math teacher. I could tell that she had a unique fascination with numbers and she was able to transfer her fascination with numbers to her students. Once Jack began to notice that a lot of the world could be described, painted, colored, and made better by the logical thinking of a mathematical equation he was hooked.

Once Mrs. Delcambre noticed Jack's new found classroom confidence she encouraged him to use that confidence outside of math class. Jack was soon involved in student government and taking leadership roles in school organizations. He was transforming into a different kid, actually a young man.

After finishing Mrs. Delcambre's class and moving on he took that knowledge and confidence he had learned into every endeavor he tried. After Mrs. Delcambre there was never an issue about grades, studying, projects, or effort. This one amazing teacher gave my son the formula he needed to find his greatness within.

I know you have similar stories about educators that literally changed the course of your child's life. I hope you will take a moment, especially at graduation time to write those educators a note of appreciation.  If you haven't figured it out, teachers don't do what they do for the money. They do what they do because of their passion for every child. In my case, one teacher's passion changed the future of my son.

 

 

 

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