The first "Class Act" I wrote, in unit one, was about my father. With that in mind, I thought it was only fitting to write this class act about my mother. My mother is an incredible woman who amazes me more and more each day. Not only have I been blessed to have such a wonderful mother, but I've been blessed with here friendship as well. She inspires me in so many ways, and teaches me something new daily.
My mother has been an educator for over thirty years in six different states and at many different levels. When my parents were married, my father played professional basketball and was traded to four different teams during his basketball career. Because my father was moved around so frequently, my mother had to take many different teaching jobs at elementary, middle and high school levels. She went from teaching eleventh grade English at a High School in Compton California, to teaching second grade in a small predominately Mormon town in Utah. But through it all, my mother worked hard and did things to help her adapt to her students and become a better teacher. When she was teaching in Compton, she even went as far as taking classes in the Ebonics language so she could understand what was being said in the classroom. My mother is such a dedicated and hard worker and strives to set herself apart from the rest. Her students love her, because she loves her students. When my parents had their third child, and my father had to miss the delivery because he was on the road playing basketball, a few months later he decided it was time to quit playing basketball, settle down somewhere and start being a better father. My father was offered a high school teaching and coaching job in Miami, so they settled down in Miami, where my mother found the job she had been looking for. My mom found a job working in a Nursing home teaching classes to the elderly and later also became a county-wide supervisor for various disability sites in the area. Working with the elderly became my mother's passion. She taught classes like cooking, ceramics, and word games. Fun classes that got the nursing home residents involved in activities other than sitting in their rooms. Watching my mother interact with the residents as I was growing up inspired me to want to work with them as well. I started volunteering at the nursing home as soon as I was old enough to, and started working there for pay as an activities coordinator, and teacher aide, as soon as I was old enough to be employable. The relationships that I formed with the residents there are irreplaceable. After working there with my mother I realized even more what a wonderful person she is. She touched the lives of people who others simply overlooked because of their age or disabilities. She went out of her way to do the little things that mattered the most to the residents. s an activities coordinator, and teacher aide, as soon as I was old enough to be employable. The relationships that I formed with the residents there are irreplaceable. After working there with my mother I realized even more what a wonderful person she is. She touched the lives of people who others simply overlooked because of their age or disabilities. She went out of her way to do the little things that mattered the most to the residents.
When the adult education program told my mother that the elderly education classes were in danger of being done away with, my mother had to make the very difficult decision of leaving her job of 22 years and going back to the elementary school level. So for the past 4 years, my mom has been teaching at the elementary school level and still has not ceased to amaze me. The hours and the care that my mom puts into her lessons and the ideas she comes up with amaze me continuously. I've never met a teacher quite like her, and I can honestly say, all biases aside, that she is one of the best teachers I have ever seen teach. I have been so blessed to have her as a part of my life and have her stick by my side through every step of my life. I don't know what I will ever do without her.
-- Tess Anderson, Florida Atlantic University