“I was attending University of Texas to become a P.E. teacher. It was during World War II, and the Navy had taken over the dormitories. There were thousands of good-looking sailors studying to be pilots or ship commanders.

“By the end of two years, I decided to go home to Huffman and rest a semester. It wasn’t the studying. I was just having way too much fun for a young girl.

“Because of the war, there was a shortage of teachers. When I arrived home, the pastor of First Baptist Church was teaching grades 4, 5 and 6. He was helping out until they could find someone. We lived next door to a board member who had known me for years. When I was offered the position, I became Miss Joy to 12 students who were together in one room. Two rows were fourth grade, one row was fifth grade, and there were three sixth-grade students.

“It was love at first sight between the teacher and pupils. I was only 19, and they were 10, 11 and 12 years old.

“One day I had them all read aloud. Then I said, ‘For the next 30 minutes, I want you to read silently.’ As I look up, there stands this little boy, Irby ‘Buddy’ May. I said, ‘Buddy, do I come back and lean on your desk while you’re working?’ He said, ‘No, mam.’ So I said, ‘Well, go sit down and do what I asked you to do.’ He starts back to his desk, turns around, and says, ‘But you could if you wanted to.’ He became my pet from that moment on.

“After finishing the school year and one more year, I returned to Austin to complete my degree and become a full-fledged teacher. I went on to a 33-year career as a P.E. teacher, and I loved every minute of it.

“But one of the happiest times of my life was teaching those 12 students in that classroom in Huffman. We kept up with each other through the years — especially Buddy. Just this April, I visited with him at an event in Huffman. Not long after that, he died. He was 85.

“As I was reading his obituary and all the wonderful things he had done in his life, I realized that had I not had those 12 wonderful children, I would never have stayed in education all those years. God blessed my life with 12 of his best.”

— Joy Walker, 96

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“When I was going to high school in Anahuac, the person I really admired was my world history teacher, Mr. Broussard. He made learning about history so much fun.

“He used to have these little sayings like, ‘Now we’re going to slide into Greece.’ Or, ‘It’s time to roam over to Rome.’ Those are some of the things I took with me into my teaching career.

“He was a World War II veteran. He lost his leg in the war, but never talked about it. He was just an engaging teacher, and a really nice man. I never got to tell him how much he impacted my life and my decision to go into history.

“I’ve always loved anything to do with history. It’s probably because there’s so much of it in my family. I’m a fifth-generation Texan. My great-great-great-great-grandfather fought at the Battle of San Jacinto with Sam Houston. Our ancestral history goes back to the ‘Old Three Hundred’ — the original settlers in Texas. Where our family ranch house is located is part of the original Mexican land grant.

“My mother had the wanderlust that I do, wanting to travel and see things. Anything with a historical background, I’m all for it.

“I’ve been to a lot of places in the states. I’ve been to Vicksburg. I’ve been to Mount Rushmore and the Badlands. I’ve been to Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

“In Europe, I’ve been to the Bastille, which is now just a monument in France. I’ve been to Normandy and done the beaches. That was unbelievable, because I especially love World War II history. I’ve been to Greece, and saw the Acropolis and Parthenon, and Olympia, where the first Olympics were held. I’ve been to Machu Picchu in Peru. There are no words for it, knowing that you’re going up to this ruin that’s hundreds and hundreds of years old. So many other places. And as a teacher, I would use pictures that I took to go along with stories in my classes.

“I just love to travel. With COVID, and other issues in our family, it’s not been possible as much. But I have a bucket list of places I still want to see. One day, I’m going to make it happen. I’m definitely ready to get back out there.”

— Melanie Rayner

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“During my 31 years teaching, it was always about my students. I loved my students.

“If they asked for advice, I gave it. I told them, ‘I’ll never lie to you. I’ll never expect you to do something that I wouldn’t do. If you have an issue, and I feel you’re right, I’ll go to the wall for you.’

“In a lot of ways, I was like a second mama to some of them. One student didn’t come from a really great household, so I was her safe space. I told her — and this is what I told all my kids — ‘Dream big, work hard, and you can accomplish anything.’ And she did. She’s married. She’s a successful elementary school teacher in Florida. And she wrote a book that’s on Amazon.

“I always made sure that I was available for the underdog. I had a student who was in special ed and was a football player. He had an opportunity to go to University of Houston, but a counselor told him, ‘You don’t need to go there. You won’t graduate anyway.’ When he told me that, it broke my heart. I looked at him and said, ‘OK, now is the time to prove her wrong.’ He graduated from high school, played football and graduated from U of H, and now he’s a patient liaison at UTMB. This was a kid that a counselor gave up on.

“There are a lot of kids out there who just need somebody to say, ‘Hey, I believe in you. You can do this.’

“When they’re preparing you to be a teacher, they don’t account for so many important aspects of the job. Like being in a classroom with 25-30 children, and figuring out what each individual need is. How you can work with a child who may be dyslexic, or from a broken home, or have a mom or daddy who just died. The compassion aspect is something that has to evolve.

“I always told my students, ‘If you make a bad decision, it does not define your life. Only you can do that. You can look at that decision and grow from it, or get bitter from it.’ I said, ‘You need to grow.’ I’m proud to say that so many of my students through the years grew from it.”

— Melanie Rayner

She taught government, economics, U.S. history, world history and world geography in three school districts, including 19 years at Lee High School.

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“In the early ‘90s, Central Heights was the type of neighborhood where you would get off the school bus, do your homework, and come to the park to play ball until the street lights came on. It was a tough neighborhood, with rivalries and occasional fights. Not the gun violence you see today. You would fight, take your licks, and get up to play again.

“You built mental toughness out here. It’s where I learned everything. There was a church next door. So those are probably the two biggest foundations for my life: church and the playground.

“There were elements of drug dealing and violence. But overall, this was a good place to grow up: good foundation, good principles, people helping each other.

“I was fortunate to have mentors. My dad exposed me to certain things, like opportunities to play sports. I had coaches and principals who looked out for me. They saw something in me, and gave me an extra push to help me out.

“But as I got into education, I began noticing things that were missing the mark. Things we weren’t teaching students. Like, no one ever sat me down and talked about finances: credit, the difference between rent and mortgage, ownership versus working for someone. No one ever showed me how a job application works. No one taught us etiquette, like how to open doors for someone. Everything I learned about dating was from my fellas, or watching my parents or other relationships. But there were no lessons or classes for it.

“One of my best friends from this neighborhood — talented athlete, smart, funny, good looking — died at a young age. I feel like the big thing missing for some of my friends who died or went to jail were the opportunities, the exposure.

“There are young people today with million dollar minds, but they have a small town mentality. They think they can’t do anything else. But you can. You can travel. You can come back and give back. There are so many opportunities available. But until you know, you don’t know. So I decided to do something about it.”

Heron launched the TIE program — Thomas Institute of Excellence — in 2018 as a way to mentor young men.

Showing them the way

“Everything we do in the TIE program is built on excellence, and a model of service before self. A big component is exposing these young men to all the opportunities available to them. We let them meet business owners, and give them the blueprint for what they can aspire to do with their lives.

“What I try to teach the kids that I didn’t get as a young child is the power of relationships. Everywhere we visit has either a tie to myself or the hometown community. Putting them in front of successful people who ran the same streets, hung out at the same parks, went to the same schools, shows them that, hey, you can do this, too. There’s nothing stopping you.

“We take trips. We do community service. We expose them to all types of experiences, like fine dining. We’ve had dinners at places like Del Frisco, Steak 48 and Taste Bar.

“And then just giving them opportunities to look good. A lot of these kids have never worn a nice shirt and tie. The effect they see when they dress up and walk into a place, the attention that turns on them, is awesome.

“They love pulling up to restaurants and seeing the nice vehicles, and enjoying nice meals. Not saying you have to live that type of lifestyle. I’m good eating off a food truck, but I do like a nice steak sometimes. But I know that if they aspire to be like that, we have to teach them now what it takes. You can’t wait until they’re 25 and struggling and say, you should have done this and that. We have to give them the ‘how’ and ‘why’ at an early age.

“Hopefully, the program will grow, and we’ll be able to be a blessing to more students. That’s really my goal: to be a positive influence for as many kids as possible. That’s all I really care about, giving kids an opportunity. When you know better, you do better.

“I just pray God continues to bless me, so I can continue to bless my community. This is home. This is where the seeds were planted. I consider everyone who comes from here just another branch on that family tree that I can help.”

Taking time to listen

Heron also is principal of the Eagle Positive Intervention Center in Barbers Hill ISD. The student-centered program focuses on academics, discipline and structure. Its mission is to provide an environment where students will recognize they have the ability to learn, add value and have worth.

“I feel like I have the best job on the planet. I just love it. I’m able to reach kids that a lot of people can’t reach. It’s always been my forte. I’m kind of like a child whisperer.

“It’s just being vulnerable and open to provide students an opportunity to be heard. Sometimes as adults, we want to force things on students without ever actually giving them the opportunity to speak. You have to see where they’re coming from. You have to be relatable. And they have to know that you care.

“My biggest thing is, I show up. When my kids need me, I’m there. I don’t care if it’s a sporting event or dance recital. Or it can be difficult situations with parents. I’m just going to show up.

“That’s the most important thing. Kids have to know that you care about them. Once they know I’ll show up in that way, they’ll do anything for you.”

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“For about 10 years now, I’ve been teaching adults how to speak English. It’s through Harris County Department of Education. I want the world to be a better place. How better to contribute to that than by teaching these folks who come here and want to learn the language.

“Initially, classes were full of people from Mexico. Then came Central America and South America. We’ve also had folks from Puerto Rico, Vietnam, Pakistan — just all over.

“I have a lady from Honduras who only completed third grade. So she’s very limited. Her children speak English. She does not. I’m not sure if she wants to become a citizen. Maybe she just wants to help her kids with homework. Or she just wants to make an appointment with a doctor in English.

“Then you’ve got your educated who come with degrees: heavy duty attorneys, doctors, civil engineers. They want to go through the process of learning English, and then move on in their career paths.

“I don’t play favorites with the educated. I teach everyone like they’re human, with dignity. I may have to work a lot harder outside of class with the lady from Honduras to make sure she understands the grammar piece. But that’s OK. We can do that.

“As part of our curriculum, there also are citizenship classes. It teaches a history of the United States, the good and the ugly. These people want to be here. So why not create an adult learning community that knows our culture. That’s important to me.

“I can remember back in ’81 at the University of Houston doing a play about Jose Campos Torres, who was drowned by the Houston cops. Also when HISD tried to charge tuition for the children of undocumented workers to learn. That’s crazy. We can’t do that. Because of that background, I feel like these folks need a chance in America. I’m part of that chance. And that motivates the hell out of me.”

— Natalia Guzman

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The post Teacher helps break language barrier appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“I have dyslexia. I started really noticing it near the end of my sophomore year in high school. I had trouble staying focused on one topic, and I would mix-match letters sometimes.

“It was kind of distracting at first, but I didn’t really get frustrated. In some of my classes, another teacher would be there to help make sure that I stayed focused. I managed to get through school and graduate.

“I knew I wasn’t like everybody else, but it didn’t make me feel bad. It just made me realize that not everybody is the same, and that some people have to work harder than others.

“It hasn’t really affected me now while working. I stay on my tasks. I stay focused. I guess I’ve just learned to live with it.”

— Yannick Matthew

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“It was all kind of a blur for me. All I know is that I woke up in a hospital bed with a half-shaved head. The first thing I asked my nurse was, ‘Can you get me some lip balm?’ Because I need stuff on my lips at all times. I bet that lip balm cost me $100.

“I learned that because of a brain bleed, a subdural hematoma, they had to do emergency surgery to relieve the pressure. I was in the ICU for about a week. I felt fine. I got bored. Mostly, I was upset about my hair. After I got out, my kids were like, ‘You should just shave your whole head and let it all grow back together.’ I was like, ‘No way.’ I had shoulder-length hair, and now I’ve got short hair.

“My husband was scared to leave me by myself. But I was like, ‘I’m fine.’ Then I had a stroke. I was life-flighted to Tyler, and I was coherent during all that. I was just mad that I couldn’t see out the helicopter window.

“After a day or so, I started losing my speech. I would forget how to say words. Then I lost feeling in my right hand. I was in the hospital for a week. My voice started coming back. My hand was coming back. But I still had a long way to go. I would sometimes slur my words, so I sounded like I was drunk.

“I don’t know what I would have done without my husband, Tim, by my side. He did everything for me. He made me speak when I didn’t want to speak. He gave me sentences to say every day. He made me do physical exercises when I didn’t feel like it. As a chiropractor, he’s trained for it. I’ll just say he’s been my rock through everything. It’s why I’m here today.”

— Stacey Lundberg Stiff

Stacey has been a teacher for 25 years. She taught seventh grade at Gentry Junior School in Baytown, before the family moved to Jacksonville, Texas.

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“All the kids, from kindergarten through fifth grade, have to take art. So I get to see every student in the school once a week. My first year, I taught a lot about art history and the background of the artists’ lives. And the kids’ eyes would just glaze over. They would fall asleep in class. After a while I realized that the best structure was to give them as much time as possible to do actual hands-on art, with just enough instruction to get the message across.

“Some of the kids who kind of gave me behavior problems were the ones who didn’t really enjoy drawing or painting. They didn’t feel like their art work was as good as the other kids. I could relate to that. That’s how I felt when I was going through school. Then in college, I realized there are many different mediums and different ways to go in art. I discovered that what I enjoyed most are things like sculpture, printmaking and origami.

“The first time I did origami with the kids, they were like, ‘That was so cool. Can we do it again?’ That blew my mind because it’s something that I really love. Now we do origami for about three weeks every year. It’s gotten to the point that on day one of school, they’re asking, ‘When are we doing origami this year?’

“Sometimes in art, like on a drawing assignment, students have more freedom than they can kind of handle at that age. But with origami, there’s a step-by-step process and specific directions to follow. So when they finish, there’s that level of fulfillment and achievement that’s pretty satisfying.

“In art, there aren’t a lot of times where you feel like you really finished a piece. It happens every time I paint. About 30 minutes before I stop is when it looks really good. But then I work 30 more minutes, and I hate it by the end. I’m like, I wish I would have stopped 30 minutes ago. With origami you have a stopping point, and you’re able to say, look what I made. I didn’t overwork it to the point where I didn’t enjoy it anymore or feel like I messed it up. I think the kids feel that way, too.”

— Josh Crowhurst

Josh recently completed his sixth year as art teacher at Ashbel Smith Elementary School.

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“My husband and I have called Crosby home for six years now. We specifically chose Crosby as the place we wanted to raise our family: a smallish, diverse, one-high school town. We immediately fell in love with the culture. And we made that trip to Austin for the football team’s state semifinal playoff game in 2014, just months before our son was born.

“In 2017, I left my job as a nurse administrator in the medical center to start Crosby High School’s Health Science program. It has been great, but we’ve had our share of challenges: hurricanes, floods, a financial crisis, and then COVID. The current pandemic has proven to be a challenge like none we have ever faced as educators. Our campus staff have bonded during this time, and I love to come to work every day. It has been hard, but our students are what truly make it worth it.

“Our football team is preparing for the state championship game, and the ride has been such a bright spot for our school — especially for us as teachers. We attend sporting events at least weekly to cheer for our students, and we rarely miss a football game. We traveled to watch our team take down four top 10-ranked teams on the road to the championship game. But the proudest moment as teachers was watching them interact with Liberty Hill after we beat them last week. Our boys postponed their celebration to console the Liberty Hill players, who had just lost their head coach, Jeff Walker, to cancer in December.

“Our community has rallied around Coach Walker’s wife, presenting her with a check prior to that game. His hat and jersey will accompany Crosby to the state championship game, so I feel like we now have two communities cheering us on.

“It makes us so proud that our students aren’t only successful on the field, but they are showing real character. Crosby needed this bright spot during such a difficult year. It has truly been special.”

— Kristi Thompson

Kristi’s husband, Corbett, also teaches at Crosby High School. The Cougars (12-3) beat Liberty Hill 62-61 in overtime last week. They will play Aledo (12-1) in the Class 5A-Division II championship game at 1 p.m. Friday at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.

The post Teacher proud of character shown by student athletes appeared first on The Baytown Project.

“Scott is a math teacher at Sterling (High School). And being completely honest, with COVID-19 still out there, I’m scared as can be about him being back in school.

“I’m having to put way too much trust and faith in other people. Generally, I’m not very comfortable with that. When something really matters, it’s do it yourself if you want it done right. So when you have to rely on hundreds of faculty and staff plus all the students to stay safe, it exponentially increases the anxiety level.

“Getting him ready looked way different this year. Normally, we’d be up there two to three days setting up and decorating. But this year he’s keeping most everything packed to keep it clean.

“We’re sewing washable MERV filters into his masks, then hanging them by the door. He’ll use a new mask every day. He’ll be coming into the house through the garage instead of the front door. We have a little decontamination station set up out there so he can Lysol his shoes and keys, and use hand sanitizer before he touches the door knob and comes in. He’ll drop his mask and clothes into a special laundry basket, and put on a robe to wear upstairs where he goes right into the shower.

“We bought an insulated lunch bag for him to take to school, because you don’t really want to go out to eat and come back covered in who knows what. We bought a microwave and a refrigerator for his room so he doesn’t have to enter another teacher’s classroom or the lounge. He has a large reusable water bottle with a screw-top lid, since straws and Yeti cups aren’t safe anymore. And we purchased two air purifiers to hopefully keep the air he’s breathing in the classroom cleaner.

“All of this is super depressing. I’m dying for a vaccine. I’m dying for these numbers to fall. I’m ready to get our lives back. I think everybody just wants normalcy at this point.”

— Kristin Sickle

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