But I came back in and I was very respectful and I didn’t laugh again.So that was an important lesson for me to learn.So I want to thank you for that.
Hey, it’s me, Destin. Welcome back to Smart Every Day. I had the opportunity to do an event locally, where I got to make a video to thank some of my teachers and it was awesome. When I got done, I was so proud of what I had created. Some of my teachers were actually in the video, and it made me feel so good to be able to thank them for all the things they’ve done for me. I felt like I wanted everyone to see it and to be able to thank their own teachers.
If you’ve never done this before, I would highly recommend considering it. There’s power in the spoken word, and it can be an incredibly meaningful experience. So here’s the video I made and, as a part of the event, some of my teachers are in it and they say really nice things. It’s a little embarrassing for me, but I want you to meet them.
My three siblings and I are the product of our hard working and loving parents, Darryl and Terry Sandlin. They’ve spent so much time teaching us so much, but we’re also the product of the Morgan County School system. And we’ve had so many teachers teach us so many wonderful things over the years. I thought it would be appropriate to take this time to say thank you for some very specific things.
I want to say thank you to Miss Maria Yung, my kindergarten teacher. You taught me how to listen, which is a huge part of learning. I remember sitting around the rocking chair in the room and when it was storytime, we had to be quiet. You brought in people that we could listen to and I remember listening to Chris’s grandfather’s stories about being on icebreakers in the Arctic.
I also want to thank Mrs. Cowart, my first grade teacher. When I was learning how to tie my shoes, you were very patient with me. That was more stressful than you think. I also learned how to speak in front of a group in show and tell in first grade.
Ms. Mayfield, my second grade teacher, you kept a tight ship in second grade, but you also taught me that if you work hard, you get to play hard. There was an Atari in the corner of the room and that was the first moment I got to play Pitfall, which blew my mind.
Mrs. Tepper’s third grade class was an incredible class. I still remember where I sat and everything. I want to thank Ms. Tepper for teaching me a very important lesson, which is self-control. I remember one time I was laughing in class and I couldn’t stop. Ms. Tepper said, “Why are you laughing, Dest?” and I said, “I can’t tell you. I’m sorry.” She said, “Out in the hall, young man.” I came back in and I was very respectful and I didn’t laugh again.
So if you like this video and it makes you feel like it made me feel when I got done watching it, consider making one of these for your teachers and telling them the things you’ve always felt but they’ve never heard. Because I think there’s power in the spoken word, and I think this could be huge. Oh, my goodness.
Like, Do you just die there? It was a terrifying thing. So I’m in the hall, and then she comes out and she says, Destin, why are you laughing? And I said, I'm sorry, Ms. Tepper, I cannot tell you. And she said, Well, maybe you could write it down. I said, Yes, I will write it down. And I remember writing it as small as possible to hide my shame. And I can still visually see what I wrote on that paper. I can only imagine, as Ms. Tepper held that up to her face and read Brandon Poo did loud. That was the reason I couldn’t quit laughing in third grade. But she taught me about the importance of keeping control of yourself in a group, and I learned that in third grade I had to go to the hall to learn it, but that was a huge lesson. I love Ms. Tepper. Thank you so much for everything you did for me, by the way. Sorry, Brandon didn’t mean to throw you under the bus there.
I want to say thank you to my fourth grade teacher, the late Mr. Keenan. He took great interest in how I hold my pencil. And I still hold my pencil like Mr. Keenan taught me to to this day. And it matters. Like he took the time to invest in how a young man holds his pencil. And it changed how I do this for the rest of my life. And it was that great care and attention to detail that influenced me. Thank you, Mr. Keenan.
I want to say thank you to my fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Easley, and I’ve asked her if she’s willing to say a few words because she’s so special and I want you to know who she is. Teaching is something I’ve really enjoyed and I have been retired for a little bit, but there are just some students that you remember and I remember Destin. He was special and he was vertically challenged, but he didn’t know he was. That was the special thing about him. He was so confident. He had all this charisma and he had a little posse of boys that were always with him, his friends. So that’s what I really remember about him and asking questions and into things and always wanting to do science experiments. So over the years even I used zest and story about him being vertically challenged whenever I would have another vertically challenged child in my class. And it always seemed to work this easily is angelic. I love her.
But one thing that always confused me is she read this book to us called Miss Nelson is Missing, and in this book it tells a story about a class that has a substitute teacher come to school one day. Viola Swamp. And the weird thing about this is after she read this book to us the next day and miss easily this class none other than Viola Swamp walks into the room and it’s almost like she looked a little bit like Ms. Easley, but she kind of said the things that I think Ms. Easley would really want to say. I don’t know. It was just it was a really weird experience. Oh, I’d take time out of my schedule to do this. Oh my gosh, I’m glad to be here. But I’m missing a day of substitute pay, which you wouldn’t believe how much we make now. Who? Amazing kids. I remember one in particular, Destin something saying I can’t remember. Oh, my goodness. I always ask the questions. Imagine that score. She really did look a lot like Viola Swamp. Yeah, That’s so weird. Yeah, we were in fifth grade. We couldn’t see it, though.
Looking back at the sixth, seventh and eighth grade years, it was great for junior high school. They were fantastic. I mean, the teachers really poured into us. Mrs. Wallace taught me about algebra in the Beta Club. She took us skiing, which was a pretty big deal for a young man from Alabama. I remember the time Miss Teague in our tag class, Tas Agnew did something in class and we decided just to put him on trial right then and there. Tollie and the others wanted to know if the death penalty was on the table. We decided against that, but we learned a lot about injustice in in our tag class. That was amazing. Ms. went and taught me the importance of poetry and how to slip the surly bonds of Earth. Miss Henry taught me how to make milkshakes and how to sew boxers. I still have the gun rack. I made it. Mr. Hurd shop class. Oh, my goodness. She said, I don’t care if it’s bad, I don’t care if it’s good.Just write every day, and I’m still doing that.
Coach Pope taught me how to be a leader, even though I was the smallest kid on the basketball court. Coach Williams took me and my buddies to the 1994 Alabama Technology fair, which made my world so much bigger. Mr. Chance taught us how to collaborate and work together in groups, even though he might have been a nerdy little boy. Jan Sanders, my school bus driver, taught me how to communicate what I was doing. The lunchroom ladies were fantastic. Miss Teague taught me Algebra two and trigonometry, and Coach Booth taught me calculus. Ms. Morrow taught me about Shakespeare and mythology, and Miss Hodges taught me how to think critically and invited me to participate in Science Olympiad. Stevo and I won the bottle rocket competition in the state, and I learned the word engineer. Ms. Russian made me write every day, and that’s something I’m still doing. All of these people have been influential in my life. Walking into the class and having to start writing, she knew there was a communicator within her and wanted to make sure he communicated. She took the time to have arguments with me about how I was saying things to make sure I learned how to communicate well. I’m grateful because people think math and science are the most important things, but it’s really about how to communicate complicated things in a simple way. My teachers have invested so much time into my life and when I put something on the Internet and people say nice things, it’s nice to hear. But the truth is, I’m just an Alabama kid who was fortunate enough to have teachers speaking into my life when I needed it. They sent me in the hall when I needed to get in the hall, they taught me things I didn’t understand, and challenged me in ways I needed to be challenged. I’m grateful for the Lord for these blessings and opportunities, my parents for their time and investment, and my teachers for making me who I am today.
I challenge you to get your yearbooks, open them, and look at them. Think about what the teachers did for you and tell a story of a specific thing a teacher did. Point your phone at your yearbook, point it at your face and say something to your teacher that you mean and always wanted to say. Hashtag #ThankYourTeacher. We now have the authority to speak into our teachers’ lives and share the fruit of their work with them. Consider doing this and have a good bye.