It’s National Teacher Appreciation Week

It’s National Teacher Appreciation Week and tomorrow is actually National Teacher Appreciation Day and if you’re able to read this article, there’s probably a teacher who deserves your appreciation.  

Think of the countless hours they spent grading tests and essays over the weekend.  Decorating bulletin boards with money from their own pocket and dealing with real rocket scientists like my kids is more than most could stand, but they do it without so much as a whimper.

As I think of the teachers I had over the years in Caddo Parish, 2 people really come to mind who shaped me into the person I wanted to be and who I eventually became.

Mrs. Patsy Weldon was the math teacher at Trinity Heights Christian Academy.  Her love for her students was unparalleled.  She truly made me want to be a better person and I will love her until the day I die.  She still lives in North Shreveport and it’s always a blessing to see her and to know that my life would have taken a much different path had she not crossed it.

The other person to not only shape my life, but the lives of many other young men was Coach Hoss Newman.  He and the world famous “Redfoot” paddle were true inspirations to do the right thing and to take a little bit of God given talent and add a double heaping of hard work to see any dream come to fruition.  Coach Newman passed on several years ago, but I think of him often as I raise my own sons.

So, to teachers all over THANK YOU!  And please know that someone, somewhere, probably the person you least suspect, appreciates you and will take your memory with them as they make the walk of life.