Sheryl Green: Sometimes tough questions get good answers

Leigh Sadler, a fifth-grade humanities teacher at St. Elmo Center for the Gifted, walked inside to pay for her gas and grab a snack. Money in hand, she looked up to see a familiar face ring up her total. Behind the counter was one of her former students.

Initially, Mrs. Sadler was perplexed and displeased at the young man’s current position in life. I’m sure she thought of another shameful waste of potential. So, as many of us teachers would do, she boldly asked the young man, “Why are you working here?”

Teachers can ask those tough questions. It doesn’t matter if the student was in their class ten years ago, teachers just have a knack for being able to ask the hard questions. And they can ask them with a certain level of forthright that others can’t use. I can only explain it as simple economics.

Since teachers are the most constant and abundant investors in the lives of our young people, they have a vested interest in the return on their investment. This concern for the success of the end product allows them the right to ask, “Why are you working here?”

I’m sure Mrs. Sadler was wrestling over how the year this kid spent in her classroom being challenged, being pushed, and being motivated to want more translated into selling Pepsi and Doritos at a convenience store. And so, she did what any fine teacher would do. She asked.

His answer, however, shifted her initial impression. The young man explained how the owner of the business was a family friend who was willing to give him flexible hours to work around his college schedule. The job was a means to an end.

Put one in the win column for teachers and how they inspire and influence youngsters to recognize the importance of higher education and dreaming big. Even elementary and middle school teachers accept the mission to instill such a recognition in the minds of kids. They may have to endure delayed satisfaction, but chances are, their diligence will surely pay off.

I was reminded of Mrs. Sadler’s convenience store experience Saturday as I listened to one of our graduates speak at commencement. Quan posed a simple question to his classmates: Where are you going after graduation? Seems a typical question to ask seniors, but as he expanded his thoughts, they mirrored those of our elementary teacher, Mrs. Sadler. The purpose of school is “to make us better, to teach us how to learn, to teach us how to make small sacrifices for larger benefits,” Quan said. Sacrifices like ringing up Pepsi and Doritos in a convenience store in order to pay for college.

The life mission of teachers like Mrs. Sadler is to instill within students a deep-rooted, uncompromising acknowledgment of the importance of having a plan. As Quan told his fellow graduates, “It’s OK to work the register at McDonalds when you’re saving up for your own restaurant. It’s OK to wash rusty cars and old trucks now, when you know you’re going to own a brand new one before you’re 30.” I think that’s the message Mrs. Sadler and all teachers across this District are trying to teach our kids. It matters less how you get there; it just matters that you do.

A huge THANK YOU to the many teachers who inspired, motivated, and influenced our city’s Class of 2017. May your investments prove fruitful.

This story was originally published May 30, 2017 at 5:42 PM with the headline "Sheryl Green: Sometimes tough questions get good answers."