WB Public Schools – “How Has a WB teacher made a difference in your life? “

WB students were asked one simple question,

“How has a West Bridgewater teacher made a difference in your life? “

This video was created to show on the first day of school. “Every single one of you can make a positive difference in the life of a child,” said Superintendent Patty Oakley as she addressed the crowd of teachers. “It’s making that personal connection with the kid that you teach, and that’s what makes a teacher effective,” said Oakley.

She assured teachers that content and instruction come only after a student feels valued and understood by the teacher.

“It’s understanding why a student may be a little off on a given day, or taking time to help that student go a little further that day… every person wants to feel special and that you matter to someone,” said Oakley.

She shared the Starfish Story, of a woman walking along a shore one morning and hurling beached starfish, one by one, back into the sea. When a passerby insists that there are thousands of starfish on the sand—so how could it possibly make a difference, the woman smiles and shrugs, saying, “It made a difference to that one!”

Dr. Oakley likened the day-to-day challenges of a teacher to the woman returning starfish to the ocean. “What you do matters,” said Oakley, “and you are the most important thing in their lives and education right now.”

“We remember our best and we remember our worst teachers… so when kids talk about teachers, which category do you want to be remembered in?”

“You don’t always hear it, but you might hear it years later,” said Oakley, how something you did or said made a difference to a student.”

She shared a fabulous video coordinated by TV Production teacher Scott Cray and led by Abby Bedard Myah Lee and and Megan Adams who interviewed preschoolers through adults about West Bridgewater teachers who made a difference.

“My teacher helped me through my parents’ divorce,” said one, while others shared about teachers helping them master letters, reading or math skills.

“My teacher helped me become a better person,” shared one teen, while another praised his teacher for being “really patient, always willing to help me and take time for me.”

“My teacher helped me through the loss of my friend who died,” shared another child, while a classmate confided that a teacher helped him “when my mom had breast cancer”.

“My teacher helped me during a meltdown at a varsity race and said I belong there,” said a high school student, adding that this boost of confidence has stayed with her at each and every cross-country race since that time.

Dr. Oakley gifted each teacher and staff member with a white starfish, as a reminder of the opportunities present in the new school year.

“Put it somewhere you can see it every day,” advised Oakley, “and say ‘know what? I’m gonna make a difference in at least one child’s life today,’.”

“Now,” she shifted gears, “we’re WB, we’re Wildcats, and This is How We School It,” she cheered, by way of introduction to this year’s back-to-school celebratory video.

Video and story courtesy of WB Public Schools Facebook