Teacher Appreciation Week

Picture courtesy of homeroommom.com

Drs. Brad Gilbert, Adam Wells and Ron Parsons along with our entire SmilesForever Orthodontics staff, send out a big, beautiful THANK YOU to all teachers. Not just this specific week of the year, but all year round. You are heroes to so many and we DO appreciate you.

It's said that teacher's inspire greatness in children and invite them to explore the world around them. They have such an important role in shaping our children. In teaching them curriculum sure, but also and keeping them focused and excited about learning. A teacher's impact can make such a difference and when they spark a child's imagination they instill an eagerness to explore and learn. We all have that one teacher we might remember fondly, or who has become our hero at one time or another. We asked one of our staff members if they had a teacher they still thought of and thought we'd share her response with you.

"Teacher Appreciation Week". Every year, just those three simple words, immediately bring a childhood hero to mind. Second grade...first day of school and all of my favorite school friends were in the "other" class. The nerves were fluttering and I sat down at my desk. The teacher walked in and I thought she looked nice but I wasn't really ready to like her. Again, no friends in my class. The day began like most with Mrs. Frogue asking us about our summer and what we had enjoyed most. When we had all shyly shared our most memorable summer highlights, it was time to find out what our new teacher had done over the summer.

Rather than tell us, she opened the door..and in walked a man in a kilt, playing bag pipes! This was MR. Frogue, our teacher's husband. We found out that wonderful day that Mr. Frogue had been raised in a castle in Scotland. They shared slides of his family castle along with two castles they had visited that summer.

This wasn't just a teacher. My new teacher lived in castles every summer! This was a lady of adventure. A lady who traveled to far away lands and was married to a man in a skirt! I had clearly hit the second grade jackpot getting this teacher.

That year was a magical year of learning for me. Mrs. Frogue had a way of bringing everything to life and celebrating even the smallest acheivements. Mrs. Frogue came to every student's birthday party and brought her husband along in his kilt. She went above and beyond for her enthusiastic second graders and we knew it.

Over the years I visited with Mrs. Frogue quite often. As her students grew, they returned to her for help with math, history, career paths and heartache. She later celebrated our marriages and babies alongside us. And brought her husband, though in later years he didn't wear his kilt. They continued their adventures and visits to castles each summer. Inspiring young minds to creatively explore.

Mrs. Frogue is now living in her forever castle with her husband by her side. I like to imagine he's wearing his kilt and walking into her classroom and she's sharing slides of their adventurous life. Year after year I look forward to seeing those three special words, "Teacher Appreciation Week", and I celebrate my favorite second grade hero, Mrs. Frogue. I appreciate everything she inspired me to explore.