Recently a friend was chatting with me about life passing by without her leaving much of a mark on humanity. We both are at the age when there is more life behind us than in front.
She’d invested her time and career in an elementary classroom. She spent hours teaching kids to read, write, and learn basic math.
Then there were those hours of parent conferences, teacher’s meetings, grading papers, and lesson plans—year after school year.
But some Netflix show had made her feel less than purposeful because she hadn’t “produced” anything.
The show had featured people who had developed everything from phone apps to marketable items that were unique and sought after.
These people had made their mark on the world by producing something purposeful.
My friend lamented that she “only” had decades in the classroom. It didn’t translate into something tangible like a product to sell. My argument about students being our future didn’t resonate with her.
I guess here in America, success is about having something worthy enough to be bought.
But what about prevention?
While my friend toiled in the classroom year after year, she also brought extra sandwiches for hungry students who didn’t have enough. My friend prevented hunger.
She also used her own money to buy the supplies some students couldn’t afford. My friend prevented embarrassment over a financial hardship the child couldn’t help.
She’d also taught these students respect, kindness, and to be proud of their accomplishments.
Who knows if my friend didn’t prevent future problems because these kids learned more than school lessons, they developed strength for life.
No, my dear friend, it isn’t always what we produce that matters most, it can be something that we prevented from happening by helping others—one student at a time.
