Webspiration Wednesday normally consists of teachers gathering together in the library to watch and discuss an inspirational video or TED talk, followed by discussion about its implications in our classrooms. Today was a different kind of Webspiration Wednesday.
On March 10 I got a late night phone call that one of our second grade teachers had died. I was convinced that I was hearing wrong, Val was only 53 and I saw her that morning. She wasn’t feeling well when she got to school, so we called her a sub. Being that she is a teacher, she came back to school at 4:00 to write up sub plans and get everything ready for her absense the next day. Her husband and 7 year old daughter were with her, and gave her 5 minutes to get her plans laid out. Of course 5 minutes turned into 30 as she set out plans, answered emails, and wrote a morning message for her students at the board. As she was finializing plans, she collapsed. Paramedics weren’t able to revive her. Our school body went into a state of shock and mourning. The next day we had no school. Teachers gathered and cried together, and we asked a lot of questions about how best to minister to grieving kids. We brought in grief counselors and came together with our students the next day to help the students process the loss in any way that we could. As a school body we felt utterly depleted. An amazing thing happened, schools from around the country came together to support us. My PLN on Twitter immediately sent articles and podcasts for how to help children through the grief process and offered words of hope. Jason Schmidt (@jasonschmidt123) had his students write notes of hope, encouragement, and prayers for Val’s little girl. They arrived the day of Val’s funeral. A neighboring school showed us love and encouragement by providing our staff the opportunity to come together over a catered lunch. Today we broke bread together. We talked, and laughed, and reminiced together. We don’t often get that opportunity with staggered lunches and busy schedules. We were inspired today not by a video talk, but by the love showed by others. Thank you all for your inspiration, words of encouragement, and hope.
I agree, my PLN is the best!
Kelly, what a sad thing for Val’s family and friends, her colleagues and students. But what a lady to keep thinking of her students until the very end. What a teacher. How dedicated.
So sorry for your loss and grief.
Thank you Pam, she was a great inspiration and a joy to be around. I am thankful for all of you in my PLN!