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Jan Pearson taught in the same classroom in Chesterton, Indiana, for 38 years. Over that time she certainly left her mark on her young students. In fact, so much so that when they finally graduated, they wanted to share their joy with their former teacher.
For Pearson, 2022 marked the 13th year she’d been out of the classroom. This meant that all those youngsters she once taught had all grown up and were finally graduating. But their graduation wouldn’t be complete without acknowledging the teacher who’d set them on the road to success. So her former class, donning their graduation gowns and caps, decided to pay her a surprise visit.
Pearson was sitting in her garden with her daughter, Kim Hamilton, and her husband when there was a knock at the fence. She spotted a former student and called out her name. Then more students filtered into her garden one-by-one.
Incredibly, 13 years on, Pearson still remembered all their names as she acknowledged them individually with a big hug and a few tears. And when her daughter pointed out that this was her last ever graduating class, she burst into tears, along with her ex-students and her family.
Hamilton shared with Viral Hog how a student had contacted her to arrange the surprise, explaining:
“My mom’s passion was her career and her job was everything to her. I spent years of my childhood on evenings and weekends with her at the school prepping so everything was perfect. She made special memory books for each child that she bound and presented at the end of the year to each student. She truly was a one of a kind teacher. She deserves this recognition.”
This brief moment reminds us how it only takes one special teacher to have an ever-lasting impact in our children’s lives. And how fortunate these graduates were that it started in kindergarten.
But we also loved how these young men and women wanted to share their big milestone with the teacher who got them started. It was a beautiful gesture that shows Pearson what a good job she did all those years ago!
And today we celebrate...