Posts Tagged ‘teachers’

20
Aug

26 Tuesdays: Victoria Soto

Back to School

Last week 26 Tuesdays honored Mary Sherlach, the counselor at Sandy Hook who, along with her principal, rushed into the corridor from their offices after hearing gunshots. U.S. school counselors do a nearly impossible job–their days are often filled with doing things they never really wanted to do, such as testing, scheduling, and other administrative work. Often, the counseling work they long to do has to be crammed into short segments of time (not ideal for helping people) or before or after school. It means long hours throughout the entire year–counselor usually do not get their summers off, like their teaching counterparts.

And yet, school counselors are often the very people who make life tolerable for a great number of kids. Sadly, more and more of our children are forced to live in families that are struggling for one reason or another. The reality is that life is often not very fair for our children. So, what sort of act of kindness should I do to honor Mary Sherlach?

My inspiration for this week’s act of kindness came from guess who. A school counselor. She happens to be a good friend of mine and when life didn’t seem very fair for me last week, I “vented” in her direction. She responded with her typical caring, her crazy sense of humor and…a card. She, herself, lives a life that is often not very fair to her. And yet, she still devotes herself to helping others with whatever problems they present to her. So I purchased a number of cards this week to send to others, those who have suffered some big hurts this week and could use a kind word from a friend. Such a simple thing to do, but a fast and dying act of kindness, due to the internet.

This puts our MIP acts of kindness count at 93! We closing in on the 100 mark! What did you do as your act of kindness this week?

Today’s honoree is the last teacher we will honor and Victoria Soto has been hailed as a hero for taking fast action to try and protect her students before she was unmercifully gunned down. Here is more about her via CNN:

Victoria Soto, 27
Soto, a first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary, moved her students away from the classroom door when she heard gunfire. “That’s when the gunman burst in, did not say a word, no facial expressions, and proceeded to shoot their teacher,” said Robert Licata, whose 6-year-old son, Aiden, escaped by running past the shooter. Soto’s mother said her daughter was selfless. “She would not hesitate to think to save anyone else before herself, and especially children. She loved them more than life, and she would definitely put herself in front of them any day,” Donna Soto told CNN’s Piers Morgan. Soto had wanted to be a teacher since she was 3 and talked about her students with “such fondness and caring,” her mother said. Soto’s cousin, James Wiltsie, said Soto “instinctively went into action, when a monster came into her classroom, and tried to protect the kids that she loved so much,” he said. “We just want the public to know that Vicki was a hero.”

Thursday’s Post: The return of Slow Reader Thursday!

You might also like: 26 Tuesdays: Mary Sherlach; 26 Tuesdays: Lauren Rousseau; 26 Tuesdays: Avielle Richman; and 26 Tuesdays: Jessica Rekos