Beyond the School
Despite being essential members of our community, teachers frequently receive little recognition. Their lives are devoted to instructing, modeling, and guiding the next generation. One such hero is Jonathan Oliver, a physical education teacher at Valdosta, Georgia’s WG Nunn Elementary School, who recently won over many people’s hearts with his kind deed.
A Small Motion That Has a Huge Effect
Kristen Paulk, one of Oliver’s kindergarten students, came up to him during a basketball game asking for assistance. She requested that he restyle her hair into a ponytail. Oliver picked up a basketball, bent over, and immediately set about pulling Kristen’s braids out of her face. He had no idea that Kandice Anderson, a colleague educator, had recorded the touching incident on camera.
Touching Hearts All Around
The moment Anderson uploaded the video to YouTube, it became extremely popular. The video’s title, “When your job goes beyond teaching!” sums it all up.The public expressed their sincere gratitude and support for Oliver. Good Morning America noticed the clip and contacted Oliver to set up an interview.
A Modest Instructor
Oliver said in the interview, “We all do it, so I never expected it to receive so much attention.” “We want the students to have a great time and feel comfortable here. Oliver saw helping Kristen with her ponytail as just another day of providing his kids with the kind of attention they need. We strive to show them love as often as we can.
Beyond Style of Hair
Oliver assisted Kristen with her ponytail even though he isn’t a hair stylist. He made the amusing comment that anything more complicated than a ponytail would mean calling her mother for help. Miyah Cleckley, Kristen’s mother, conveyed her appreciation for Oliver’s gentle disposition. She said, “I always know Kristen is in very good hands with him.” Cleckley, who has one son and five daughters, is grateful for Oliver’s assistance.
We are reminded of the compassion and commitment found in our educational system by educators such as Jonathan Oliver. Even if their good deeds can go unappreciated, their influence is immense.
Wish list written by a foster child in Oklahoma
Dreamcatchers for Abused Children is a non-profit organization devoted to reform of abused children. According to their website, their main goal is to “educate the public on all aspects of child abuse such as symptoms, intervention, prevention, statistics, reporting, and helping victims locate the proper resources necessary to achieve a full recovery.”
Recently, the organization shared a heartbreaking list written by a child from Oklahoma who ended up in the foster system after enduring severe abuse from both his parents who were heavy alcoholics. The boy never experienced love or the joys a childhood normally brings. All he ever knew was negligence and starvation.
Years went by before a neighbor noticed that horrible things were taking place in the boy’s home and decided to alert social services.
Once police intervened, the boy was taken to the Dreamcatchers for Abused Children organization who made sure the little one ends in a new and loving home.
Finally, when the organization found the perfect family and shared the great news with the boy, he made a wish list on which he included all the things he wanted in his new forever home.
Needless to say, the list melted many people’s hearts. Many took their time to comment how the things on the list are not something a child should dream of because they should have them automatically as most of them are just basic needs.
This is the list:
“Things I want in my family:
I want food and water.
Don’t hit on me.
A house with running water and lights.
I want love.
Mom and dad don’t fight.
I want no drugs.
Don’t kill my pets.
Help with school.
Nice clean clothes.
No lice. No bug in house.
Clean house.
Clean bed with covers.
Don’t sell my toys.
Treated fair.
Don’t get drunk.
Tv in house.
Let me keep my school stuff.
Nice shoes.
My own comb soap. Nice house and safe and heater coat.
Toothbrush.”
This list is a reminder that we should never take the things we have for granted.
Leave a Reply