Celebrating International Teacher's Day with Flowers

This humble blog post is dedicated to my 5th grade teacher, Mrs. Baker. What a legend. She guided hundreds of 10 year olds through their last year at Smith Barnes Elementary School in Stockbridge, GA, during the late 90s and early 2000s. Today, there's zero trace of her on the internet. Ruby Baker, I think her name was. So after today, when someone Googles Ruby Baker, teacher, they will find a tiny piece of her story here.

In 4th grade, Mrs. Baker was the one 5th grade teacher I absolutely did not want. Intense and focused, we all feared her. Of course, she was the teacher I got — and the teacher I needed. Ours was a lowly public school south of Atlanta, but she maintained order in a chaotic system, and she created a cohesion amongst children I have only felt in that class. We were a team, and she made me team captain, something that had never happened to me before! Can you spot me in the photo above? Second row, red turtleneck.

She used to look me in the eye and say, "You are a leader!" It was like a movie. It was a dramatic and small thing, and hopefully she said it to all the kids, not just me. I always remembered it, and her voice is one of the voices I hear when I need a little boost. Seriously, no other adult ever in my life looked me in the eyes and said things like that — or maybe they did but I wasn't listening. We all listened to Mrs. Baker.

The geography bee rolled around that spring, and I was our class representative. I had a packet of questions that I studied furiously. Generally, I excelled in school, but I preferred not to work very hard at it. For Mrs. Baker, however, I put in the hours with a thick white print out of questions and answers, reading them in music class and after dinner. I remember thinking there were way too many questions for me to learn them all! Plus, the previous year, I had choked on stage during the spelling bee. I was blinded by the bright lights and completely forgot all the letters and was immediately eliminated. I wanted this time to be different.

On stage in the cafeteria, we all lined up and cycled past the mic. There were dozens of kids, as I recall, and the line spiraled around the stage. Correct answerers remained on stage. Wrong answers went to sit down. The line got shorter and shorter. I remember when we were down to two people. I was so nervous that I don't remember anything about the moment of glory. Maybe I was asked to identify the tune of the Yellow Rose of Texas — I always think of Mrs. Baker and the geography bee when I hear that song. Although I don't remember the moment of victory, I do remember being the class hero afterwards. Mrs. Baker made a fuss over me, and I think we enjoyed a pizza party. What could be better in 5th grade?

So, thank you Mrs. Baker for giving me a little special confidence that will last my whole life.

Is a teacher instilling your children with inner strength? Send that teacher a flower on October 5, World Teacher's Day.

Big thanks to Mrs. Ruby Baker, wherever you are!