A Teacher Can Make All the Difference

My mother, Hazel Clark Jacobson was born in 1905 to a family of 10 children. There were four boys (two were babies who died the same week as their mother in the flu epidemic in Star Valley, Wyoming in 1920) and six were girls who all (except one who died as a teenager) became teachers. The oldest sister Hilda vividly remembers the response of her mother when, after graduating from the 8th grade she announced that she was planning to stay home and help with their large farm and her nine younger brothers and sisters. The High School was 30 miles away which meant being away from the family for weeks at a time as their only mode of transporation was a horse and carriage. Hilda could see that it would be hard to manage without her help.

Her mother firmly rejected that idea and said, “In twenty years, no one will remember whether our floors got cleaned and the cows were milked but no one will ever forget the lives you will change if you get a good education and become a teacher” 

She was right! Not only did she go on to get a teaching degree, but her younger sisters all followed in her footsteps. No one will ever know the long term positive effects that those sisters, who all became excellent teachers, have had in the lives of literally thousands of elementary school children.

Look at this fun picture of my mom with her school class in 1934 when she was 29 years old in Star Valley Wyoming and the following ones taken throughout her teaching career (she’s the tall girl with the long hair on the back row below).







I can say it now because she and all her sisters have passed on and they would agree anyway, that my mom was the star when it came to teaching! When I return to my little hometown in Montpelier, Idaho where she taught for many years, someone always comes up to me and says that my mom changed his/her life because of her positive encouragement to do their best and be their best. It was part of the fabric of the classroom as well as a genuine love for each of the kids, sometimes especially “the hard ones.” Those positive feelings about education were passed from those kids to their kids and it wet on and on. We figured that Mother taught about a thousand kids in the classroom in her forty-five years of teaching! All those who were taught by her, adored her!

Whether is was genes or an innate desire to change the lives of children for good, our oldest son has followed the path of the Clark girls’ excellence in teaching! Besides being an extraordinary computer guru, Josh worked hard to major in Construction Management at BYU and was on a path of excellence with one of the best construction companies in the country in Washington D.C. when he realized that his destiny was to teach. He quit his job and went after his dream!

To put many years of teaching in a nutshell, Josh has become an astonishing teacher! He is teaching 3rd grade at a charter school Gilbert, Arizona. Every year he goes far beyond the call of duty with so many innovative ideas and ways to help his kids do their very best! He loves the kids and wants them to succeed and they know it!

We were lucky enough to attend a school event this year! All but two of his 30 students and their parents were there and had such a great time together!

The best part of the event for Dad/Rick and I was hearing parent after parent literally raving about the difference “Mr. Eyre” has made in the lives of their children:

One dad went on for 10 minutes about how his son would never want to go to school and how he had to drag him out of bed and bribe or force him to go to school every day—until this year when he was lucky enough to be placed in Mr. Eyre’s class.  Now, he says, his son is ready to go early every day, can’t wait to get to school and is always excited to tell him what he learned that day. The mom wanted to take him for a day outing and the boy said “No, I can’t go, I don’t want to miss school because I learn so much every day.”

Another dad said “Mr. Eyre has changed our daughter’s life, and our family’s life!” 

A mom said she had had four of her boys in Josh’s class and that she can’t even calculate how much he has meant to her sons. She said they all now have what she thinks will be a lifetime love of learning because of “Mr. Eyre.”.

Still another mom told us that her daughter now says “I want to be a teacher just like Mr. Eyre so I can help kids like he helps me.”

“We have another daughter whom we hope will get into Mr. Eyres’ class next year,” one mom said. “If she gets Mr. Eyre, we will stay with the school, even though it would be much easier for us to have our children go to the school next to our home in our own neighborhood.  If she doesn’t get into Mr. Eyre’s class, we are changing to our neighborhood school.”

A couple of parents said how great it is that he teaches them how to complement and encourage each other—especially on their birthdays. “Instead of just having the kids eat the cupcakes I brought to celebrate my daughter’s birthday in silence, he had everyone say what they liked best about our daughter. It brought tears to my eyes!”

The compliments flowed like a waterfall!

Here is a picture of the class ducklings that the kids had watched hatch right in their classroom and had nurtured for the past couple of weeks.



I love looking back and reminiscing about the teachers who have changed my life. There are several but one very special one, whom I think of him often because he taught me to write (and diagram sentences, and devour the great classics and learn vast numbers of vocabulary words). I can honestly say that he changed my life for the better!

How proud I am to have been raised by a Mother who innately knew how to change lives through education and love and a terrific son who has taken that torch and run ahead with it as he continues to change lives forever! Love you Mr Eyre!