Just Wanted to Say THANKS
By Tony Taylor
From the archives: Originally published in The Front Porch Magazine, October 2016 (Winter–Spring 2016–2017), page 16.
I feel like I’m in Mrs. Taylor’s English IV class at Caldwell High School as I’ve procrastinated till the last minute to get my article done. I’ve been told to write about courage but I’m going to combine a few things within my article about that and public servants. I’m starting my 28th year in education and man has time flown by during this time. It just seems like yesterday when I was starting my first year at Mason High School. An individual doesn’t get into education to become rich “monetarily,” but when a student/athlete finally “gets it,” the reward is priceless.
As I begin to write this article I want to say thanks to teachers/educators/coaches who were instrumental in shaping my life at an early age. I think of Kenny Hoffpauir who coached me at East Chambers High School when I was very immature as a freshman and sophomore. He had a way of motivating us that made us believe we were “way better than we actually were,” and we developed a mindset during this time where we won games against far superior talent.
I think of the following people when we moved to Caldwell before the start of my junior year in high school who were placed in my path as I started to mature as a young man. I think of Coach Harry Daniels who I had as a teacher for Economics. He was a mountain of a man who had a love for students. I always loved Monday mornings because we would talk about the football game from the previous Friday night.
There was Gladys Loehr who taught me typing. She just had this presence about her that made me never want to disappoint her. I can still remember giving up part of my lunch to practice for UIL typing with her. I think of Ed Presley as a principal; he had a “love” for kids regardless of who they were or what type of background they had. I think of Bobby Goforth, my high school football coach. He was a man who taught me that it was “OKAY” to be a Christian and introduced me to FCA (Fellowship of Christian Athletes). There are so many others that I could mention but these just come to mind as I start to write.
My challenge to current teachers/coaches/administrators is to have the “courage” to believe in something with your students and to make a difference within their lives. As I heard a coach at a clinic a few years ago say about educators, “we’re the last line of defense for students when it comes to morals, values, and a belief system versus what society offers.” Many parents do a great job with their children but a trend I have seen here recently is that the “parenting” has fallen into the hands of the schools. I’ve asked myself this question many times, “Why is up to us to parent some other person’s child?” Well, I believe that we all have a calling in life and at times it might seem like a huge task but as I’ve stated earlier, when a student “gets it” whether it be behavior-attitude-respect-graduation, the reward is totally PRICELESS. With all of this being said, “ I want all school personnel to keep “fighting the good fight, have COURAGE to do what is right and set examples so students can pass what they have learned from you all to future generations.”
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I keep thinking of my dad, the late Richard Taylor, as I’m writing. His favorite actor was always John Wayne. I like a quote by the late actor. It went like this, “ Courage is having some fear about something but saddling up anyway and facing the challenge.” My dad was one of those guys who wasn’t afraid; I know there were times when he made tough decisions in education, but he always had the students in mind just like all of us do who have chosen this profession.
The next round of THANKS goes out to the police officers who have a thankless job. A person wants to talk about COURAGE in society today? well, look no further than the men and women who rise each morning and put on a badge to secure our safety. I’m talking about local and federal officials, highway patrol personnel, and anyone else who is part of the police/safety forces within our communities. How many of us would be willing to do what they do daily? We’ve all seen recently how tough a job this is for law enforcement. All I can say is that you all are HEROES and I can’t say “Thank you” enough.
I’d be wrong to not mention Firefighters, Armed Forces Personnel and EMT people as well; you all “put your life on the line daily” and provide services and FREEDOM that I and others take for granted.
I’m sure there are times that ALL of these people mentioned in the article thus far think, “Why am I doing this? Do I really make a difference? I wonder if anyone notices what I’m doing?” Well, the answer is YES, Many times OVER and OVER. I know this, I’m guilty of taking things for granted within our society and shame on me for this, but I’m committed to make a conscious effort to PRAY for our public servants to continue to have “COURAGE” during trying times, to “fight the good fight for we will someday reap what we sow” and as the late Jim Valvano said, “TO NEVER GIVE UP!!” Have a Blessed Day!!
About the author (as published in 2016): Tony Taylor is currently an Athletic Director and teacher at McMullen High School in Tilden, Texas. He has been published in Coach Magazine.
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