Let’s face it. Teachers are not paid near enough for what they do. It’s a sad reality that has been around for a long, long time. Younger students may not really think of it that way, but, still they know that their teachers should be getting a lot more appreciation than they do.
Parker Williams is one of those students. Even though he’s a young boy, his parents have long instilled in him the value of a good education; that at some point, it will bring great opportunities for him. Parker’s teacher is Mrs. Chambers, and she had done an awful lot to help him along the way, with genuine care and encouragement. And it’s easy to see that she has so much to deal with and is often pulled in a lot of different directions. But she handles it with professionalism and grace. And Parker sees that in her.
So one day, Parker happened to watch a commercial on TV that mentioned teachers were underpaid. And that got him thinking. And he thought about his own teacher – Mrs. Chambers; she’s a teacher and she must be underpaid too. So young Parker wanted to give his teacher a pay raise. He had just had his 9th birthday, and he got a lot of presents. But he also got $15 in cash. So the very next day, he went to class and gave Mrs. Chambers a note with something very special inside it.
The note read: “Dear Mrs. Chambers, I don’t think that teachers get paid enough for what they do. So will you accept this gift?” And attached to the letter, in a little baggy, was Parker’s birthday money… all $15 of it.
After reading the note and seeing the money attached to it, tears started flowing from her eyes. She could not believe her student would do this for her. That gesture showed her just how much he cared.
Says Mrs. Chambers: “Teachers put their all-in all the time. We often take work home. Our day doesn’t end when the bell rings. It’s so great that Parker realized that we do a lot extra.”
Mrs. Chambers, touched by what her student did, wrote a note back to him. It said: “I can’t accept this but appreciate the gesture, Parker. Students like you are the reason I teach.” And there was a big smiley face on it. The money he had given her was also returned with the note.
Parker’s parents found out about it and posted the exchange between their son and his teacher on social media. It was shared hundreds of times, and Parker’s actions were highly praised by many.
Before this, Parker’s parents had taught him to give 10 percent of his allowance to charity, and help other people whenever he can. The latest incident caught them off guard though. But it certainly shows they have taught their son well. They have taught him VERY well.
