Despite being among the most important members of society, teachers receive the lowest pay.
Someone who dedicates their life to instructing, advising, and mentoring the next generation is a rare breed. There are numerous instances of instructors going above and beyond to support their pupils, like Jonathan Oliver, a physical education teacher at Valdosta, Georgia’s WG Nunn Elementary School, who was recently recognized for a selfless act he carried out while coaching a kindergarten basketball game.
Oliver stepped in to assist Kristen Paulk, his student, when she needed help tying her hair back in a ponytail. Bending down to her level, he focused on removing Kristen’s locks from her eyes, unaware he was being recorded. The coach’s thoughtful gesture was captured on camera by Kandice Anderson, one of the elementary school’s teachers. She then posted the footage to YouTube, where it garnered a lot of positive feedback.
The video’s title was “When your job goes beyond teaching!” and it quickly went viral. After the clip made its way online, Good Morning America approached the 34-year-old father of three. “It was shocking to me that it got that much attention because we all do it,” Oliver shared with Good Morning America, adding that he didn’t realize he was being filmed. “We [teachers] want to make them feel like they’re at home and that they enjoy being here. We try to love on them as much as possible. To me, it was just a ponytail.”
The doting coach revealed that Kristen had requested his assistance with putting a ponytail in her hair for a basketball game. While he usually helps his daughter style her hair, he joked, “It was a good thing she asked for a ponytail. Anything else, I’d say, ‘You better ask your mom.’”
Miyah Cleckley, Kristen’s mother, told the outlet that the video struck her deeply and that she knows her daughter is in good hands whenever she is with him. “I always know that Kristen is in very good hands with him. I thought it was really cute because her father does their hair a lot. We have five girls and one son, so when I’m working, he has to pick up the weight of doing their hair.”
There are countless examples of educators going the extra mile for their kids, and this is just one of them. They are heroes, for sure.
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