How closely I agree

I have just finished reading a beautifully written letter from Ms. Tracy Harris which expressed exactly what I feel in my heart and have expressed many times to others.

I loved my teaching years. It has to be the most rewarding career in the world as old teachers continue to reap rewards many decades later. I taught English IV and speech/drama at El Dorado High School from 1965 through 1971 before we were transferred to Houston. I quickly learned to try any means possible to get a sleepy senior’s attention … even if it meant standing atop my desk to introduce Macbeth.

Today I am 76 and it has been 54 years since I entered Room 409 in 1965. My first class graduated in ’66 and my last EHS class in ’71. I loved teaching. I loved my students. Back then it was okay to let them know that. I could both laugh and cry with them, even occasionally pat a shoulder in recognition of an important moment. One class began blurring “Mrs. Miles” until it became “S’Miles.”

Five students drove down to visit us in Houston on different occasions, and eight students have remained in constant contact since their graduation 50 years ago. If I dared mention names you would recognize many as leading Arkansans in their professions … names often read in this newspaper.

After moving back to Arkansas in 2013, my “children” spread word through the grapevine (I am not on social media) and I now have 31 of them (ages 67-72) who remain in my life today—through email, phone calls, lunch and theater invitations, etc. I loved them then and I love them now … I feel I am the most blessed teacher in the world.

BRENDA MILES

Hot Springs Village