When teachers say goodbye to their students at the end of the school year, they often have no idea what kind of impact they’ve had on them.
The students move up a grade, graduate, pursue higher levels of education, get jobs, start careers, and maybe move away, while the teachers stay and teach a new class of students.
Most of the time, teachers don’t get to hear how much they affect their students, but once in a while a teacher is so inspiring that a student or two comes back to thank their beloved teacher.
And that’s exactly what Lee Buono did to a New Jersey teacher. After you read this, you’ll understand why. What a moving story!
Albert Siedlecki has been teaching science at Memorial Middle School in New Jersey for more than 40 years. His students affectionately call him “Mr. Sie” and he’s trained hundreds of kids over the years.
Mr. Sie loves his job and always pushes his students to do their best. He tries to be there for every student and he lets them test out ideas and theories for themselves.
But even though he loves his work, Mr. Sie has never really understood how much he’s influenced his students over the years.
That is, until he got a surprising phone call.
One of Mr. Sie’s old students from the 1980s, Lee Buono, wanted to talk with him. Mr. Sie remembered the name, but he had no idea why Lee wanted to contact him.
Lee is now a neurosurgeon and he was moved to call Mr. Sie after operating on a patient, a judge. After Dr. Lee performed an advanced brain surgery on the man, he was very grateful and said something to Lee that led him to reconnect with his old teacher.
The judge told Lee to thank the person whomever it was who inspired him to become a brain surgeon. Lee immediately knew who it was.
According to Lee, the judge said, “You make sure that you thank the person, the teacher that you had for the inspiration to be here.”
When Mr. Sie spoke to Lee, he was overcome with emotions.
The science teacher said, “That phone call changed the way I look at every single student. From that minute forward. When I realized that every single person has this potential.”
Lee recalls how he had to dissect a frog during one of Mr. Sie’s classes. After Lee removed the frog’s brain and spinal cord, Mr. Sie commented on his skill and said it was the best dissection he had ever seen.
Lee explained, “He said to me, ‘You know, you got the hands of a surgeon. You’re a smart, bright boy, and you could be a surgeon. You could be a brain surgeon if you want.”
Lee was only 13 years old at the time, but Mr. Sie’s encouraging words changed his life. It was at that moment that he decided to become a brain surgeon.
After the phone call, Lee returned to Memorial Middle School to thank Mr. Sie personally. During the meeting, Mr. Sie gave his old student a special gift: the same frog and spinal cord that he had dissected so many years ago.
Mr. Sie had kept it and had it mounted on a plaque. Lee was moved to tears by the fine gesture.
“It’s a beautiful gift, but the meaning behind it is far beyond words. It was telling a kid, like a son, like a father, you can be anything you want in life.”
Mr. Sie had no idea his lessons have made such a difference in the lives of his students. Still, it’s clear that his guidance, support, and encouragement have influenced many young people.
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This story is both inspiring and teaches an important lesson, which is exactly what the teaching profession is all about! Giving children dreams, tools, and inspiration to become what they want to be sounds simple, but it’s very difficult!
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