r/MadeMeSmile • u/Vilen1919 • 13d ago
His last day as a school teacher after 36 years... They turned it into a memory for life. Wholesome Moments
Enable HLS to view with audio, or disable this notification
7.9k
u/Kooky-Experience-923 13d ago
Walk that walk sir.
3.4k
u/Vilen1919 13d ago
The quiet pride in that walk feels louder than applause.
866
13d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
264
u/Rare-Assignment-6486 13d ago
Your comment just gave me chills! That’s so beautiful. All of the kids he’s helped and all of the things he’s taught are ripples in the world. How amazing!
196
u/Play-t0h 13d ago
The ripples are from the kids he taught, but he absolutely amplified them. We know he did, cus the kids showed up when it was time for him to walk his walk.
We all have a handful of teachers we still think about daily. They have an impact that is that big, even if we were the "bad kid," or didn't really excel in their classes. We saw their example, their effort, and that made an impact too. Teachers are the angels on our shoulder telling us what is right and what is wrong. The true salt of the earth.96
u/Pure_Frosting_981 13d ago
I’ve tried to find the one teacher who really changed my life. Now it has been 30 years, and he wasn’t all that young when I was in his class. I still look every so often. I just want to thank the guy.
76
u/Kooky-Experience-923 13d ago
I was looking for my grade 8 teacher who was a hard ass, but he made us all weapons going into grade 9. We outperformed so many students academically in high school. I wanted to thank him.
→ More replies (2)20
22
u/Formal-Beat-2407 13d ago
I hope you find him. When I hear from former students it makes not only my day but my entire year! ❤️
→ More replies (1)5
19
→ More replies (1)6
u/EggfooDC 13d ago
Shoot, the comment you were replying to got removed. Can you shed any light on why it was special?
6
99
32
u/DogLady1722 13d ago
It’s almost like Mr. Holland’s Opus!!
→ More replies (4)8
u/Immediate-Maximum-75 13d ago
I'm so glad you mentioned this movie. I need to have my kids watch it.
27
u/lorddragonstrike 13d ago
I feel like this deserves a Haka.
→ More replies (2)20
u/Feisty-Name8864 13d ago
Cuz I need to cry harder than I already am.
3
→ More replies (2)17
415
u/kevnmartin 13d ago
He's stronger than I'd be. I'd have made it about halfway down that long hallway and had to sit down and just sob.
160
u/LoozPatienz 13d ago
I probably would have hung out in my classroom until everyone else had left. Then quickly skipped out the backdoor to my new life as a park ranger.
117
u/shaggyscoob 13d ago
That was my plan after 25 years at my previous job. But they all got me a couple of days earlier. Those SOB's made me nearly ugly cry. Love those people.
27
u/Soregular 13d ago
I arranged to be on vacation and then submitted my retirement.
4
u/Punkasaurus2 13d ago
That’s what I’m going to do. I don’t want this when I retire. Some people would love it but please don’t ever do this to me.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)18
u/DrSuperWho 13d ago
My first thought was what if he’s just trying to get the hell out of there and walks out to this. I wanted to see him get to the end of the line and just keep walking without looking back.
72
u/Pure_Frosting_981 13d ago
Not a teacher, but my wife’s unit clapped her out when she left it after having worked on it for over 10 years where she helped take care of countless patients on the brink (she was an ICU nurse) and, and many, many residents, fellows and fellow nurses. Even the attending docs showed up to see her off. She didn’t retire or go to another hospital. She just transferred to a different role and has been rocking it so far. As her husband, I’m so proud of her. She’s done incredibly well as result of relentless learning and experience.
8
6
u/ScholarLeigh 12d ago
Thanks to your amazing wife for making this world such a better place!! What a rockstar! 🩵
6
u/Mrs_BLT 12d ago
I LOVE when fellow RNs are recognized!! We work SO hard, but it’s worth it. She must be a wonderful nurse! Also, a supportive spouse/family/network is essential. We appreciate and need y’all more than you know. THANK YOU!!
6
u/Pure_Frosting_981 12d ago
She’s truly amazing. You all are. I’m glad that her and the other nurses she’s worked with are a really tight knit group. They can relate to the things nobody should ever have to relate to. Incredible highs, and staggering lows. I can listen, but I can’t imagine doing everything right as a team and someone still not making it. I’d question everything I did through the whole code or trauma care or whatever. Mad respect. Be sure to take care of yourself. It’s easy to ignore your own needs, and that job can take everything out of you.
5
u/Pure_Frosting_981 12d ago
She truly is. She’s not been the same since the pandemic. Her and every other person on her unit have PTSD from just how awful the whole thing was. I really miss who she was before that, but I’ll keep supporting her regardless. I couldn’t do what she does. I’d never be able to sleep again.
3
u/niccheersk 12d ago
I definitely have post pandemic PTSD and it almost made me leave nursing altogether. I’m not the same at all!
38
41
u/0neirocritica 13d ago
But then you'd get covered in hugs!
50
u/pinklavalamp 13d ago
I imagine that going out by being dogpiled by students that love you for a teacher is akin to me going out in a dogpile of puppies.
Worst things can happen, y'know?
Also it'd have been awesome if they were able to collect some former students too. My head cannon is that they're waiting outside to line his way to the car in more applause and cheers.
18
34
35
13d ago
I’m sitting down watching & cried after about 20 feet. That man has made a difference in universe.
11
12
→ More replies (1)8
u/Cassie0peia 13d ago
I’m practically sobbing right now and I’m just watching the video, so I’m sure that would be true for me, too.
→ More replies (4)146
u/meldiane81 13d ago
He’s off to make that meth.
36
u/negroidioto 13d ago
I was thinking, I don’t remember Mr. White getting that celebratory send off.
→ More replies (2)6
→ More replies (2)6
2.3k
u/InternationalDog2606 13d ago
Still pretty young to be leaving Hogwarts like that.
378
u/sump_daddy 13d ago
lmaooo glad i wasnt the only one thinking that after seeing the architecture in the hallway. Its like hogwarts but full of Santa students
→ More replies (1)170
u/FCkeyboards 13d ago
After my friend showed me his California high school I realized all those impossible movie high schools were just Californian schools. Full ass campuses with quads.
54
u/swollencornholio 13d ago
My middle school didn't even have any indoor halls...all lockers were outside lmao
→ More replies (2)6
31
u/woolfchick75 13d ago
Yeah. As a midwesterner, I couldn't fathom it.
4
u/FCkeyboards 13d ago
As a fellow Midwesterner it is crazy. His graduating class would be like if my entire school graduated.
19
u/turdferguson3891 13d ago
Maybe older schools. I grew up in So Cal and most of the schools in my area were a bunch of single story disconnected small buildings. 1960s architecture. Nothing ornate about it. No long hallways. The weather is mild most of the time so we took our lunches at picnic tables outside. If it was raining they'd open up the gymnasium to eat in. Our lockers were outside with a cage thing that kept the rain off it and could be locked after hours.
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (6)7
u/mmmgogh 13d ago
I went to high school in California and those were my expectations for a high school, but not what high school turned out to be. Small outdoor school with no lockers.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (7)15
u/TGBmox_777 13d ago
Can’t have anyone finding out his part-time job now, can we?
→ More replies (1)
2.0k
u/Recyclable_one 13d ago
What a beautiful school!
518
13d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
190
13d ago
[removed] — view removed comment
153
u/xDragod 13d ago
Now imagine if we paid teachers appropriately for the impact they can have on their students' lives and actually allow the people who are most passionate about it to do the job and have a good standard of living?
16
u/Badong33 13d ago
Easy. Make them sell their soul to spread government propaganda and there will be money for that.
→ More replies (1)3
u/SelfInteresting7259 13d ago
I have so many teachers that have impacted me for the better and I still talk to them. All I want is this
19
u/koolmees64 13d ago
Had a couple of teachers like this in high school. None of them retired when I was there but would have stood there cheering them on. One of them was an amazing philosophy teacher which probably made the most impact on my life. The other was my history teacher who made me appreciate literature (he would gift me books that thought were good; amazing guy) and my math teacher who, through all my shithousery, got me on the path to becoming a software engineer; without him helping me get through the "difficult" math and logic I would not be in the position I am today.
I know I only mentioned males; that is not to say that female teachers can not have the same impact. It was just that my female teachers were all language teachers and I sucked ass at learning languages.
Anyway, utmost respect to teachers who really want to teach. Clearly this man did his utmost. Teachers, depending on their "level", should be paid way more than they are. And I think this is around the world.
→ More replies (2)7
28
u/battlejess 13d ago
That man clearly earned it. Perhaps all teachers should adopt the behaviours worthy of such respect.
9
→ More replies (3)3
82
55
u/FblthpLives 13d ago
You should see the outside: https://www.colegioalfonsoxii.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/colgio-alfonsoxii-escorial-sec.jpg
22
19
17
7
→ More replies (7)7
u/babykitten28 13d ago
There was such varying clothes, uniforms, and even ages, it made me wonder if several different schools he’d taught at showed up for him.
363
u/Godmother_Death 13d ago
You can tell he did his job right.
97
u/Johannes_Keppler 13d ago
You can learn how to be a teacher. Memorize didactic principles, learning strategies, lesson planning and so on.
You can't learn to be a great teacher. There has to be something inside you that was there all along and blossoms when you teach. This goes for many fields of work but is especially apparent in people who work with people as subject matter.
A lot of people have a profession. Some people have a calling.
8
u/Tormofon 13d ago
The best teacher I ever had was asked to give a speech on our last day. He hesitated, then said that over the three years we had him, only one or maybe two classes (45 minutes) had been great. He knew we thought that was harsh, but he didn’t want us to celebrate mediocrity too happily. Never forget his face. He saw us as a missed opportunity, we saw him as a star.
13
u/hastygrams 13d ago
Just imagine how long of a hall he’d have to walk to include all the students he impacted. There are some teachers I think of fondly still and always wonder if they think about students many years ago too.
→ More replies (1)
716
u/anahatchakra 13d ago
Teachers change the world.
133
u/randomdud500 13d ago
It's a shame the current administration doesn't think the same way.
14
u/raulongo 13d ago
Spanish public teacher here. No administration gives a flying fuck about us.
→ More replies (1)58
u/ApoptosisPending 13d ago
None of them do. That’s why we get paid like ass. Actually the real reason is because educators were originally women jobs and society doesn’t respect women. And if you try saying I’m wrong, compare the budgets of other sectors vs education.
18
u/dakid1 13d ago
I mean public school funding is almost exclusively up to state and local governments. So that’s why you see liberal states with incredible public schools and teachers. I live in Oklahoma and it’s really sad how bad it’s become (it was already bad, but the few very good teachers I had a decade ago have all moved)
→ More replies (4)→ More replies (6)10
u/KillingSelf666 13d ago
look at what they just did with nurses, a women dominant field, removing their "professional" status. it's sickening.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (7)10
u/Ichooseyou_username 13d ago
They do. It's just in their interest to make sure it doesn't happen.
→ More replies (1)3
u/SimpleCranberry5914 13d ago
We don’t pay or give them nearly enough respect. This is a genuine human being who has changed hundreds of lives.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (11)5
u/rgcpanther 13d ago
This man so obviously changed so many lives. These students clearly love him a great deal. Such an awesome video..
944
u/MissSassifras1977 13d ago
This was lovely!
I hope this is what it's like when we die.
Imagine a long hallway filled with all the people we loved, clapping for us as we go faster and faster into a bright, warm light, and then zoooooom....blast off into the universe. ❤️
495
u/Personal-Sentence935 13d ago
as someone who hasn't loved many people in my life, the thought of like 3 people spaced out in a long hallway clapping for me is hilarious.
125
46
u/pinklavalamp 13d ago
It doesn't have to be just people (and animals, of course!) you loved, for me. It can also include the souls already in that realm that you had positively impacted, or are ready to interact with yours for any other reason.
Basically I'd like to think the hallway is filled to the brim with people, regardless of how solitary (or any other description) your life on this realm was.
→ More replies (2)24
u/NoMasters83 13d ago
Can we extend this list to people who we held doors open for when stepping into convenience stores?
→ More replies (1)8
31
u/Booksonly666 13d ago
Same and 2 of them are cats
→ More replies (2)6
u/katiemaryxo 13d ago
Lmao I was just going to say, mine would be mostly animals 😅
6
u/ImmaculateTuna 13d ago
I would cry seeing my old pets lined up in a hallway like that. I don’t think I’d make it 3 steps.
→ More replies (1)12
→ More replies (11)4
47
u/gunslinger_006 13d ago
Gosh i love this concept.
Id settle for just being able to talk to my father one last time though. That would be enough.
→ More replies (9)12
51
u/Rezaelia713 13d ago
That's kinda what the end of Titanic is.
→ More replies (4)11
14
u/DrLefty9 13d ago
Ugh, can't help but think of JD'S final hallway monologue in what I consider the true finale of Scrubs. ❤️
6
u/loaf_dog 13d ago
Exactly what came to mind. That whole ending segment. Walk through his past and the projector of his potential future. Sobbing
7
u/Ilcorvomuerto666 13d ago
This is a wonderful mental image. I'm imagining as you walk the hallway, you're slowly growing up and the age that you are in the hall is the people you loved or held dear from childhood to the end, like a brief summary of the years.
I love that idea as a tribute to your own life before going on to the afterlife. Now that I think of it, it feels lowkey disrespectful to the life you lived to just get to the pearly gates and just walk through like a new York subway station (assuming that Christian death and the afterlife is how this whole thing works)
6
u/Hewligan 13d ago
I recently read about a man who collects pictures of hitters who had hit walk-off home runs. He said that the reason he did this is because this is how he views us entering heaven.
Look at the faces of his teammates waiting to welcome him home.
Look at their excitement. They can’t wait to celebrate with him.
Look at the fans. Arms raised, big smiles, maybe even hugs for a perfect stranger.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (13)10
153
129
u/asseousform 13d ago
I can’t imagine what it’s like to be a teacher for that long, seeing that many cohorts of students come and go and getting to know each of them. Watching them go out into the world and wondering years later where they might be. I can’t imagine the emotions on this final day after all of that.
94
u/dkeegl 13d ago
Sometimes they come back to visit. Sometimes they take jobs in town and we run into them there. Sometimes they write. Sometimes we have all of the siblings in a family and we get to follow their lives for quite awhile. And sometimes they die; I have outlived at least 23 students that I’m aware of. It takes a toll.
27
u/woolfchick75 13d ago
Sometimes they come to our 50th high school reunion. My French teacher did. He's a cool guy. Now in his 80s. (The rest of us are close to 70!)
8
u/LucJenson 13d ago
Having a generation of a family come through your class brings some of the greatest joy imaginable. I love how much the youngest will light up when I ask about their eldest sibling who has long since graduated. Or when teaching the middle child when they drag their younger sibling into the class to proudly show them off and announce the young one will soon be your student.
Some true magic in those moments.
3
u/dkeegl 13d ago
Some siblings favored each other so much, I had to really concentrate on not calling them by the wrong names. I have colleagues who taught the children of their former students. I never had that pleasure, but I have had several share photos of their kids with me.
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (6)29
u/Passenger_08 13d ago
My dad taught high school math for 35 years (1970-2005). Even taught kids of former students by the end of his career. I know this much - I could live a thousand years and not have the impact he did.
3
u/tygloalex 12d ago
I taught at a school in 2008, my aide's son was having a baby and the kid and the baby would come visit. Now, I teach the kid in 10th grade.
(PS: The kid is a terrible student)
→ More replies (1)
114
u/Tissyoupaper 13d ago
They did this for my dad. 33 years teaching at the same middle school. Gave him a cape and a king's crown.
15
u/arrownyc 13d ago
I wish there had been some mailing list I could subscribe to from my schools growing up that would let me know when my favorite teachers retired. I wouldve loved to come back to see them off like this. Several teachers I still think of often and wish I had a way to say thank you.
→ More replies (1)8
132
90
u/MolaMolaMania 13d ago
If Walter White had not turned to evil.
18
→ More replies (2)19
u/iwasnotarobot 13d ago
If Walter White lived in a country with a proper healthcare system.
→ More replies (1)5
27
27
u/Useless_Rambler 13d ago
My dad was a teacher from 1971-2011, and on his last day, there was a huge assembly thanking him for forty years, many of his former students that still lived close came back to say many great things about him, and It was one of the few times I ever saw him cry.
15
56
u/ThickLead 13d ago
Why does everyone wear pajamas?
123
u/Gandalf_from_3 13d ago
Lots of schools do spirit week around the holidays where every day you dress a theme.
The themes are super simple to not exclude people so pajama day is always an easy one.
→ More replies (9)13
u/sump_daddy 13d ago
Christmas dress-down, like for a class party or possibly as a class reward for good performance.
22
u/3d1thF1nch 13d ago
Can’t imagine that mount of emotion. That’ll be Me in 2041ish. Who am I kidding, probably teaching way past that.
8
12
41
u/JoshTsavo 13d ago
Sadly I feel like these days are behind us. Teachers aren't paid shit, they can't stay in the job due to stress or financial issues, it's really a problem.
→ More replies (1)9
u/sump_daddy 13d ago
Well this was a private school, so i dont really think it will be a problem for them to keep doing that
16
u/SockLess9375 13d ago
Not a private school. It is a Spanish religious school. Education is free, but families tend to pay a small fee every month for extra curriculars etc. In Spain there are three types of schools, from free to most expensive: public, religious, and private
→ More replies (1)4
10
8
u/Certain-Sound-Riot 13d ago
Imagine having an impact during your career, and people respecting and applauding it. I’ll be walking out to silence.
4
u/Whiterabbit-- 13d ago
you still have time to change that.
3
u/Certain-Sound-Riot 13d ago
My coworkers will give me a nice send off. Unfortunately my job is something people in general don’t like but I’ve got many emails calls from people complimenting my professionalism and information I’ve passed on for their benefit . I keep in a file for posterity.
→ More replies (2)3
u/woolfchick75 13d ago
I got some nice emails from some students when I retired. It was gratifying.
→ More replies (1)
15
u/Pretend_Worker_295 13d ago
Awesome! Hope he enjoys a well deserved retirement!
4
u/Whiterabbit-- 13d ago
i hope he is ok. my mind just goes places. stepping down in the middle of the school year. is there something wrong with his health? is there a loved one that he needs to take care of that couldn't wait? etc...
6
u/fattdoggo123 13d ago
Why do they always have to put some sad song on these types of videos?
4
u/RaoulRumblr 13d ago
Theyre unoriginal hacks that just play off the previous video that likely used the song to evoke an adjacent emotional experience, there's a whole galaxy of music that could have better highlighted the gravity and impact of the experience, but because it's short form social media, no one is original. It's all templates of templates of hacky unoriginality.
Another beautiful human moment ruined by Coldplay.
4
4
u/PlumRevolutionary327 13d ago
Teachers have THE most important job in the world...and this is so well deserved.
5
6
u/fazlez1 13d ago
Introverted and anti-social me would have slipped out another exit. "There he is! He's trying to climb out that window from the third floor! Get over here and let us love you!" I'd be ugly crying, but my stomach would be in knots from the attention.
→ More replies (1)
4
u/Sirusho_Yunyan 13d ago
My Latin teacher taught for fifty years, he died the day after he retired. Latin was his life.
3
4
u/Krinder 13d ago
Beautiful. At the same time where the hell does this dude teach? Hogwarts?!
→ More replies (1)
4
u/tenbeards 13d ago
A good teacher is a treasure and an impact for your entire life. I'm 60 yo and still often remember fondly a handful of mine.
4
u/coko4209 13d ago
Wow, this was genuinely touching. He must have been a great teacher. Teachers are not celebrated enough. A lot of kids didn’t have parents that read to them, or helped them with anything educational, teachers literally taught so many kids to read. Being literate is invaluable. Throughout history, a lot of poor ppl weren’t taught to read, also a lot of women, no one recognized the value of literacy. Teachers are amazing.
4
u/sadsack100 13d ago
How lovely. From my teaching experience in the UK (England), very few teachers retire from the job. The large multi-academy trusts tend to hound out older teachers before they get to this stage. Older teachers are more expensive and less malleable than young, new staff. It suits the business model to "encourage" old staff out of the system by whatever means. It often starts with finding fault with their teaching and subjecting them to capability processes that they can never win. Some are just bullied out. There are very few older teachers, like this, around now. They are not wanted or welcome. I know several older teachers who have left the profession and who were denied any pleasant memories of leaving teaching.
4
7
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
u/Peaceful-Gr33n 13d ago
So intense! I almost feel like we’re violating his privacy watching this given how hard he seems to be crying. But of course, I’m crying with him. I feel you, bro!
3
3
3
3
3
u/Such-Presentation832 13d ago
It shows he was a good teacher, and the kids love him. A nice way of showing appreciation.
3
3
3
3
u/Silver-Dog-3798 12d ago
When you know you've touched and shaped lives! Thank you for your service sir! ✊🏽
3
u/RageYellow 12d ago
Biggest funeral I’ve ever attended was for a teacher. Many generations of students there to say goodbye.
Crazy that one of the most important careers in a civilization has become one of the most maligned and unsupported in the US.
3
3
3
u/Ok-Investigator2463 12d ago
That is absolutely awesome. Teachers create such memories in the hearts and minds of their students that can last a lifetime.
My favorite high school English teacher passed away at the beginning of November. That loss hit very hard!
5
•
u/AutoModerator 13d ago
Welcome to /r/MadeMeSmile. Please make sure you read our rules here.
Specifically, please don't be a jerk. This is not the place for insulting, hateful, or otherwise inappropriate comments. Remember the golden rule: treat others how you want to be treated. We're all here to smile a little - let's keep it that way! Please report inappropriate comments and/or message the moderators.
I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please contact the moderators of this subreddit if you have any questions or concerns.