In honor of National Teacher Appreciation Week, former President Barack Obama gave three educators the surprise of a lifetime when he reached out via video call to thank each of them for their ongoing dedication to learning.
As the Chicago Tribune reported, the three Chicago Public School teachers were stunned to find themselves taking part in a one-on-one video chat with Obama while the former POTUS praised their teaching efforts, particularly during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
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On May 6, Obama shared a sweet video montage to his Twitter account showing various clips of his interactions with the teachers.
“There’s no limit to the devotion I’ve seen in teachers like these @ChiPubSchools educators,” he captioned the tweet . “Their dedication shapes the best parts of who we become.”
He added, “I couldn’t be more thankful for their work, especially as they shift lessons online to keep students on track during this crisis.”
Obama, a Chicago resident himself, spoke with Jalayne Brewton of Parkside Community Academy, Daniel Michmerhuizen of Benito Juarez Community Academy, and Katie Owens of Kellman Elementary.
Brewton, who teaches sixth, seventh, and eighth grade, told the former president how she first became interested in pursuing a career in education.
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“I didn’t grow up in one of the best neighborhoods, and didn’t have the two-parent household, so my school was my outlet,” she explained in the video. “So I said to myself, how can I give back to those that actually helped me growing up?”
Owens, a second grade teacher, said she was “beyond excited” when she saw she was chatting with Obama.
After admitting she was also a little nervous (“I think I’m trembling now!”), she told Obama that it was her mother who actually told her she was going to be a teacher, having seen something in her daughter that Owens admitted she didn’t immediately see in herself.
The pair then went on to bond over the Michael Jordan-Chicago Bulls documentary The Last Dance , which includes a cheeky reference to the former president.
Michmerhuizen, a civics and U.S. history teacher, spoke about transitioning to online classes in the wake of the pandemic.
“What I’ve tried to do is just transmit my class as much as possible into the remote environment,” he explained. “I teach hour-long classes to every class because I’m trying to replicate our class, because our class is so powerful in the interaction [among students].”
When Obama expressed interest in tuning in to one of his lessons, Michmerhuizen replied, “You would be an honored guest in my class at any point.”
As of writing, the video of Obama’s heartwarming video chats with the educators has over 1.1 million views on Twitter.
In the comments, users have expressed their joy at watching the former president thank the hardworking teachers, and applauded him for making an effort to show that they are appreciated and their dedication to their profession has certainly not gone unnoticed.
In the same vein, it has recently been announced that Barack and his wife, Michelle, will be turning their attention towards the students and will be headlining a national commencement event to honor all of the this year’s graduating high school seniors.
