A teacher in Tennessee revealed in a heartfelt Facebook post that she broke down in tears in front of her students after an innocent question from a boy in her class exposed how little he had to eat at home.
Brooke Goins works as a teacher at Jacksboro Elementary School and on October 2, she shared a conversation that she had with one of her students about food - and the lack of it in his home.
This teacher lost his cool when his students played a prank on him..."Today I cried at work," she began her lengthy and emotional post. "Not because I hate my job, or that it is just too hard (it really is). Today I cried for a child, a child who so innocently talked about food, and the lack of it."
"He asked when the lady that puts food in his backpack was coming," she continued. "It caught me off guard because it is our guidance counsellor and I wasn’t sure what he needed."
The teacher then told the student that she was unsure whether the guidance counsellor would be coming in since it was a short week. Goins then asked the boy which foodstuffs he enjoyed most, listing items such as macaroni, crackers and SpaghettiOs.
The child then revealed that they've never had SpaghettiOs at home.
"He looked at me and said, 'Those little o’s (as he made a small circle with his hand), we don’t have those at my house, but when I do have them they give me a warm belly and help me sleep,'" she recalled the boy telling her.
It was at that point, overwhelmed by the idea that any of her students would be going hungry, that the doting teacher started to cry.
"I lost it, I cried in front of 20 little people," Goins added. "No kid should ever be hungry, ever."
Moved by the student's unintentionally poignant words, she decided to message a group of teachers, and they each contributed money which went towards buying food for the child.
Goins continued:
"We put our money together and made sure that this sweet baby had some spaghetti o’s! I did not write this for anyone to get praise, nobody did it for the praise. I want people to know that teachers are humans, we love your kids and want the very best for them. Some days we get frustrated and feel overwhelmed, but today we did what was best for a child. Will it show on a test score? Nope! Do we care? Nope!
Today I’m thankful for all of my people at school, big and little. It takes a village, it really does. It’s a crazy rollercoaster of emotions being a teacher, but today it was worth every tear that fell to see him light up when that bag was put into his backpack! Teachers, keep your heads up YOU ARE making a difference! We are all exhausted, but we push forward each and every day."
The teacher also went on to explain that they are now "starting a food pantry for our students."
"Students will be able to get food whenever needed!" the post concludes. "If you would like to help, we are accepting food donations as well as hygiene products! 164 Jacksboro Elementary School Road, Jacksboro, TN 37757. You can put attention FOOD PANTRY."
