Flowers for the future

We hope you enjoyed the three-part series Friday, Saturday and Sunday that spotlighted the highest achieving high school students in The Press readership area.

Did you notice the bonus Saturday?

Tucked into the lower right corner of that day's front page was a photograph submitted by a reader, with the headline, 'Thank you, teacher.' In the photo, three grinning young men are caught in the act of surprising their Dalton Elementary kindergarten teacher, Beverly Johnson, delivering beautiful flowers and hugs to her at her home.

All three finished in the Top 10 of their graduating class at Coeur d'Alene High School; evidence that they certainly got a great academic start way back at the beginning of their scholastic journey. What impressed us just as much is the fact that these lads also clearly received superb parenting.

Spencer Gomez, Hudson Staub and Sam Lee offer a glimmer of hope in a world that sometimes looks hopeless. Public schools have underperformed and failed to adapt sufficiently to a rapidly changing world. Divorce has fractured countless families, and even in many that have stuck together, economic challenges have forced both to work at least one job, taking them away from their children and diminishing the time and energy they might have for those kids. And no juncture of life is more important than a child's early years, when time reading and talking offers a powerful platform for positive development.

The closing of this particular Coeur d'Alene School District circle is outright inspiring. Good boys clearly got a great start, and never forgot the sparkplug that got them headed the right direction. They're proof, too, that our public schools continue to develop outstanding students who can compete academically at the highest levels nationally. The frosting on this cake is that the three amigos also happen to be terrific young citizens, and it will be a delight to see how far they go in life.

One retired teacher we spoke with after the photo was published noted that the loving, considerate display of these three young men doesn't merely make that teacher's year, but can make a teacher's career. Think about that for a moment and consider, "Who has made a big difference in my life? And have I adequately thanked that person?"

You want education reform leading to a stronger nation and a better world? Start with gratefully acknowledging the difference makers.