A tribute to great teachers

Mrs. Jeens passed away this week. She was an incredible Government teacher in High School in Virginia. 

She didn’t just teach government from text books. She taught it by making us live it to a certain extent.  There were field trips to the U.S. Capitol. We would bring a sack lunch so we could spend the day above the Senate and House. 

We watched bills be made and passed into law. We watched great debates. Saw filibustering first hand. Learned what “pork barrel” meant. At that time, there were voting buttons on each legislator’s desk. If a legislator wasn’t at her/his desk at the time of a vote, other legislator’s aides could run over to the empty desk to hit the yes or no button.   Thankfully, that is not allowed anymore. 

Sometimes legislators would stand up when the chamber was nearly empty and make a passionate plea for a bill that would benefit their state. A camera crew would record it and that sound bite would be sent to TV stations in the legislator’s home state. All for show. 

Mrs. Jeens also taught us that it was important to read stories from more than one source. There were two big newspapers in DC at that time. One liberal. One conservative. In class she read us multiple stories that covered the same event with First Lady Pat Nixon. The paper that didn’t like when the Nixon’s used four syllable words to describe the First Lady. Words that most people wouldn’t have a clue as to what they meant but they didn’t sound good. Then she told us what the words meant. They were actually complimentary but they sure didn’t sound it. 

She took us to Town Halls at the Kennedy Center where we watched discussions on real time topics that the USA and world were dealing with. Topics like the end of the Vietnam  war, treatment of returning soldiers, immigrants from war torn countries coming to America, to Watergate. Important and powerful discussions that impacted us all.  The panels included a Secretary of State, Mayors from DC & NYC, a Navy Admiral, a four star General, senators, cabinet members, newscasters. The seriousness of the topics helped us understand that life was bigger than our small self focused world. 

Although the town hall with Admiral Zumwalt was light weight compared to other topics he was the Chief of Naval Operations at the time. He wanted to allow for longer hair, longer sideburns, beards and mustaches for sailors. Part of the thinking was that they wouldn’t stand out so much as a soldier during a turbulent time. My dad was against this happening. He felt the sailor should be clean shaven, with sideburns cut to the center of the ear. High and tight. He spoke against this but he lost.  

Back in the classroom Mrs. Jeens would toss up hot topics like the pro and con of the death penalty. we’d pick our sides and do our best to pass our version of a bill. 

Fifty years later her impact is still palatable in many of her students. To others of you in education, know that your work does make a difference. You may not feel it now, but perhaps in 50 years you’ll be a topic of an editorial too. Thank you Mrs. Jeens.