“Mrs. Payton, Mr. Bohn, Mrs. McDaniel: All three of you saw the writer in me before I knew he existed. Thank you.”
Those words were posted last week on social media by Gloucester resident Shawn Cosby. Or, we should probably say, New York Times best-selling author S.A. Cosby, talking about three of the teachers—Lolita Payton, Jeff Bohn and Virginia McDaniel—that made a huge difference in his life growing up in Mathews County.
That’s what great teachers do. They see the children before them not just as the young boys and girls they are, but the men and women they can one day become—their gifts and strengths, what motivates them to do their best, what is holding them back—and how they can play a part in turning that potential into reality. Like great sculptors, great teachers can see the finished work of art hidden in the block of marble.
They do more than just recite a lesson from a textbook. They inspire. They take an interest in their students—their hopes and dreams, as well as the obs...