This is one beautiful lesson in appreciation.
A video shared on YouTube this past Monday features Oak Park High School teachers in Kansas City, Missouri approaching students and expressing their thanks.
Each teacher had been tasked with identifying a specific pupil and telling them they’re the reason they come to work everyday, the clip indicates. The deed was part of an initiative called the Positivity Project.
After watching the video, which has since gone viral, it’s clear that gratitude is felt from both ends.
“You inspire me to come to work everyday and I wanted to tell you that I appreciate you,” one teacher tells a student, who gets emotional from the message.
Throughout September, teachers briefly pulled the students out of class to deliver the sweet words. The chosen students come from a variety of demographics and academic backgrounds, Jamie McSparin, the teacher who came up with the initiative, told ABC News. The pupils’ reactions range from simple smiles to happy tears.
“I feel special,” one student exclaims at the 5:42 mark while grinning from ear to ear.
One teacher, Heather Brennan, had the opportunity to thank Jamien Bartlow, a student who was there during a difficult time.
“Last year, I lost my husband, and she was a student who came by every day to check on me,” the teacher told local news outlet WDAF-TV.
McSparin says the clip truly illustrates the very personal bond between teachers and students.
“It started that dialogue between teachers and students which humanizes the whole experience,” McSparin told ABC News. “It’s not, ‘Here, I’m teaching you.’ It’s ‘Let’s build a relationship and make this an experience.’”