A Eulogy to Stacey Daniel
Decatur Metro | November 8, 2012I’m a couple of days late in pointing this out, but it’s still worth acknowledging even if many of you have already seen it.
Back on Tuesday, the AJC’s Maureen Downey wrote a beautiful report/reflection/eulogy about Renfroe teacher Stacey Daniel on her blog. Ms. Downey and her son’s personal experiences with Ms. Daniel and very reflective of the reactions of many who knew and work with Ms. Daniel. Here’s a small excerpt from the beginning of the post…
My 13-year-old twins differ on many things. My son’s favorite meal is a burger. My daughter prefers sushi. When my son rushes to the computer, he’s checking on the Falcons. When my daughter goes online, she’s checking Facebook He’s a math guy. She’s a language arts kid.
But there is one thing on which they agree: Stacey Daniel was their favorite teacher of all time at Renfroe Middle School in Decatur. And they were not alone in that. Hundreds of students in Decatur considered Ms. Daniel their most beloved teacher.
All the very best to Ms. Daniel’s family, friends and students during this extremely difficult time.
CSD’s memorial service Monday night was excellent and healing. Even some macho-appearing teens were teary in the stands. As some 30-40 children and staff got up and spoke, the theme over and over again was the powerful, transforming impact that a caring teacher can have through individual attention to students and colleagues.
That was really beautiful. Thank you for posting it.
That was a tremendously moving and eloquent tribute. Even this naturally cynical snarkhead shed a tear or two reading it. Words may sometimes seem cheap, but in times like this they can also be comforting. I hope that the outpouring of love for Ms. Daniel will bring some of that much needed comfort to her family and friends.
Ms. Daniel was a special person. My daughter, like so many of her present and former students, was devestated by her death. The memorial was a beautiful tribute to her life; the thing that struck me was how many of her kids (and they were all “hers!”) said she told them they were special, that they had potential and that she believed in them – and then they lived up to her expectations. I don’t think there was a student she ever wrote off as a hopeless cause because she saw hope and potential in every single one of them.
She was amazing both inside and outside the classroom, for sure. Over the years she came to several of my daughter’s dance performances! On a weekend!
Maureen Downey’s wonderful tribute to Ms. Daniel has been reprinted today even larger on the editorial page of the print edition of the AJC.