Teacher gets a call from student he had 30 years ago — man's revelation about his job had the teacher in tears
Some teachers define the course of a student's life with their words and actions. They might not even realize the kind of impact they've had on a kid. But a science teacher got to know about the effect he had on his former student when he called him years later. The man had become a renowned brain surgeon by then. The teacher was moved by how his words had touched the student and realized what he could do for each kid, per NJEA's YouTube Channel.
The teacher had spent decades working at Memorial Middle School in Medford Township. The teacher, Albert Siedlecki, also known as Mr. Sie by his students, always used a hands-on teaching approach with the kids. He never knew the true impact of his work until one of his former students reached out to him. "The secretary said it’s not another teacher, it’s not a school nurse. It’s a doctor from the Dallas-Fort Worth area who adamantly wants to speak to you right this minute!" Mr Sie recounted. Dr. Lee Buono, a well-known neurosurgeon, who had been in his science class in the mid-80s, wanted to talk to him and the teacher was quite confused about what the call was for. One of the surgeon's patients had encouraged Dr. Buono to reach out to the teacher who encouraged him to become a brain surgeon.
The patient was emotional because he could speak again after the doctor operated on a tumor close to his motor nerves. "Make sure you thank him for the inspiration of being here," the man told the doctor. "He called me and it changed the way I looked at every student," an emotional Mr. Sie remarked. "It was a life-changing phone call." The teacher still wondered how he was able to forge that path for his student. Dr. Buono asked him if he remembered the day he took the brain out of a frog. "You told me it was the best one you had ever seen," the man told Mr. Sie. "He said to me, 'You’ve got the hands of a surgeon, you’re a smart, bright boy and you could be a surgeon, you could be a brain surgeon if you wanted to,'" Dr. Buono recalled.
"I remember that very clearly and that is a very important thing, especially when you are 13 years old," Dr. Buono pointed out. He explained that a 13-year-old might not have even thought that he wanted to be a brain surgeon and such a statement can give the kid an idea. "You know what, it's my teacher whom I respect, who told me I could be a brain surgeon." The teacher had even saved the brain Dr. Buono removed that day and showed it to him when he came to meet him 25 years after the fateful day when he was 13. The man appreciated the "meaningful gift" from his teacher, who had framed the test tube to give it to him. The man credited becoming a brain surgeon to Mr. Sie. "Had he not said that, it might not have happened."
He addressed the teacher's class at that time and told them that he had become interested in science because of Professor Siedlecki. "He is an unbelievable teacher." Dr. Buono pointed out how Mr. Sie was not just a teacher, he was an "educator." He did not just teach students but also helped shape their minds. "He was not just coming to work to get a paycheck, he was coming to work to do his life's work." Mr. Sie highlighted, "That phone call changed the way I look at every single student. From that minute forward. When I realized that every single person has this potential."