There are only a few days throughout the year when you can bank on a mixture of high energy, excitement, emotion, and maybe a twinge of anxiety.

The few that pop into my mind immediately are Easter, Christmas, birthdays, days you leave for a vacation — and the first day of school.

Nothing made me more excited on Tuesday to see the overwhelming excitement (and little anxiety) on the face of our new third-grader.

Jordan and I bore most of the emotion and anxiety, walking our daughter into her new building, to a classroom with a new teacher, resetting everything we’ve known as parents of a primary school student for the last four years.

We’re still getting so used to the new set-up that we entered Stop, Drop and Go from the wrong end of the campus at the primary school. The trek from that entrance to the third-grade wing I’m pretty sure is the longest on campus, and features the only flight of stairs. We won’t be making that mistake again.

As we made that walk, it reminded me of my school days in Little Rock. In grades 2-4, I attended Washington Elementary, which was roughly the size of the primary and middle school buildings together.

Those formative years had major impacts on my life. If we are telling the truth, I was a bratty second- grader, written up a few times for misbehavior. Looking back now, I was trying to establish myself in a new district, more diverse than I had been in before, and with one hand.

My second-grade teacher, Mrs. Smith, ran a fine class, but I mostly got into trouble because I was bored. I was ahead in math and reading, so when my work was done, I turned to other outlets.

That all changed in third grade. Mrs. Bailey, rest her soul, was without a doubt the biggest positive influence on me at a young age. She saw my potential and challenged it. She left me no time to find those other outlets, replacing them instead with harder problems and more stringent requirements — and taking no bull about getting it done.

For a time that year, she had me sent to one of the sixth-grade classes for reading. As excited as I was, turns out sixth-graders weren’t too excited about a third-grader in their midst, and I felt out of place. I also just missed Mrs. Bailey.

Though I only spent one more grade in that building, I spent much more time around Mrs. Bailey. Her son, Chris, was just a few years older than me, and we connected playing basketball and video games. From time to time through middle school, and maybe once in high school, I would go spend time with them and refresh that bond we made years before.

Mrs. Bailey passed due to a chronic health condition near the end of my high school years. I wish I could talk to her again now.

Thousands of local school children will be talking to their teachers this year, and I hope those educators all realize the impact they can make on a child.

Whether ahead of the game or needing a nudge forward, a teacher who understands their children and supports their needs can make the difference not only in the lives of the children, but their families, as well.

When Mrs. Bailey started nipping my misbehavior in the bud, that translated to home, too. I began challenging myself to be more helpful and better-behaved, because that’s what Mrs. Bailey demanded in the class and at home.

The significance of a teacher like that cannot be understated, and I know there are many of those who work in Barry County.

I challenge them to make this their greatest year. Make as positive an impact on all your students. Challenge them, foster their interests, be compassionate with their difficulties (and their behavior).

Most of all, love them. Just a little bit of love can make all the difference in a child’s world, and that will trickle into how they learn, how they behave and how they see that world around them.

Thank you to all our local educators for the jobs they do, and have a fantastic year!

Kyle Troutman has served as the editor of the Cassville Democrat since 2014 and became Publisher in 2023. He was named William E. James/Missouri Outstanding Young Journalist for daily newspapers in 2017, and he won a Golden Dozen Award from ISWINE in 2022. He may be reached at 417-847-2610 or ktroutman@cassville- democrat.com.