For Eliza Hewitt, becoming an educator was her life’s ambition and passion. 

Her dream came true, and she began her teaching career in Philadelphia, Penn.

A few years later, Hewitt developed a spinal condition that caused her to become bedridden for long periods of time. She was forced to leave her passion and dealt with bouts of depression from being unable to do the one thing she loved — teaching.

One day, Hewitt was approached by her minister and asked to assist in preparing the educational curriculum for the church’s Sunday School program.

With a renewed purpose, Hewitt embraced her second chance. Her health recovered enough to allow her to teach a weekly class. Additionally, she furthered her own education by earning a literary degree. Along the way, she discovered a talent for writing poetry.

In 1897, she authored a poem, later turned into a popular song, that reflected on some of her darkest days when she wondered whether any of her efforts as an educator and a Christian had made a difference in the lives of others.

Hewitt wrote:

“In the strength of the Lord let me labor and pray,

Let me watch as a winner of souls;

That bright stars may be mine in the glorious day,

When His praise like the sea-billow rolls.

Oh, what joy it will be when His face I behold,

Living gems at His feet to lay down;

It would sweeten my bliss in the city of gold,

Should there be any stars in my crown?

Will there be any stars, any stars in my crown,

When at evening the sun goeth down?

When I wake with the blessed in the mansions of rest,

Will there be any stars in my crown?”

Last month, we laid to rest my uncle, Dr. Ronald Lankford. To say that he dedicated his life to public education and serving others would be a gross understatement of his accomplishments.

He began as a social studies teacher and counselor in the Harrisburg School District. He then accepted a teaching position at East Newton, where he advanced to the role of assistant principal. From there, he moved to Webb City and, over the next 33 years, climbed the administrative ranks to become the district’s superintendent.

Three Monettans actually helped shape Dr. Lankford’s path along the way. Burl Fowler and Benny Lawson taught him while they were at Seneca. Meanwhile, longtime Monett Superintendent Dr. Ralph Scott provided Dr. Lankford with advice during his tenure as superintendent at Webb City.

Upon retirement, he served as deputy commissioner at the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, where he managed the state’s nearly $4 billion budget.

One might think that a man who achieved such heights would be difficult to approach or would possess an ego equal to the authority of his position. But that wasn’t the case with my uncle.

What he cared about was something Ms. Hewitt wrote about so long ago — his stars.

What were his stars? They were the lives of those upon whom he had an impact.

He loved to brag about the accomplishments of his former students, faculty, staff, and family members. Their successes were a priority to him. Their achievements were the victories he most loved to celebrate. He found comfort in knowing that long after his own life-light had faded, they would continue to shine brightly.

At the high school level, we have a tendency to judge coaches by wins and losses or to use a letter grade as the sole measure of a student’s potential.

Former Monett football coach Chad Depee once said that he viewed his job as creating better sons, men, husbands and fathers. He simply used coaching to help accomplish that mission.

Dr. Lankford used education in a similar way. He wanted those for whom he was responsible to have every opportunity to become the best version of themselves and to reach their full potential.

My uncle was fortunate enough to witness much of his educational labor bear fruit and to see many of those stars glitter in his crown. He was never braggadocios about his role but instead found comfort in knowing that he had made a positive difference.

He understood that education provides one of the keys to a better quality of life.

We often speak of the American Dream, and I know for a fact that it is real and has blessed my family.

My grandfather, Ronald’s father, had only an eighth-grade education. My grandmother was a one-room school teacher and homemaker. Yet they put three children through college while scratching out a living on 140 acres, determined to ensure that the next generation of Lankfords would have a better future.

In fact, my uncle founded a perpetual scholarship at Webb City called “Continuing the American Dream Scholarship.”

Caring for others, valuing family, serving God, and working hard were principles that shaped and guided my uncle, along with the belief that you should leave things better than you found them.

I strongly support the role educators and schools play in the lives of our youth. Part of that support comes from witnessing the joy those stars brought to my uncle.

Educators matter.

When the days seem dreary, and when the darkness of frustration, sickness, depression, and self-doubt begins to creep in, remember to look up for it takes the darkness of night to reveal our stars.

Jared Lankford is the sports reporter for Monett Monthly and has more than 15 years experience covering Monett-area athletics. He may be reached at [email protected]