Looking back at school, it was the teachers who went above and beyond to understand their students who I remember best.
Mr Johnston, an English teacher at Clear Springs High School, Texas, wanted to give his students the best chance at passing their AP English exam, so he provided them with the best brain food ever…peanut butter and jelly sandwiched.
The legendary teacher set up a table in the middle of the hallway and was handing out the sandwiches to his students who hadn’t had breakfast this morning.
Speaking to UNILAD, Hannah said:
Mr. Johnston has always supported his students and given them whatever he can to help them be successful, academically or otherwise.
The morning he made PB&J for students was the morning of our AP test. These tests, which are administered by College Board and can earn students credit for college, are long and (I hate to say it, but) painfully boring.
The English test, specifically, has a long multiple choice section followed by short answer prompts and three full length essays. Our school starts at 7am, and that’s when we had to be ready to test.
When we got to school to get ready for the exam, Mr. Johnston was set up with a table and a chair, three different types of bread, natural peanut butter, and grape jelly. Yes, he washed his hands right before making the sandwiches.
Hannah continued:
He offered them to the students as they went in to the testing room. He was really insistent that we get the nutrients we need so we can do our very best on our tests. He’ll admit that he followed the example of some other teachers at our school, but I thought the notion was so kind that it had to be shared!
I didn’t expect it to get as much attention as it did, but I’m so happy it did. Not for my own interest, but because educators can make such a huge impact on their students and it’s so often overlooked. I am glad that Mr Johnston, and a lot of other educators who have been mentioned by other users who quoted the tweet, are getting the appreciation they’ve never asked for.
It’s so weird, though, to have people I barely know sending me screenshots of my tweet on iFunny or Instagram accounts with millions of followers!
Hannah posted photos of the makeshift sandwich stall on Twitter, and it received over 20k retweets and 105k likes, with commenters commending the teacher, whilst others were asking if he was single.
One Twitter user wrote:
Outstanding teacher, teachers like this go unappreciated and unrecognized, they need more appreciation because they put up with hard head students.
Lots of people were concerned about Mr Johnston’s hygiene, but a commenter put them straight, saying:
I hope everyone crying about him not wearing gloves never goes out to eat. Like damn, I’m sure he washed his hands. Do you not have an immune system? It’s there for a reason. Stop looking for issues in everything.
It’s a very heart-warming story, and anyone is lucky to have a teacher like Mr Johnston.
Can’t beat a good PB+J.
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