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TUE MAY 07 | 12:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Angelique Fiske
LIFESTYLE
EDITOR
For Rex Burkhead, it is no coincidence
that Mother's Day falls during Teacher Appreciation Week. His mother, Robyn
Burkhead, has been an elementary school teacher for more than 15 years at
Jackson Elementary School in Plano, Texas.
Though Rex never attended Jackson
Elementary School, he saw day in and day out the work his mother put in to help
her students.
"I always thought my mom was the
greatest woman in the world, so it is cool just because when you're in your
teenage years, you think you know everything and everything revolves around
you," Rex said. "To see [her students] come back as adults and show
how much she meant to them and how much guidance she gave to them, I know
there's been a few of them who were like, 'I was really dealing with some stuff
and you changed my ways.' That just shows how much she's meant to these kids in
her life."
Not only did seeing how respected his mom
is among her current and former students impact Rex, he realized that being
both a teacher and a mom are full-time jobs that regularly overlap. For her
students, Robyn is often a "mother figure," Rex said, and when he was
a student himself, Robyn served as "another tutor" at home.
"She really made me understand the
importance of school, understand what it took to be a good student," Rex
said. And having some insider knowledge about what teachers look for while
grading homework didn't hurt either, he admitted with a laugh.
Robyn taught mostly fourth grade over her
career and just this year made the switch to fifth grade. Just before leaving
to watch her son play in Super Bowl 53, her students and fellow teachers
surprised her by decking out her
room in Patriots gear. This type of support and kindness is unsurprising, as Rex said
his mom preaches teamwork in her classroom.
"The team atmosphere, my mom is big
on that," he said. "She's big on having her class work together in
groups on certain things. Grit is her big word. If there's something you
struggle with, just really pushing through and studying, making sure you have
it down."
This type of attitude impressed upon Rex
and the hundreds of students coming through Robyn's classroom over the years
creates life lessons beyond math, English and science. It teaches humility,
good morals and respect, Rex said. Seeing her wake up at 5 a.m. and return at 5
p.m., work longer days to accommodate her students' parents and give so much of
herself to her classroom taught Rex the discipline and professionalism to excel
as a football player, and more importantly, as a person.
"It’s an honor to be
her son," Rex said. "She’s impacted that community a ton in Plano and
done so much for that school impacted so many kids."
