Stranger Leaves Teacher in Tears After She Pays for Entire Cartful of School Supplies
Teachers have had a rough go of it this year. From back-and-forth rules on precautions to shifting all lessons and lesson plans to remote, the already difficult job has become even more taxing.
Rachel Borsgard, a former educator at SeaWorld, teaches third-graders at a school in Southern California. Earlier this month, she was having a difficult time, wondering if she was being the best teacher she could be.
On her Facebook page, she wrote about being the recipient of a darling little note from one of her students that read “Miss .B She was a exsulent tetchr.”
“The timing of this note could not have been any better,” she posted. “Earlier this week, I broke down. You guys, teaching is REAL. I lay in bed most nights thinking about my kids and worrying about if I’m giving them the love and education they deserve.”
“It is so easy to fall into doubt and comparison as a first year teacher. And then, you guys, they give me notes like this. I am an exsulent tetchr.”
Borsgard was also the recipient of a boost of kindness from a complete stranger that she met while shopping for class supplies at the Mission Valley Target in August.
She posted the encounter on her page, which was then picked up and shared by Frank Somerville KTVU.
“Let me introduce you to my new friend, Nicky,” she began. “Today I made runs to three different Targets to get supplies for my classroom, and ended up at the Target in Mission Valley.”
“I filled up my cart to the point of almost overflowing, and then went to go check out. As I was getting ready to grab my wallet out of my purse, a woman comes up behind me and asks if I’m a teacher.”
“I jokingly respond, ‘Yes, can you tell?'” She then says THAT SHE’LL PAY FOR ME.”
Breaking down into tears, Borsgard refused, saying that her haul cost too much — but Nicky wouldn’t take no for an answer, and commandeered the card reader, paying for every last item in Borsgard’s loaded cart.
“The cashier beams and says, ‘See? There are still beautiful things happening in this world,'” she continued.
Because of pandemic restrictions, the young teacher resisted the urge to hug her education-positive fairy godmother and instead asked for a photo, which has been circulating along with the story of generosity.
“I will literally think about her every single day as I look around my classroom at all the things she purchased for me and my students,” Borsgard wrote. “Excuse me while I continue to sob.”
Hopefully these acts of kindness will encourage Borsgard and reassure her that she’s in the right job, doing what she was meant to be doing, changing lives and having her own life changed in return.
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