The Greatest Lesson I’ve Learned From My Mother

Summary

The author credits their mother, a dedicated teacher and role model, for instilling the value of education and its impact on their life.

Abstract

The article titled "The Greatest Lesson I’ve Learned From My Mother" emphasizes the profound influence of the author's mother, Tova, on their life. The mother, a teacher for 25 years, is portrayed as a local celebrity in their South Florida community due to her positive impact on her students. Despite the modest financial rewards of teaching, the author highlights the priceless value of the education their mother provided, not just in academic terms but as a lifelong pursuit of knowledge. The annual gatherings of her former students, who grew to become parents, nurses, and business owners, serve as a testament to her lasting influence. The author expresses deep gratitude for their mother's guidance, acknowledging that her emphasis on education has been instrumental in shaping their life.

Opinions

The author believes winning the 'birth lottery' is due to being raised by their mother rather than simply being born in America.
Teaching is seen as a noble profession that offers more than financial gain; it provides an invaluable education and shapes the lives of students.
The mother's influence extends beyond the classroom, creating a community of individuals who continue to stay connected years later.
The author values the pursuit of knowledge through reading and education as a powerful tool, a perspective they attribute to their mother's teachings.
The gift of a Kindle for their eighteenth birthday rekindled the author's love for reading and contributed to their personal growth.

Get an education.

My rock star mother and me. Photo/selfie by the author.

Growing up, I’d often hear about the concept of the ‘birth lottery’.

It’s something that I’d usually hear about whenever someone talked about America. As in, I won the birth lottery because I was born in the triumphant States.

But for me, I won the birth lottery because of my mother.

My mother, Tova, was born and raised in Jerusalem until she was ten. After originally moving to the New York area for a few years, she ended up in sunny South Florida as an early teenager. Most of her life since then (up until last year) had been spent in South Florida.

For 25 years, my mom was a teacher of various grades. She was in the same charter school system for half of that and was a local celebrity in our town of schools. I’d often hear growing up “your mom is Ms. Levy?” as if I was the son of Barack Obama.

It’d be cool if Obama was my dad. But it’s even cooler that Ms. Levy is my mom.

As a teacher, you barely make any money. But you make something more priceless than any dollar value: an education for other people.

Over the course of my childhood, we’d host an annual get together of her former students and every year we’d expect at least 30 people to come. The gatherings were so fun that even the Chick-Fil-A wasn’t the feature of the party. The feature, rather, was a community of individuals that my mom ended up influencing.

It got to the point where, only a few years ago, some of my mom’s students became parents and nurses and business owners and they still came to our gatherings. They came because of how much my mom impacted their lives.

Throughout my childhood, my mom always told me that the most important thing to pursue was my education. She did not mean the old adage of “get an education” in the sense of degrees (though that was important to her). Rather, she meant the literal definition of it: learn about the world because knowledge and intellect are all we have.

There was a time in my life where I read a lot of books then didn’t and then did again. I became re-inspired when my mom and my step-dad got me a Kindle for my eighteenth birthday. Since then, e-books have become a healthy addiction. And without reading those books, I would never be near where I am today.

Knowledge is power and thank you for giving me that power. I love you!