COLUMBUS, Ohio — Day one in a room full of students. That’s when it hits.
“Nothing fully prepares you for the moment you’re alone with an entire classroom of kids,” Bethany Herbst said.
Herbst has been an educator the last eight years. She teaches fifth grade math and science at Stewart Alternative Elementary within Columbus City Schools. If eight years in the classroom has taught her anything it’s two certainties.
“I know that teachers, one, don’t make a lot of money,” she said. “And, two, they don’t always have the resources that they want or need for their classroom.”
That’s why she decided to help.
“I think it goes to show how passionate and devoted we are to our students in helping them be successful and grow and go far,” Keyle Hawk said.
Hawk is getting ready for year one of teaching second grade in Hilliard.
“It’s just a way to help moms out,” Rachel Trubisky said. “Everything’s expensive now days and we’re all just here to help each other.”
Trubisky will be tackling homeschooling this fall for her two children. She and Hawk are recent recipients of Herbst’s idea that all teachers are rowing together.
“We’re all kind of in the same boat, so we’re all trying to help each other stay afloat,” Herbst said.
She posted to Facebook telling other mothers and teachers of free books and resources that might help them in their classrooms.
The response to free items on her porch lead to interest from school district teachers around central Ohio from Columbus to Southwestern City, to Hilliard, Dublin and Marysville.
“So, if I could give back to them like people gave to me, I wanted to be able to do it,” Herbst said.
Teachers helping teachers.
“Things that I never would have thought to purchase, look up, buy and use in my classroom,” Hawk said. “I’m like, oh, this could be really helpful.”
Teachers helping mothers.
“We’re all in the same boat,” Trubisky said. “We all have kids. We all have problems. It’s just nice knowing that strangers have your back.”