Letter 26 - I Wish I Could Have Been One of Vee's Bees!
Hello Bregdan Woman!
I promised you 3 letters this week - the reason you’re getting this on Sunday!
I find Bregdan Women everywhere I go. Everywhere I look. The world is full of them. I’ll never be able to write about all of them, but I’m certainly going to try!
I don’t know how Versana Polidore ended up as a Facebook friend, but I’m forever grateful she did. I had been watching this Bregdan Woman’s posts for a while. One particular post prompted me to ask if I could interview her for my readers.
She said YES!
I eagerly called her at the allotted date and time.
As we talked, I could hear background voices – congratulations, good byes, laughter. It sounded like a party. It was! The day she agreed to speak with me was also the day she retired. We began talking at the end of her huge, loud, loving “happy retirement” party.
I was so honored that she was willing to share her passion with me that day. It seemed perfectly fitting!
Versana is known as Vee.
Vee tried very hard to ignore her DNA and walk away from what she has done for almost thirty years.
Vee comes from a LONG line of teachers. I mean LONG…
Her mother taught for 32 years.
Her father taught for 10 years.
Her grandmother was teaching by the time she was 19. The year was 1931. She spent her life teaching – retiring at 65. 46 years!
Her great-grandmother taught the freed slaves in Reconstruction.
Are you getting the picture here?
Educating and teaching is simply in her DNA – as it has been for centuries!
Regardless, Vee didn’t plan on being a teacher. She had no interest in college. During high school, she worked at the local library. She loved it and continued working there after she graduated.
I need to jump back for a moment, because another part of this story is very important. It’s crucial to know that all of Vee’s relatives taught in Louisiana.
Why is this important? Because…
Louisiana is a tough place to teach. If you’re African American, it’s even tougher. I’ve written often about the reality of racism in Louisiana in my historical novels. The violence and heartache of Reconstruction was followed by years of darkness when African Americans once more had their rights stripped away.
I think often about Vee’s great-grandmother, and the courage it took to teach through those years of violence, lynching and hatred.
The same violence, lynching and hatred her grandmother taught through.
The violence of the Civil Rights Movement, when her parents were teaching.
It’s not an exaggeration to say every day they walked into a classroom was a risk.
I wish I could say Louisiana is a different place today. There are certainly people fighting to change things, but racism, hatred and violence remain pervasive. It can be a tough place to live if you’re black.
Brave teachers continue to teach and offer opportunities to their students.
Back to Vee… How did she finally become a teacher?
After working in the library, she decided she wanted to operate a daycare center. NOT teach! She needed certification, so she began the required classes.
The world can thank her certification teacher for directing her back to her roots. He recognized the passion and greatness in Vee. It took him a while, but he finally convinced her to go to college to become a teacher.
Her journey to become a teacher began.
In Louisiana, of course.
It took Vee five years to get her degree – graduating in December 1995.
She knew her family heritage had taught her what should happen in order for students to get a good education. She may not have wanted to become a teacher, but the lessons she had learned from her family were engrained in her heart and soul.
Once she made the choice, being a teacher was simply who she was. She poured herself into it with all the passion she had.
In her thirty years in the classroom, she taught every grade level and every age.
She started in an elementary school – giving as much love as she did education. She gave as many hugs as she did lessons. One year, her class nickname was Vee’s Bees. It stuck through the decades! 😊
I know I would have loved being one of Vee’s Bees!
Teachers were my life savers during my youth. I’m so glad Vee’s students had her!
When she considered retirement in 2019, the elementary principal, who had recently moved to high school principalship, convinced her she simply couldn’t retire.
The Louisiana school system needed Vee!
She allowed herself to be convinced, teaching high school students with special needs for 2 years. Again, she dispensed as much love as she did education – changing so many lives along the way.
She eyed retirement again…
The middle-school principal stepped in this time, convincing her to stay on for two more years.
Remember me saying I found her in my Facebook feeds? Her posts about her middle school students were what enamored me. She loves her students. Equally important, they love HER!
And let her know.
They recognize what a gift she has been to their lives.
I asked Vee what she wishes she could tell every teacher. She could have spoken volumes if we had had the time. I hope someday she writes a book! What she summarized as her teaching advice has the potential to change both teacher’s and student’s lives.
Oh, I deeply hope that teachers everywhere embrace Vee’s wisdom.
“Don’t ever diminish your inner light. Too many people are conditioned to lower their light, so they won’t outshine, offend, or set others back. NO! You should shine BRIGHTER in order to give others the light to see.”
“My students loved me because I loved them!”
“Always remember… you’re planting the seed. It won’t bloom right then but keep planting and taking care. I promise you’ll see the harvest!”
This one is my favorite…
“You can’t teach respect. You do the respectable thing. The kids will grow to respect you.”
And another favorite…
“We get tired sometimes from all the encouraging and supporting, but we rise by lifting others.”
Now THAT is a Bregdan Woman!
The number of lives she has touched is amazing.
The ripples of each of these lives will continue throughout history. The impact will be experienced through generations – going back to a loving teacher who gave all she had to give!
In retirement, she continues to give and impact as many lives as she can. I still enjoy her Facebook posts!
I sent Vee this letter before I sent it to you to make sure I was communicating what she had shared with me. She gave me the thumbs up and then asked me to add this very important comment:
“I would like for you to add a P.S. to it from after our conversation. The governor of Louisiana has signed an order for every classroom in Louisiana to display The 10 Commandments. Over a 29 ½ year career I have taught students to learn how to embrace others that have different beliefs than you do. Please continue your efforts to be a voice for the voiceless.”
I couldn’t possibly agree with her more! It’s not that I have a problem with the 10 Commandments. My problem lies in the separation of church and state here in the United States of America.
Do your own research to see what is happening in Louisiana now about that law. It’s highly contested in the courts. It will be an issue for a long time.
Back to Vee…
Go back and re-read her quotes. Which one of them is your favorite?
Why?
How will it change how you live in the world?
Please share this with as many teachers as you can!
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And, of course, your daily question…
What will you do today to impact history??
I’m on this journey with you!
Ginny
