ERNIE HUBEN

In the summer of 1977, my mom moved us to Richardson after my father passed away. I was enrolled in Springridge Elementary in kindergarten and spent all seven years of elementary school there. I then went on to Liberty Junior High and graduated from Berkner High School in 1991. I attended Angelo State University, the longest time I have ever spent away from Richardson. While preparing to take the MCAT, I met a girl who was in the middle of student teaching. Several conversations later, I changed my major and my future. I remember calling my mom and telling her, "I've decided to be poor for the rest of my life!"

After graduating in December, I received a phone call from my childhood principal asking if I'd want a teacher's aide position for the remainder of the year…at Springridge, the same elementary school I had attended. At that moment, Richardson became my Bedford Falls, the fictional town that is the setting for George Bailey's journey in the movie It's a Wonderful Life. I admired the character of George Bailey—the fact that he poured so much into making Bedford Falls a better place to live, with no regard for himself.

I spent seventeen years of my teaching career at Springridge Elementary. To be able to teach beside many of my former teachers was an absolute thrill. To walk down the halls of the building which I had walked so many years before warmed my heart. Throughout my career, I had been in contact with the principal at Liberty Junior High. I finally decided the time was right to make the move to middle school and I have taught ever since at the same place I attended—Liberty Junior High.

My classroom is the tiny part of Richardson in which I can emulate George Bailey. While George Bailey was concerned with affordable housing, I concern myself with the futures of those I teach. My classroom is my garden and the environment I create is the soil. I'm able to cultivate the soil, plant

Mr. Potter couldn't convince me to go elsewhere despite his millions. While I do need a new fence and a new car, Richardson is the district where I will remain. I heard a little girl once say, "Every time the bell rings, a teacher gets his or her wings." Okay…I may have changed the ending a bit, but I believe this to be true. I can pass on those “wings,” which will raise my students to heights they had never imagined. And there is not a better job in the world than that.