My mother, Sandra M Slouha, is facing her final days in her almost four year fight against stage four colon cancer and stage four kidney disease. Before my mother was diagnosed, she was a teacher at Chamberlain High School where she had taught AP World History and World History honors. My mother has committed 26+ years to teaching the future generations in our country. As a teacher, my mother has made a continual impact on all of her students, and as her last days are approaching, her Facebook page is getting overwhelmed by posts from all of her past students.

My mother graduated from Chamberlain High School, and later went to the University of South Florida where she received her Bachelors Degree in Education Administration. She also achieved her Masters Degree in the same and was only one dissertation away from her PHD. She taught as a Substitute, a Middle School teacher, and as  High School teacher in locations ranging from Melbourne Florida to Alaska and to Houston Texas, moving to wherever my father was stationed by the Coast Guard. Her last school that she was teaching at was her own Alma Mater. She had wanted to teach there ever since she received her teaching degree, her greatest hope was to go back to the school that she loved so much, and see it be brought back to its former glory.

My mother never gave up on her students, and was loved by her fellow co-workers. She had a way about her that made everyone fall in love with her. Her students, though typically unmotivated, found the courage to take the steps to ensure their own future with the constant positivity that my mother, their loving teacher, sent to them. 

As it is well known, Chamberlain is a title one school, and many of the students only attended school for the free food. My mother knew that, which was why her classroom was always stocked with food for her students to eat whenever they needed it. She would allow her students to take some food for later, knowing that most would go to bed without dinner. I attended Chamberlain up until my mother had to retire due to her poor health, and I can fully say that there were less than a handful of faculty that cared for all those students as much as my own mother did.

Homecoming week of 2012 marked the change as my mother collapsed during her second period class, and was taken to the hospital where further doctors appointments revealed that she had stage four kidney disease. Her first move was to get on the transplant list, and to do that, she had to go through a full health check where they found that she had stage four colon cancer. Now, her cancer has spread and taken over her liver and she is ready to begin the next great journey.

For all that she has given to every community she has lived in, and most importantly, the community that she grew up in, and returned to, I would like to see her Alma Mater, and favorite work place celebrate her life in the finest fashion by hanging her portrait in the History Hall so that all future students know of the Chamberlain teacher that taught until she no longer could, and loved and appreciated her job the way all teachers should.

Sandra Slouha was the prefect example of what all teachers should strive to be. Teaching is not an easy job, it is one of the most difficult jobs, teachers are the people who shape all of ours futures. We all remember our favorite teacher and what they did for us as students, and we carry that with us for our whole life. My mother was that teacher. Help me honor her commitment to her students.

 "Those who cannot teach, do"

--

A. Niki Slouha