CAPE UPDATE: THE HONORING OF JAMES ENGLEHART AND DAN MILLIGAN

On Thursday, March 10, the Elementary and Secondary Principals of Southeast Missouri held their annual joint banquet. This year's feature presenter was Dean Berkley, a nationally-known speaker with a gift of entertaining while educating his audiences. Berkley, professor emeritus from Indiana University, is well known to me as I'm a former student and having him recognized and invited by the region principals gave me an opportunity to visit with my former teacher and mentor.

More importantly to the evening's event was the recognition and honoring of James Englehart. He received the Southeast Missouri Secondary Principal's Association's Honorary Principal Award for 1994.

He is no stranger to this organization, nor to the role and demands of principalship. He has been serving the children for the past 35 years. James Englehart and a respected colleague, Dan Milligan, principal of Cape Central Senior High School, will be retiring at the end of this school year.

From a favorite book: "Recess, Prayer Meditations for Teachers," by Elspeth Campbell Murphy, I offer the following excerpt:

In Praise of a Teacher, for Mr. Porter

One of the best teachers is retiring, Lord, and we've all been asked to offer a brief tribute. I want to say something glowing, something worthy of him and the statement that comes to mind is this: He showed up.

That doesn't sound like much, I know. But I am reminded of a little girl I once knew who came home discouraged from her first day at kindergarten. When her mother asked her what she had learned that day, she sighed and said, "Not much. I have to go back tomorrow."

How often we say that children grow up so fast, but that's not true. Growing up is a long, slow process, and kids need people who will show up for them, to teach and nurture them -- tomorrow after tomorrow after tomorrow.

Now everyone is willing or able to do that -- to put so much into a job that offers so little in the way of money or perks or prestige. So why did he do it? For over 40 years? Because he had this crazy, unshakable idea that kids are more important than anything else in the world.

So he was a teacher, and he showed up.

James Englehart and Dan Milligan for the past 35 and 25 years respectively, have done more than just show up. They are above all else good teachers. In the words of Jesse Stuart, a famed teacher from Kentucky, "And I am firm in my belief that a teacher lives on and on through his students. I will live if my teaching is inspirational, good, and stands firm for good values and character training. Tell me how can good teaching ever die? Good teaching is forever and the teacher is immortal."

To these friends and colleagues, we express our gratitude for the years of educational service to children, and for "showing up."