We will never forget some teachers for their intelligence, patience and graciousness. Many of her students remember Mrs. K.D. Meucci is all that and more.
The fourth-grade teacher at Benjamin Franklin Elementary school discovered she had a benign brain tumour. She had to have surgery last week to remove it.
Mrs. Meucci was not expected to rest after a major surgery. After her brain surgery, the dedicated educator logged on to Facebook to hold a Live session with her students.
Mrs. Meucci was aware that they would be worried about it so she went online and let them know she was fine.
Mrs. Meucci not only held a Facebook Live to update her students about her status; she also logged into the platform to hold a “storytime” for her online reading group.
Her mother created a Facebook group for teachers and students years ago. They meet each Thursday at 8 p.m. to share bedtime stories.
The video shows the teacher taking out a book and sitting on her hospital mattress.
“Of course I packed a book,” she told her students. “I knew I would be here on Thursday night, so I packed a book from the library.”
She had picked out the children’s book “Mr. Walker Steps Out” by Lisa Graff to read to her students. The story is about a human-shaped character who lives in a traffic signalbox.
Mrs. Meucci was heavily swollen on the left side of her head and was severely bandaged at the top. And even though she didn’t need to, Mrs. Meucci apologized to her audience for her “weird” look.
“Sorry if I look a little weird, I know I look a little weird,” she said to them at the start of the Live. “I got this black eye right here because again they cut open my head right here to take out my brain tumor.”
Mrs. Meucci patiently read through the book, turning it towards camera every now and then so the kids could see the pictures.
The book carries a beautiful message about finding one’s value in the world. And while the kids have yet to find their place and their life’s mission, it’s clear that Mrs. Meucci has already found hers: to be the best teacher she could be to her students.
“Don’t you worry friends, I’ll make it back to my corner too, you don’t have to worry about that. Because my corner is right where I belong at Ben Franklin Elementary at Room 25 with my friends and Meucci’s Crew,” she assured her students.
Mrs. Meucci has a passion for learning and is an outstanding educator. The Pittsburgh Pirates have named her an All-Star Teacher.
“I’m humbled and honored to have been selected as an All-Star Teacher. I can’t believe the effort it took to put together the conference call that included my students. It made me feel so loved and appreciated,” she said at the time.
It’s teachers like Mrs. Meucci who make kids look forward to learning. We wish her a speedy recovery. Watch the video to learn more about her.
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