The Star On My Tree
I’ve had the same homemade star on my tree since the Christmas of 1985. This was the year that I moved back to Atlanta and starting teaching at Dunwoody HS. I wanted to share this story to remind everyone of the impact of one act of kindness.
When I arrived at Dunwoody, the students welcomed me and made me feel at home right away. We had a successful Fall season and I did all I could to work my hardest and let my students know how much I cared about them. (My advice for any teacher is to simply work your hardest and show your students how much you care….and they will follow your lead wherever you may want to go.)
That Christmas I was surprised by a huge bunch of band students who appeared at the door of my home singing Christmas carols. I don’t know how they found out where I lived, but they were there enthusiastically singing and showing that they cared about me. Despite my protests, I found them barreling into my home to see my Christmas tree. They were soon all very upset that my tree had no star on it and proceeded to create one quickly using a piece of cardboard and aluminum foil. Seeing the tree properly topped, I managed to get them out of my house, now with aluminum foil star in place. This star has donned the top of my tree ever since.
Why would a teacher hang onto a sorry looking star for 35 years? I’m sure the answer is obvious. It was an act of kindness from my students, a way to show that they cared for me and loved me, and this symbol of their feelings for me means the world to me to this day. Each year when I decorate my tree, I carefully pull the long-suffering and very fragile star from its storage space and place it carefully on top of the “highest bough.” Some might see it as old and tattered, but it’s my favorite all-time Christmas decoration by far.
I don’t know if any of my former students will read this, and I wonder if they would be surprised or pleased that this gesture of their kindness has meant so much to me over the years. It’s the simple things that matter, and we never know how one small gesture can change someone’s life. This star makes me happy, reminds me that students are wonderful and DO care for us, and symbolizes all the hard work that I gave to them, and them to me in return.
I hope you have a wonderful holiday, full of gestures of kindness and reminders of great loves and friendships.
Tim Hinton
December 21, 2020
