TELFAIR COUNTY, Ga. — In a now-viral picture, Stacey Hart sits in her kitchen, in tears, as a wave of emotion swept over her. Her husband, Robbie, shared the picture after hearing people bash teachers, like his wife, after school closures.
After Governor Brian Kemp closed schools for the remainder of the school year, Robbie posted the photo on Facebook, writing “I'm sure there's many that think that this is glorious news to teachers. I've heard/read the comments that have been made. ‘Must be nice to just get paid to sit at home.’ ‘They ALREADY have the best work schedule to be had anyways!’”
“I am not a teacher, nor have any remote desire to be one, but I'm married to one. I'm married to a woman that I'm watching fall apart for YOUR kids. I'm watching her heart break worried whether YOUR kids are being fed, listened to, congratulated for doing something right, corrected (the right way) for doing something wrong. She's hurting over YOUR kids,” the caption continued.
In a short time, the post racked up over 34,000 shares and 44,000 likes.
Speaking to 11Alive over the phone, Stacey, an elementary teacher in Telfair County, said she was unaware the picture was posted until it blew up.
“Oh my god, did you really just do this?” she joked to her husband.
Stacey, a normally private person, was at first mortified the picture was posted, but wasn’t upset with her husband.
She said when the photo was taken, she was upset over the news of the community losing a student as well as the announcement that she wouldn’t see her kids back in the classroom.
“We were trying to hold out hope that we were going to get to go back, sometime after April, maybe after Spring Break. You don’t get to tell them goodbye, you know, goodbye for the summer.”
Like every community, Telfair came together to make sure their kids got meals and educational packets. Stacey said she was proud of how strong the parents and children are and how they’re all adapting.
Though 90 percent of the comments on the post were positive, some accused Stacey of trying to say she loved the children more than their parents could.
She said that couldn’t be farther from the truth. She knows how much parents care for their children, but, “You get attached to these babies. I love them, too.”
Stacey connected with several parents who have since come to her defense, including those who said she shouldn’t be upset because ‘she’s just a teacher.’
“Yeah, it’s just a teacher, but I care.”
Since she didn’t get to say goodbye to her students in person, 11Alive’s Hope Ford asked her what she wanted to say to them on their last day of school.
Stacey tearfully replied, “They’re truly valuable. I love each and every one of them and I succeed in all walks of life and don’t ever let anyone get in the way of what they really want to do. I’m proud of them, for everything they’ve achieved.”
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