A miscarriage is an awful thing for a couple to experience.
They are fairly common, but it doesn’t make them any easier to deal with. When a teacher’s wife had a miscarriage, his class did their best to cheer him up under the circumstances.
Matt Groark teaches physical education and health at Washington Township High School in New Jersey. He is young and gets along well with all his students. While many teachers would keep a miscarriage private, he explained what had happened to his students and informed them that he was having a hard time with it.
It wasn’t the first time he and his wife had dealt with a loss.
He and his wife had been trying to have a baby for a while and had suffered through other miscarriages. This was their fifth one. They were devastated.
His students wanted to find a way to cheer him up. They knew that there were no words or actions that could take away the pain he and his wife were feeling, but they wanted to do something to raise their spirits and let them know that the class cared about them.
The class decided to put their money together and buy the couple tickets to a Philadelphia 76ers game.
They knew their teacher was a big fan, and they thought he and his wife could use a night out and a distraction from their loss.
The class gave him a card with the tickets inside. He was more than happy to receive them and was even happier that his class cared enough to do something so nice for him during his time of grief.
One of the students shared photos of the gift and the story online.
The student, named Tina, posted:
“Last month, our gym teacher’s wife had her 5th miscarriage 4 months into her pregnancy. After seeing how devastated he was, our class decided to pitch in for Sixers tix for him and his wife to show our gratitude. Enjoy the game, Mr. Groark :-)!! You and your wife deserve it.”
Other students and people saw the post and decided they also wanted to help the teacher and the entire class for being so nice to him.
Another student posted:
“This is at my High School! Mr. Groark is the sweetest dude and would do anything for his students. He wants to take all 25 of them to this game. Can you help at all?”
Groark was overwhelmed.
He spoke highly of his students, saying:
“My students let me get upset and let me do what I had to do to get through those first few days. Several weeks went by and then they surprised me with those tickets. What they wrote was just so heartfelt and kind. To see what they did as 16-, 17-year-olds in the world that we are living in, to see young adults show that kind of compassion, as a parent, was pretty amazing to be a part of. My story is what it is, and there are people out there who have dealt with the same thing, if not worse, but to have these kids keep supporting me – they are why I can keep coming to school. Their actions speak for this entire school – the students, the staff, the administration, my health and physical education department – everyone has been so incredible.”
The story was shared hundreds of times, and eventually, it was picked up by news stations.
After that, the Sixers rewarded the thoughtful students by awarding them tickets of their own, allowing them to join Groark and his wife at the game.
This story shows teachers how much their students appreciate them and can turn the tables and help them when they need it. Hopefully, this story also motivates others to be kind and considerate.
Please SHARE this with your friends and family.
His reaction: pic.twitter.com/sx9YGKyRO5
— tina (@anhtinah0) February 28, 2018
