A Golden Legacy

Mrs. Jarrett.

Not sure two other words in the English language evoke more respect, fear, appreciation, and love for those of us who knew this classroom matriarch. 

She was that teacher you did not interrupt.  

She was that teacher on task, who did not suffer slackers lightly.

She was that teacher who set the tone, who taught by the book, and who basically wrote the book on taking care of business, both literally and figuratively.  

Netta Lou Hubbard Jarrett--you can see in the the photo above with Brice Key (BHS '87 and TTU MBA 2011)--that the gal was chic.  She wore it well, whatever it was.  But that photo is more about what she wore in her heart than on her sleeves because she loved, loved her former students.  When Brice was working to get his graduate degree, it would be her letters with encouraging words that pushed him on. "We love you and we believe in you." Staying in touch with her students mattered;  staying in touch with her mattered to her students.

 

 Not long ago when Mrs. Jarrett was in the hospital in San Angelo, she was surrounded by BHS students from the 60s, 70s, 80s, and even two students graduating in 2016 who knew of her.  We tried to make it a point on most of our Austin UIL trips to stop by and see Mr. and Mrs. Jarrett.  It was important for today's students to know who paved the way, especially in competitive UIL.   That phrase I use often is so applicable to the relationship that the current UIL academic program had with the Jarretts:  remembering that "who we are is who we were." 

I cut my teeth on UIL academics watching Mrs. Jarrett--the lady brought it every year in those now-ancient contests of Shorthand and Typing. In 1985,  I coached my  first UIL qualifier.  That trip was memorable for many reasons, but I soon learned to adapt and defer to the lady who knew what she was doing.  It was all business until Saturday night after the competition was over.  That method worked for Mrs. Jarrett;  we respected the discipline and focus, and the results showed.  State Champions, state medalists, state qualifiers--it was her norm.

  

The next year, 1986, I got to tag along again.  You can tell in the photo (far left), that I was still learning the ropes.   Look at Mrs. Jarrett--she had the pose. She had the bow.  She had the photogenic smile.  Mrs. Jarrett tried, she really tried, to mentor me.

 

Mr. and Mrs. Jarrett retired in 1989, having dedicated most of their young adulthood and middle-aged years  to Borden County ISD.  Yearbooks, beauty pageants, class sponsoring, senior trips, Dallas Cowboys discussions in the smoky teachers' lounge on Monday mornings, that shrill laugh, the intense look, the start-class-right-when-the-bell-rings and end-class-when-the-bell-rings regimen, and a genuine love for wanting to help students learn skills that could help them down the road.

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The three administrative couples who led the way in 1978 when I first came to Borden County were my bedrock, the wise guardians who guided me at the start of my  teaching career.  Mrs. Jarrett is now with Mr. and Mrs. McLeroy, whose presence I still feel and whose voices I still miss.  It is hard to explain to teaching friends outside of Borden County what pillars of men and women I had lifting me up in the beginning.  Along with Mr. and Mrs. McMeans, they composed  an educational triumvirate that changed the course of my life.


Tonight, I remember Mrs. Jarrett.  As the yearbook sponsor for years, she would hopefully approve the following dedication I give to her from all of us at Borden County:
 

For your professionalism and integrity, we honor you.

For your graceful and dignified manner of teaching and living, we thank you.

For unmatched dedication to your profession and to your students, we will remember you.

For all things Mrs. Jarrett, we love you.