Words to Remember

I woke up one morning last week to the disturbing news that a Fairfax County teacher and coach had been arrested and charged with attempting to solicit a minor for *** over the internet.

I won’t even bother to mention his name in this entry — because in my opinion he doesn’t deserve even the slightest bit of notoriety.

Instead, my immediate thought was how sad it is that only the very few teachers and coaches who do something inappropriate grab the headlines. What about those who do the right things every day? Those who not only teach and coach but also inspire and, perhaps most importantly, build self-confidence within their young and impressionable students.

Those are the teachers and coaches whose names should be emblazoned in headlines.

For me, it was Mr. Chris Aleo, my 12th grade sociology teacher at Gar-Field High School in Prince William County. I learned more — about life and myself — in that one single high school class than in any other I took, including all four years at my beloved Virginia Tech. I could go into detail about the bevy of projects we did in Mr. Aleo’s class and the lessons learned from each. I still remember it all. But it is the words of advice that Mr. Aleo wrote in my senior yearbook that have stuck with me most.

I’ve been out of high school for 15 years … wow, did I really just admit that? … and yet I still remember exactly what he wrote without having to go down into my basement and dig out the boxes that house all of my old keepsakes.

It was simple: “Never doubt yourself, or where you’re going. Never sell yourself short, and always make ’em pay the price your worth.”

Not bad, huh?

Mr. Aleo is still at Gar-Field, and still teaching sociology. He taught me, both of my older brothers and two older cousins. And after a 15-year break from the Watts crew, last year he had my oldest niece in his class, too. Best of all — I know for certain she loved his class as much as I did. I have four other nieces and nephews who are slated to attended Gar-Field … and one of my greatest hopes is that Mr. Aleo will still be teaching when the youngest, who will be a senior in 2018-19, finally gets there.

If you have a teacher or coach in your life whose actions or words have inspired you, write me at awatts@digitalsports.com and I’ll be sure that those who are truly deserving get the headlines for a while.

–Angela