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She admits teaching grows more challenging each day, but her love for the children frames her strategy for remaining in the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHere\u2019s my secret to that: I have been able to separate the two. I decide what I love to do is on this side of the line. These are my kids that I love to teach, and I love sharing with them. On the other side of this line are the hoops I have to jump through to do what I love to do. And I just keep it separated in my mind. I\u2019m still willing to jump through those hoops to get to where I want to be,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
You might say she\u2019s a fixture at Unity School. She was among those teaching when its doors first opened and, today, is the last remaining from the first year\u2019s staff. It would only make sense that the staff and students are her extended family. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
She said, \u201cThe fact that it\u2019s a small school in a rural community, it\u2019s just like a big family. And we all kind of take care of each other and each other\u2019s kids \u2014 all the kids. I refer to my students as my kids, and that\u2019s how I feel about them.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n And like families, her Unity family is multi-generational. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019ve taught a lot of children of former students, but now I\u2019ve had two or three families of three generations,\u201d Honey said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Like her Unity family, her own family has grown exponentially over the years. After her first husband passed away at an early age, Honey met her husband, Rickey, at a ballgame. He asked if they could go out sometime, and her answer was yes, provided she didn\u2019t have a ball game because her kids come first. He agreed his children came first, too, and three months later, they finally found a ballgame-free night. Where did they go? A ballgame, of course, and they\u2019ve been a fixture at area ballparks and gyms ever since. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Their growing number of grandchildren led her to start a baking business. Christmas gifts for twelve grandchildren aren\u2019t cheap, so she created The Daily Bread to fund her Christmas account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n She began with a basic Amish friendship bread she received as a gift from a student and perfected her 50 varieties. She added a mid-week dinner offering called the Hump Day Helper that makes meal time a breeze with her heat-and-eat hearty meals. Add a sweet treat from her menu, and you\u2019ve got a recipe for comfort. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Food connects us immediately to our fondest memories. Jo Ellen\u2019s cafeteria rolls will transport you to your childhood and the walk from class to the cafeteria, where the aroma of bread baking wraps you in its sweet embrace. <\/p>\n\n\n\n She said, \u201cIt gives me so much joy to see somebody enjoy my food. Eating is comfort, and it brings joy. It\u2019s what brings people together when you sit around a table with your family or your friends. There\u2019s just nothing better. I love to cook. I do what I call country grub, and I love putting a big meal of meats and vegetables together.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n With everything on her plate and everything that she puts on others\u2019 plates, is she planning to slow down anytime soon? <\/p>\n\n\n\n Jo Ellen answered, \u201cI hope not. Not as long as I\u2019m still happy doing what I\u2019m doing and as long as I feel like I can give the kids what they need. I just want to stay busy. I\u2019ve seen too many teachers retire after teaching a long time, and their health goes down. As long as I still feel good and still feel good about what I\u2019m doing, I\u2019m fine just like I am.\u201d GN <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" LIKE BAKING friendship bread, teaching requires patience, dedication, and the love of working with the ingredients: curious students, challenges at school, and a supportive community. Teaching encourages growth through the continual kneading, stirring, and baking of small successes each school year. Jo Ellen Honey knows a little about both. Honey has been in school for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":14354,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-13650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-feature"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/03\/DSC01008-1024x683.jpg\")
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