Students Give Their Colorblind Teacher The Most Thoughtful Gift Ever: “He Makes My Life Better”

Teachers are known as the backbone of society. They help shape the future of human civilization with their wise lessons and education. On the other hand, students also influence the lives of their teachers in various ways. A beautiful example of this relationship can be seen between these students and their favorite teacher. Roger Alcala, a physics teacher at Samuel Clemens High School in Texas, believes that his students repaid him for what he taught them. They learned that Alcala was colorblind during a lesson. Piper Smith, a student, said, “We had red and green markers and we were drawing graphs and he said, with this marker…” “We said, ‘This one is green, and you’ve already used the last green one.’” That’s when he confessed to them that he was colorblind, according to KHOU11.

After hearing his confession, the students bought him a special pair of glasses to help him see the colorful world around him. Physics teachers don’t specifically see red and green. “My eyes and brain sometimes can’t tell the difference, depending on the shade,” Alcala told 11Alive. “Sometimes when they put red and green together, they look like the same color,” he added. The students pooled $400 to buy him a special glass. Alcala was surprised when they gave him the glasses. Now he could see the colorful world around him, including his students and children.

“Wow, I’m really colorblind,” he joked after putting on his glasses. He thanked his students for such an amazing gift. He said, “So when I put these glasses on, they split the wavelength so I can separate these two colors and I can see them the way you see them,” Alcala said. “This is all physics, and I teach them science, and they gave it back to me. It makes my life better. It’s such a big impact on my life.” One of the first things the teacher saw after putting on the glasses was the brightly colored T-shirts his students were wearing, and he also saw his children’s artwork that they kept on their desks. “They’ve just had such a big impact on my life,” he said. “Man, I love them.”

In another story, a teacher shared how supportive one of his students was. u/girldad0130 wrote on Reddit that he changed careers and became a high school teacher. He added that working at the school wasn’t easy because he constantly struggled with imposter syndrome. He received a note from a student he worked hard with that melted his heart. The student wrote, “Thank you for being the best teacher. You always put a smile on my face. You are the best and funniest person I have ever met. You are kind, joyful, and funny and you have the best class. When I am down you make me happy so do your job to the best of your ability and keep working hard!” People on Reddit also praised the teacher for paying attention to the child and working with him.

u/Still_Soxfan0215 wrote, “You often hear successful people mention one teacher who influenced their life. Sounds like you were that teacher.” u/deleted joked, “Thank God for teachers like you. I’ve become very cynical about the state of our schools and the state of the world in general. It’s helped me remember that miracles and important connections still happen. Thank you for the work you do.”