‘She’s an absolute blessing’: US teacher, 90, gets Guinness World Record for 67-year career
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Guinness said the record honoured Mrs Beverly Hannett-Price’s lifelong commitment to her students, school communities, and the teaching profession.
PHOTO: DETROIT COUNTRY DAY SCHOOL/FACEBOOK
An American teacher, who once taught the likes of late actor Robin Williams and former Microsoft chief executive Steve Ballmer, set a Guinness World Record for the longest-serving female language teacher.
Mrs Beverly Hannett-Price, 90, was presented with a Guinness certificate on Feb 2 at an assembly at the Detroit Country Day School in Oakland county, Michigan, for her 67-year teaching career.
In its citation, Guinness said the record honoured her lifelong commitment to her students, school communities, and the teaching profession.
“Beverly continues to teach with the same enthusiasm and energy that defined the beginning of her career,” it said.
In a statement, the school said the “historic recognition” honoured not only the length of Mrs Hannett-Price’s career, but also the “depth of her influence” on her students, whose achievements span the worlds of entertainment, business and the arts.
The nonagenarian, who has been teaching since 1958, said she had never thought of quitting the profession.
“I have never left this building, or any school building that I taught in, ever wanting to do anything else with my life but to teach children,” she told The Detroit News newspaper.
She added: “I’m... not thinking of retiring.”
She said she gets joy from teaching children.
“I listen to their stories. I listen to their worries. I listen to their joys. I love being at a game and congratulating them in the classroom the next day.”
Tony- and Emmy-winning actor Courtney Vance, who was one of Mrs Hannett-Price’s students, said she has been with him through good and bad times.
Their bond has evolved from teacher-student to being lifelong friends, with Mrs Hannett-Price even attending a recent ceremony where Mr Vance received his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
“She’s had a lot of students and she kept in touch with me. She knew I didn’t know things coming from public school, inner city... she befriended me. So much so, when my father died of suicide, she came and sat with my mother in our house. And that’s when I realised, this is more than just a student-teacher relationship. This is a life relationship,” The Detroit News reported Vance as saying.
“Life is short. You find a few people to take you through the days, it’s a blessing. She is an absolute blessing to my family and I am to hers. She’s internally excited about life and everyone she meets... Every day for her is a wonderful day and she reminds us all that life is a gift.”
Mrs Hannett-Price’s granddaughter Charlotte Cook, who is a student at the same school, said her grandmother deserved the recognition, pointing out she makes learning interesting.
“My friends always talk to me about her. I think she’s just such a celebrity in school and outside of school, which is so special,” The Detroit News quoted Cook as saying.
