Sue Sellers bows out of LinC program on high note

By Elaine Brackin

Published: May 21, 2008

All good things do, indeed, come to an end. And, at the close of this school year, a 37-year veteran of the teaching profession will close her classroom door behind her and walk into what she hopes will be a retirement filled with many new and exciting possibilities.

Since 1995, Sue Sellers has worked at Kelly Springs Elementary School. During her tenure, the school’s LinC (Learning in Collaboration) Drama Class has performed 18 plays/musicals. Last Thursday, putting a fitting cap on her illustrious career, Mrs. Sellers directed the final performance of her final play, “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.”

At the conclusion of the performance, the cast, composed of students in the fourth and fifth grades, dedicated the show’s final song to Mrs. Sellers. The song, filled with wishful thoughts of tomorrow, caused the veteran educator to ponder what the future would hold for her now that one phase of her life is drawing to a close.
While the young voices filled the cafetorium of Kelly Springs, Mrs. Sellers said her mind turned to thoughts of tomorrow.

“I’ve asked God many times (about the future),” Mrs. Sellers said as she watched her young cast of characters relax in her classroom following their final performance Thursday morning. “I’m still young. Like the song says, ‘Where am I going to fly to next? What will tomorrow be? Where will I be?’
“What does the future hold for me? I don’t have the answers to those questions just yet. I love gardening. But I don’t want to do just that. I would love to travel. I would love to work with older people. There are so many unloved older people.”

While a new chapter in her life waits to be written, Mrs. Sellers has filled many volumes with the work she has done in molding the lives of the young people who have entered her classroom during her career.
Her choice of profession came easily. Her mother was an educator. And her decision to put music and drama into the classroom was inspired by an early influence on her life - Sally May Brennan, principal of Pinckard Elementary School.

“When I started there in the sixth grade, the whole school did an operetta every year under Sally May Brennan,” Mrs. Sellers said. “I thought everybody did that.”

As her own career unfolded, Mrs. Sellers says those early experiences inspired her to put music and drama into her own classroom. With the creation of the LinC Program, she was able to do it.

“I feel like drama helps children find themselves,” Mrs. Sellers said. “They are able to build interpersonal relationships and develop a spirit of camaraderie. Through this they also develop a feeling of belonging, of being a part of something. They also learn self-discipline. It helps them learn how to get along with each other and also to follow directions.”

She also believes lasting memories are made from the experience
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“The kids will forget the homework and the hard tests,” Mrs. Sellers said, “but they won’t forget ‘Snow White’.”
Nor will Mrs. Sellers forget the experiences that come from being in the classroom interacting with young minds and hearts.

“It’s been such a rewarding experience for me,” Mrs. Sellers said. “I can’t put a value on it. Teaching is a calling. And one of the good things about the teaching profession is that you never have to be afraid to tell the children that you love them.

“The most fulfilling experience we can have in life is to love and be loved. It’s a wonderful experience to have kids walk into your classroom. They love you unconditionally. Children don’t see your faults like other do.”
A career filled with wonderful memories, like those of this past week, is drawing to a close for Sue Sellers, but her influence will be felt long after she shuts the door of her classroom for the final time at Kelly Springs Elementary School.

“Life is about loving others and making a difference,” Mrs. Sellers said. “I hope I’ve made a difference in the life of one child. I hope I am remembered as someone they could love and know that I love them.”