We all had that one teacher who was simply the coolest. Whether they did the best activities, had an awesome room, or somehow made math fun, they go down in the history of our minds as the best. Teacher. Ever!
Well, one Redditor is being heralded as such for spending class time teaching her students how to mend their favorite toys.
The Reddit user recently posted a series of photos to r/visiblemending, showing off some beloved stuffed animals that had recently gone under the needle. The toys, which had visible mends over what we can assume were rips and tears, were all fixed by hand by her fourth and fifth-grade students.
The OP explained in a comment that she teaches elementary art and runs a fiber arts club. The week in question, she asked her students to bring in any fabric toys or belongings that needed to be patched or mended.
Not only did she teach the students sewing skills, but the teacher who co-runs the club with her brought brushes, baby wipes, and even clear nail polish to shine up the toys' eyes.
"The kids had an absolute blast and I hope they'll carry these skills with them through life!" she comments.
Other Redditors were quick to celebrate the teacher's efforts, with the post garnering over 1,000 upvotes.
"You're going to be the cool teacher who taught them life skills!" one person comments.
"It's so lovely to invite the kids to repair something meaningful to them, so they're empowered [and] emotionally invested, and internalize the real-world value of this skill," another user posts.
And they're right — the skills these kids learned in class are a great way to repair and reuse items throughout their lives that others may just toss. Over 100 million tons of textile waste gets sent to landfills each year.
"It also teaches kids that things don't have to be replaced with something newer just because they aren't perfect anymore," one commenter points out. "Nice work!"
This is a great way for her students to upcycle their clothing, fabrics, toys, and many more things for years to come.
And that's what OP said her overall goal was. "I have to at least try to build our next generation to not have a throw-away mindset."
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