ICYMI: Wayland Teacher Honored With Unique Award

WAYLAND, MA—The Mary L. Johnson Travelship Award is a truly unique award, not only for a Wayland teacher but for teachers everywhere.

This award is named after and presented in memory of Johnson, who graduated from Wayland High School in 1981, and died in the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. The Johnson family established the Mary L. Johnson Travelship to honor annually a Wayland Public School teacher who "loves children, respects them, and helps them grow beyond themselves," according to the announcement.

Since 1990, the teachers selected have been career educators who "teach for teaching's sake and have devoted their lives to sending Wayland's youngsters off in new and exciting directions." This award gives these teachers a chance to travel, where otherwise they might not. The award plaque itself befittingly consists of an antique compass and reads, "for helping a generation of Wayland youngsters find their own true north."

This year’s award, the 30th in its history, went to retiring Dramatic Arts teacher Richard Weingartner. At the award ceremony, Superintendent Paul Stein started the meeting by talking about what is special about this award noting, “I’ve always thought it’s one of the most incredible professional honors that I’ve ever heard of. It is truly a gift without strings that just says we want to honor folks who very much have a passion for teaching, love kids, and do the hard work of challenging and supporting them.” He added, “Just to have this kind of gift that says: Take it, do what you want with it. The irony is that the specialness of what results ends up being much more valuable than just prescribing a certain kind of award.”

Mary's father, Bob Johnson, and two of her siblings, Anne Johnson Evans and Tom Johnson, also attended, with Tom awarding the plaque and conveying the family’s appreciation for Wayland's teachers. Bob thanked the teachers and appreciated the thanks they have shown him, and noted that the one person who hasn’t been able to thank anyone is his daughter, Mary. He proceeded to read a poem, to “say something that Mary might say” were she there, said the press release.

He read:

To Mr., Sir, To Mrs., Miss, and Ma’am,

To each of you who always give a damn

Teach me, teach me, help me learn,

help me make the fires burn

Deep inside me

Help me know how to live and love and grow

Give me wisdom, strength and will,

I thank you then, I thank you still

In the crowd were 15 of the 29 winners, with teachers whose careers date back to the 1960s. Each of them shared stories of their travels, which included trips to Europe, South America, Asia, Africa, Alaska, Hawaii, other locations in the United States and even Disneyworld.

Stein spoke with wonder about the purpose of the award, continues the announcement, noting that “it’s an affirmation because it really came out of a tragedy having to do with travel -- and we are currently living in a time when travel, particularly to foreign countries, is no longer the safest thing to do anymore; it’s not carefree. But this award, given where it started -- and this hadn’t occurred to me in the past -- really says, ‘You know what? I’m gonna stare you down in the face and we are going to make this award about travel.’ I think that’s incredible. And as I’ve said, given the times we are living in, it’s more important now than ever; I’m so appreciative of that element as well.”

Information submitted by the Wayland Public Schools