Have you ever had that strict teacher in high school you’ve always been trying to avoid? You know, the terror math instructor or the uptight English lecturer that no one would ever dare to mess with? Well, apparently, for students at St. Francis High School in California, that certain teacher is Mr. Jim O’Connor. Teaching perhaps one of the most dreaded subjects in school (math, of course), Mr. O’Connor is known to be a man of military discipline. He served in Vietnam as a soldier and has brought in the classroom a similar approach as he tortures these teenage boys with math problems.
He’s known to be firm and just and is clearly intimidating with his clean military haircut, prim clothes, and keen eyes ready to detect any misbehavior. His students even view him to be a bit of a drudge. Being traditional, he doesn’t believe that school can be fun. And so, as far as his student knows, he’s just another stale and serious teacher. But all of that changed when a senior named Pat went to Children’s Hospital Los Angeles to represent the school in a meeting about a student blood drive.
As soon as the people knew where Pat was attending school, they all started to gush about the supposed uptight lecturer saying things like how wonderful Mr. O’Connor is. This has left Pat in disbelief as it may have been the first time he heard people talk about his teacher in this unusual way. Turns out, Mr. O’Connor is the top donor of all time. Not only that, but he was also a volunteer in the hospital’s nursery! And he’s so good at it that a nurse named Erin even described him as “invaluable” and went on explaining how he’s actually known as the “Baby Whisperer.”
He lovingly cuddles, feeds, and comforts these babies as if they’re his own. And he has been doing these three times a week for 20 long years! “They tend to calm with him, they tend to relax with him, they fall asleep with him,” Erin added. Jim has never married or had children but this didn’t stop him from being creative on spreading love to the vulnerable little infants.
Watch this heartwarming video of the teenage students learning about a lesson or two about love and life from the most unexpected person.
The famous adage, “don’t judge the book by its cover” definitely holds true on this one. And as for Pat, seeing the alter ego of his terror math teacher has made him appreciate Mr. O’Connor a bit more. He even went on saying, “I’ve always respected him, but now it’s an even different degree, really. It’s to the point where I try to emulate him. He’s the epitome of a man of service,” he said.
