Beyond the Gold
“Who was your favorite teacher?”
That is a question New York Times Best-Selling author John U. Bacon often asks his audiences when discussing leadership and his new book (and my new favorite book), Let Them Lead: Unexpected Lessons in Leadership from America’s Worst High School Hockey Team.
The ‘favorite teacher’ question leads me straight to my elementary and middle school, Gulf Stream School, where my favorite teachers worked and inspired.
And it started at the top with Headmistress Miss Anne Gibb.
Miss Gibb not only led the school, she also served as the eighth grade homeroom and English teacher. She worked at Gulf Stream School for 32 years; 14 years as head of school.
The lifetime leader, teacher, mentor and friend touched many lives - mine being one of them -and on Christmas morning of 2021, Miss Anne Gibb passed away.
I had the honor of speaking at her service at Gulf Stream School in February and share my remarks here on Today’s Paige.
“Grey blue eyes,
Granite smile
For love of each
And every child
From Burns to Frost
Around the Globe,
All that glitters
Beyond the gold;
For apple red
And rosy pink,
From winter’s night
To just so spring
Youth is served
To follow thus,
Her golden dreams
Become they dust
That blows upon
The hallowed moor
Beyond the sea
Onto this shore
Where piety (pie-e-tea)
Is kept alive
For love of each
And every child
And in return
The winds of yore
Blow they still
And evermore,
Shall comfort us
As kindled light
And guide us through
Approaching night
With every step
Of every mile
For love of each
And every child”
Wish I could say that was my work.
That was a poem written about Miss Gibb by former Gulf Stream School teacher extraordinaire Mr. David Winans.
She isn’t a tough one to write about… because so many of us look back and think of her and smile.
She was polished. She was firm yet gentle. She was a strong leader and yet so calm and quiet.
Someone you wanted in the room.
Someone you wanted as a teacher and someone who would always have your back. Unless, as the boys tell me, you were misbehaving.
A classmate of mine, Joshua Donaghue, who may have misbehaved a time or two throughout his years here but turned out to be quite a fine gentleman, remembers her afternoon English classes where she would pass out Tootsie Roll lollipops that at the time, seemed like the greatest thing!
Josh says “She was never shy about correcting your grammar. A quick wit and stern but loving smile. She will always be one of my fondest memories of my childhood. Every child needs a Miss Gibb in their life!”
I agree…
Every child needs a Miss Gibb.
Every school needs a Miss Gibb.
Because from the moment we stepped out of the car, she was there.
She greeted the “wee ones.” She greeted the older ones.
From the classroom to the chapel to the field, she was there.
With a hug, a ‘tilt of the head’ and a smile, always a smile, and a kind word, she was there.
Berkley Sweetapple, class of 2003, remembers the hot chocolate Miss Gibb would provide, how Miss Gibb inspired her students to use the best manners, how she encouraged and expected us to be our best selves and rise to each occasion. All while kind and sweet but also meaning business.
Meg Carey, class of 1987 explains “She had a true gift for teaching, challenging you to be your best at every turn. Her smile and her endless positive energy are traits I’ll never forget. Not to mention her ability to remember every single student. When she spoke to you, you were the only one in the room. She was one of a kind. A legend in my book and the epitome of a lady.”
So many expressions she used Meg still uses to this day: “A for the day!” and “Come along slowcoach!” (which by the way, I had to ask Meg what that meant…. it’s an informal British expression for a slow poke! Meg remembers Miss Gibb saying that all of the time, again…especially to the boys!)
Miss Gibb has meant the world to our “little school by the sea” and to the many people who have called her friend, myself among them. We got to know her as wee ones and some of us were lucky enough to stay in touch with her as grownups.
She and I wrote letters to each other often over the years.
How about her thank you notes in the mail?….the letters of congratulations on endeavours and accomplishments near and far?... or those splendid postcards she would send from Scotland.
I received a few when I returned to anchor and report at WPTV, NewsChannel 5, our NBC station. She wouldn’t just say nice things….she was descriptive and encouraging, she told me why she liked my reports and my delivery. She was so very good with words and so good at sharing her thoughts with us all. I find that’s a bit of a lost art…but one we all can always improve on.
In that same postcard by the way, Miss Gibb didn’t hesitate to plug her team - support her team and do her job – she wrote “GSS will be glad of your alumni support too!”
She also sent “fond regards” to my family, who also loved her dearly - and she mentioned meeting for afternoon tea - which we did a time or two.
We all remember the impact Miss Gibb had on our public speaking skills...those 8th grade Chapel speeches. Not only did we have to write the speeches but we also had to deliver them and make them interesting.
Miss Gibb came up with a bigger concept for me and my classmate and friend, Michael Watson. She asked us to do our speeches together and on Grandparents Day.
She had the vision. We had to complete it.
Our speech highlighted cartoonist and Peanuts comic creator Charles Shulz. And it wasn’t just a speech for the Grandparents Day chapel - a ‘Peanuts performance’ was included too. I dressed up as Lucy and Michael was Charlie Brown.
Miss Gibb was delighted.
So of course, this week, I checked in with her Charlie Brown.
“She dedicated her whole life to the education of young people. She employed my mother as a seasonal and substitute teacher and she looked after me when my mother passed away while I was a student at Gulf Stream. Miss Gibb offered me work in the summer painting the campus - all of those fire-engine-red benches and tables in the pavilion - and inventorying all of the books purchased for the upcoming school year. She taught me Shakespeare (I was obsessed with her paper model of the Globe Theater) and encouraged my passion for acting and singing. When I reflect on the people who influenced me as a young person and the man I am today, Miss Gibb - (I still can’t bring myself to call her Anne) - is one of the first people that comes to mind. I really adored her,” said Michael Watson.
Former teacher and coach, Mr. Harry Worrall, says “She was a tremendous educator, she understood adolescence, and she created a moral compass for all of her students and faculty alike. She created and managed a well-oiled machine that produced incredibly well-educated young people as well as professionally well-developed educators. Her family was always us, all of us, and we all knew it. She was firm, but always fair, and students and faculty alike respected her tremendously. Personally, I learned a lot from her calm reserve as well as her resolve. She was a teacher first and foremost.”
Thanks in large part to Miss Gibb and to the many who worked alongside her, we were all better prepared to face the challenges of the future and encouraged to embrace the joys of the ‘every day.’
You know… the things worth ‘titling our heads’ for.
Former teacher and current grandparent Peggy Martin shared with me about the friend that Anne Gibb was, a jewel, a one-of-a-kind individual who put a high value on the friendships in her life.
“She taught. She touched. She changed peoples lives. Miss Gibb made everyone feel like they had a special part - a special place - in her life,” Peggy told me.
Miss Gibb once wrote to Peggy, quote “I am certainly glad to have your presence in my life and value your friendship and kindnesses.”
I’m pretty sure we all would agree today that we are certainly glad to have had Miss Gibb’s presence in our lives and that we value those friendships and her kindnesses.
Miss Gibb’s contributions to my life and the Gulf Stream School family will endure forever.
Gifts in lieu of flowers in Miss Anne Gibb’s honor may be made to Gulf Stream School at 3600 Gulf Stream Road, Gulf Stream, FL 33483. Please indicate in memory of Miss Anne G. Gibb.