Inspirational Hotline

The tradition continues.

Where+it+all+happens+from.

Jessica Grayson

Where it all happens from.

Jessica Grayson and Erin Lee

Inspirational Hotline is a way to spread motivation throughout the school with a single message per day. This tradition started through Mr. Stroker, a gym teacher who wanted to spread inspiration and motivation for students and teachers to carry throughout the day. Every day the announcement started with “Hey! Thanks for calling inspirational hotline this is ______”. After that, Mr. Stroker would share something that would help give a positive outlook for the rest of everyone’s day. One of his most well-known stories is the story of a young boy named Thomas. Mr. Stroker says,

“One day coming home from school, a young boy named Thomas got a letter from the principal. Thomas was so excited to show his mother, and when his mother finally read, it, she started to cry. Thomas didn’t know why his mother was crying so he asked what it said and his mother read the letter to him, ‘Your son is such a gifted and intelligent student that we cannot provide him with the work that he needs. Please homeschool him for his sake.’ After being homeschooled he eventually invented the lightbulb. When his mother died, Thomas Edison and his brother went to clean out their mother’s house and while they were cleaning, Thomas found the letter from all those years ago in the pocket of one of her dresses. He opened the letter and read it, and it said, ‘Your son is a horrible student. He is a troublemaker in the classroom and he always distracts other students. Homeschool him so he can’t distract other students in the class anymore.’ When Thomas read this, he was shocked. He thought back to how he had always thought he was such a bright kid, and how by just putting a more positive outlook on the note, his mother had changed his whole outlook on life.”

Mr. Stroker always gave inspirational messages, and while they were simple enough, they made people think about how they want to live there life. Now, this legacy has been passed down to whoever would like to inspire. This can be done daily, weekly or even once month, and if a BF student ever want to give a message out to the school, sign ups are available on the BF website, under ‘Our School’ and ‘Activities’.

We interviewed Victoria Schecter, a current BF student who had done hotline while Mr. Stroker was still in charge and also is still currently doing it now, about what she thought had changed from last year to this year. “When Mr. Stroker was here, it was a different aspect, he was always very excited about doing the hotline and inspiring people, and when he were there, his stories were always a great way to start the morning, especially on a Monday.”

All of the hotlines had ended with, “Show up, be brave, be kind, smile and don’t let anyone steal your peace.” What Mr. Stroker had wanted everyone to take away form this was to show up every day and to really be present in wherever may be. To always be brave and kind, even if it’s the smallest act of both bravery and/or kindness. Smile, because a smile can brighten anyone’s day. Finally, to never let anyone steal your peace and to stay level headed and calm even when something bad may happen. Make sure to apply this to everyday life and to spread motivation and inspiration wherever you go.