CANTON, Mich. – Everyone has heard the saying before—when you find what you love, you never have to work a day in your life. That may be the case for a teacher in Canton.
“During story time, I had something to say; I just couldn’t wait until the end of the day,” said Mrs. Patricia Colunga.
Colunga shows up every day to teach the children at Canton Charter Academy despite her long commute. She lives in Brighton—two hours every day in a car just to be there for her students.
Her long commute isn’t the only thing that will make you gasp. It’s the fact that she’s 82 and still working the demanding hours that come with being a teacher.
Colunga started teaching at this school the year it opened in 2000, and she has no intention of leaving anytime soon.
“As long as I can do it, and as long as they want me, I’m here,” said Colunga.
Now that her children are all grown up, she finds comfort in being around the children she teaches. Her daughter even thought about following in her footsteps.
“One of them thought she wanted to be a teacher, and she lasted two months, and she said, ‘How do you do it, mom? They get all over your desk,’ and I said that’s part of it: you have a close relationship with the kids you work with.”
“She knew that I was good at math, so every single time I would come to math, she would encourage me,” said one of her students.
Colunga said encouragement goes a long way when it comes to building relationships with her students. And no two students are the same.
Despite an age gap that keeps growing between her and her students as the years go on, the most important thing that’s growing is the minds of these children and their close relationship with their teacher.