FLORENCE — Carla Mills became a teacher for many reasons — she loves children and loves to help them grow, but more than that, she loves to pass along life lessons. Little did she know that one of those classroom lessons would pay off in the real world.
At the beginning of the year, Mills told her second grade class at Delmae Heights Elementary School in Florence about the dangers of fires and what they and their family should do in case of an emergency. In April of this year, one of her students was faced with that very real danger.
The home of 8-year-old Jazmane Davis caught fire, and young Jazmane relied on her classroom lessons to save her family members’ lives.
“It was smoking in the house, and then my brother had woke me up, and then when we got out we saw the fire,” Davis said.
The child remembered fire safety tips that her teacher passed along and managed to get her siblings and a relative out of the home.
“She just remembered, she could hear me saying to stay under the smoke, to not stand up in it ... and she’s just an amazing little girl,” Mills said.
Mills says she teaches her class the fire safety instruction every year because otherwise they might not know what to do in that type of an emergency.
“It can happen, you never know when it could happen, and it’s just very important to have a plan and to not think it can’t happen to you, because it could,” Mills said.
For relatives and friends of the grade school teacher, the real life example showed how powerful her classroom instruction can be.
“How many students ever have to use that? Jazmane did, and she remembered and saved not only her own life but the lives of her family members. She’s a hero, but Carla’s a hero too,” Mills’ relative, Sue Orr, said.
Mills says she might not fit the standard definition of hero, but she’s making a big impact on her students’ lives every day.
Email
Facebook
Google
Twitter
Favorites
More
Advertisement