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Tuesday, July 1, 2008
Thanks to teacher, boy saved a life
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Maybe you read about Michael Bosworth.
He’s the 12-year-old Snellville kid who saved his mother’s life by performing the Heimlich maneuver. Michael helped her cough up a chip that had lodged in her throat during a lunch while they were on vacation in Mexico.
In that story, Michael and his mom sang the praises of Jimmy Moore, 58. He teaches physical education for kindergarten through fifth grade at Britt Elementary. It’s Moore who taught Michael the Heimlich maneuver, more commonly called the “stomach thrust.” Michael, a rising seventh-grader, considers Moore one of his favorite teachers.
On Sunday, I got to talk to Moore. He’d forewarned that reception on his cellphone might be spotty because he’d probably be in the mountains for Boy Scouts summer camp.
Moore is a retired scoutmaster but still in the thick of it, even though his boys, Joe and Jay, are now men. He has been a leader in the Boy Scouts for nearly two decades. See, Moore invests his time, professionally and socially, in one of the biggest investments any of us could ever make. One whose dividends are immeasurable, and the payoffs, it is hoped, the antithesis of the extremes we read about in print and see on TV.
Kids.
“There’s good in kids, in everybody,” Moore told me, noting that comparisons of today’s youth to those of yesterday are an exercise in futility. “Sometimes you have to look deep down for it, but it’s there. If you show kids you care about them, they will care about you. A lot of people see nothing but the negative in young people. I’d like to see more of the positive.”
Amen.
It’s easy to pontificate about the ills of teens or most any element of society. I do it. Too easy. Plenty of columnists (and readers) are pros at it. We all could benefit from a better mix, though. So I cherry-pick young people to write about, to give attaboys. Kids such as Michael. Without fail they always recall a parent, teacher or coach who inspired.
In Michael’s case, one of them is Moore of Lilburn.
He’s been a teacher 28 years, the past 15 at Britt Elementary. He graduated from the Citadel in 1972 with a bachelor’s degree in physical education and health. He became a teacher and wrestling coach for a while, but decided to try a different profession. He became an agent with Equitable Life, which transferred him to Atlanta. His career in insurance was short-lived.
“Five years later I got back into education,” he told me. “I’ve been in it every since.”
Moore remembers the Bosworth twins - Michael and Zachary - well. Their mother’s description of them as “sports nuts,” he told me, was on the money. In his words, they were a P.E. teacher’s dream.
“They liked the activity, the energy,” he said. “We have a saying in class: ‘If you had fun, you won.’ P.E. teachers [and health teachers] try to teach kids what to eat, how to eat, the importance of play. In every class, they hit the floor running and they leave sweaty, but with a smile on their faces.”
Moore was more humbled than flattered that, two years later, the steps of the Heimlich had stuck with Michael, as well as a memory of the teacher who provided the instruction.
“I do not like to toot my own horn,” Moore said. “I am just thankful Michael was prepared, not just to save a life, but to save his mom’s life.”
Rick Badie’s column appears on Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays. Contact him at 770-263-3875 or e-mail: rbadie@ajc.com.
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