Lots of teachers go above and beyond and make sure they are doing the very best they can for their students. Some even think of and treat their students the same way as they would treat their own children.
But Texas teacher Bennie Berry took this to the extreme and actually adopted one of her students.
She and her new son recently celebrated together at an adoption ceremony in Beaumont, Texas where 16-year-old Anthony Berry was the oldest child to be adopted in Jefferson County and was among 19 to be adopted at the ceremony.
“I didn’t think the day would ever come because of the fact that I didn’t want to be adopted,” Anthony told FOX 5.
Anthony had been in foster care since 2010. But that all changed when he met his mom when she became his English teacher last November. Anthony asked her to adopt him by January.
“I started talking to her and we just kind of clicked,” he told ABC News. “How many kids my age get adopted nowadays?”
Anthony asked Bennie to take a look at the adoption website, but she had a different idea.
“At first I thought he was making jokes until he actually explained the situation,” Bennie told FOX 5. “Then, we struck a deal. Finish an assignment and then you can show me the website.”
Once she found out that it wasn’t actually a joke and it was an option they decided to push forward with the adoption process.
“I really couldn’t sleep last night,” Anthony told reporters at the ceremony. “I told mom, I was like, ‘I don’t think I’m going to be able to sleep. She was like, ‘I don’t think I am either.’”
Bennie said she is more than happy to give Anthony, who she says is an “ideal” and “model” student, a loving him.
“I have a son. I’m more than elated,” she said. “I have a son for the rest of my life.”
Anthony said he hopes that others will be open to adoption no matter what age they are.
“Take into consideration that if someone doesn’t love you, there is always someone that will love you,” he said.
We know that teachers often truly devoted to their students and go above and beyond to help them grow, but this is some next level teacher love. Learn more about Bennie and Anthony’s beautiful story and their future together in the video below.
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