Melissa Forman's Teacher Salute 12-13-25

Melissa loves to spotlight Chicagoland teachers!

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Ninety three point nine, a light FM, Chicago's Christmas music station,
Melissa for my producer Jim and you. It is Friday.
It is time for a teacher salute with our friends
at Visit Florida. Get us yours at ninety three nine
lightfm dot com slash contest. All right, right now, I
have Josh on the line. Josh, you sent us the
best emailed about your mom, Mss Kanti at Lincoln Elementary. Now, wait,

(00:24):
are you a teacher too?

Speaker 2 (00:25):
No, she's a teacher, but she's always told me to
follow my dreams and always encourage me to do everything
that I wanted to do. And she is just an
amazing woman. She's literally the person who would give you
the shirt off her back, and time and time again,
when a student didn't have supplies, or they didn't have
gloves or a jacket for the cold weather, she would
go into her own pocket or go through our old

(00:47):
stuff and give it to them, never telling anybody. I
was the only one who knew because I saw it.
And she's such an inspiration to me, and she really
deserves this, and I'm so glad that you chose her.

Speaker 1 (00:58):
Oh does she know that you know? I'm crying. Yeah
she did.

Speaker 2 (01:02):
She she does not know, so this'll be a big
surprise for her.

Speaker 1 (01:06):
Wait, and she's retiring this year after thirty years.

Speaker 2 (01:09):
I think next year she's retiring after over thirty years
teaching as a kindergarten teacher.

Speaker 1 (01:15):
Oh gosh, all right, should we call?

Speaker 2 (01:17):
You?

Speaker 1 (01:17):
Want to call her? Mary Beth Kante? Is that how
you say her last name?

Speaker 2 (01:20):
CONTI?

Speaker 1 (01:21):
Yes, okay, Wait, hold on, all right, I think I
have her on the other line once that. Mary Beth,
are you there, I'm here. Oh I figured it out.

Speaker 2 (01:28):
Josh are you there?

Speaker 1 (01:29):
Yeah, I'm here. Hey, Mary Beth. Do you know your son? Josh?

Speaker 2 (01:32):
This is Josh my son. Jeh, wait, you've already made
me guy. She shouldn't know what's happening yet. Oh no,
I don't.

Speaker 1 (01:43):
Oh, very bath. All right, so Mary Beth. We do
this thing every week called a teacher Salute, where we
ask people to send us letters about amazing educators, and
this one really stood out. It says, my mom is
the best teacher anyone could have ever asked for. I
can't think of someone more deserving for this nomination. She
goes out of her way to make sure every student
has everything they need to succeed both inside and outside

(02:05):
of the classroom, from organizing after school clubs for her students,
to teaching them how to be the best version of themselves,
even a reaching into her own pocket to make sure
every student has a jacket for the cold weather. Miss
Kanti does it all. After being dedicated to her profession
for over thirty years. She's not slowed down, and she
has no plans to anytime soon. She is the best teacher, friend,

(02:29):
and mother anyone could ever ask for, and I sincerely
hope you will consider her for your teacher salutes.

Speaker 2 (02:35):
Oh Josh, sorry, Oh it's okay.

Speaker 1 (02:40):
We're over here crying again.

Speaker 2 (02:43):
I need a vacation.

Speaker 1 (02:45):
Oh my gosh, So Josh, thank you, Miss Kanti. I
just wanted to let you know at Lincoln Elementary that
you are this week's teacher salutes. Woo, thank you so much.
Thank you. So you went too, one hundred and fifty
dollars from our friends and visit Florida. Oh my gosh,
and you're now qualified for this trip. We're gonna draw

(03:06):
one a month. We go to the Low's Miami Beach
Hotel this summer. One teacher a month, and you're now nominated.
Oh my gosh, it is so awesome. Thank you so much.
You're so welcome. Oh, it would be fun if you
brought Josh. I think we'd all have a really good time,
but that'll be.

Speaker 2 (03:22):
Up till she does get a plus one. She might
as well, I think.

Speaker 1 (03:26):
So you would have the best time. So oh, I'm
so happy for you. Thank you for what you do.

Speaker 2 (03:32):
Oh my goodness, thank you so much.

Speaker 1 (03:34):
You're so welcome both of you. Hold on one second
and congratulations again.

Speaker 2 (03:38):
Thank you