The Ultimate Sacrifice

The Ultimate Sacrifice

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If you want to know what courage looks like, look no further. If you want to know what a hero is, you have found it. Susan Jordan is a role model to those who are commonly looked up to as a role model.

Susan Jordan was an elementary principal for 22 years in a district in Indiana that uses the curriculum I developed (Lawrence Township). While I take no credit for her character or her actions, she must have believed in virtues like responsibility, sacrifice, compassion and leadership.

In a moment in time, Susan found herself in an untenable situation. One of her school buses was headed up over the curb where innocent elementary school were standing. With just seconds to spare, she pushed several children to safety before she was run over by the bus and killed instantly. No one else was hurt.

I say it again. This is the face of a hero.

Still, I am haunted by the tough question. Aren’t you? I think all of us who hears this story has to ask ourselves this daunting question. Would I have done the same thing? The irony of that question is we will never truly know until or unless we are faced with a similar situation. We can say this or that, but we don’t know until the moment arises. It’s a split second decision… that is guided by a lifetime of beliefs and lessons. I believe she chose. I believe she knew what she was doing and was aware of the likely outcome… and still she did it. I wonder if I have that kind of courage? Do you?

Your Turn: What do you think you would have done? Why?

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  1. Honesty I don’t know what I would have done if that had happened to me. However, that woman is a hero and saved many kids from the accident.

  2. Mrs. Jordan must have loved kids a lot to save children from getting hit by the bus. These kids will forever remember her as the woman that saved their life. I would’ve done the exact same thing if I were in here position. This action shows how much she loved kids, and she died showing that.

  3. I think that she did it knowing the possible outcome. I believe that she knew what could happen and she still did it because of how much she cared about her students. She seemed to care about her students like her own children. She died a hero, with honor and gratitude. I’m sure her school will always remember her as a hero before, during, and even after her death.

  4. I would have tried to help as much as I could have. This women did something a lot of people wouldn’t even think about doing. She saved others lives while sacrificing her own. She is a great person.

  5. This girl is a hero, and very caring person. She saved many kids lives and put hers at risk and ended up dying. The teachers said she was a very good influence on the children in the school. Susan was very brave in the making and a very good principal. It was a horrible loss and its going to be hard to replace her with someone better.

  6. This is amazing. She loved those all those kids so much she gave her life so they could live. If she were still here she would probably say that she was just doing her job, protecting the kids, when really she saved their lives. Susan wasn’t well known around the the country when she was still principle but now her story will live on forever and inspire minds all around. Susan is a hero. She made a sacrifice that would change the lives of her students, co-workers, and everyone else who hears this story. The children are safe, but this sacrifice had to be made, it was the children or Susan. Susan chose herself, and in doing so saved many children. Rest in piece Susan.

  7. Susan is a hero. She pushed kids out of the way so they didn’t have to get hit by the bus. She is a hero. She was everyday. She was a caring person. She put others before herself. She cared to the point of her life was in danger. Susan is not a person who just says things she goes out and does them. This is a face of a hero.

  8. I’m not entirely sure what I would have done, seeing as that I’ve never been in a position like that before. I would hope for myself and the people around me, I would do the right thin and risk my life to save the lives of others. I honestly have no idea what I would do, unless I am faced with that situation, which hopefully I never will be. This principal was a true hero, and she put her life on the line for her students.

  9. Not to say she wasn’t a hero, because she was, but if she survived, would she have said that is was a choice of heroism? I personally think not, I think she was just doing her job, very, very well.

    What would I have done? I don’t know. I’d like to say I’d do the same thing, but in split second events like this you never know. Being a person who thinks situations out before moving on, I don’t think I could react quickly enough. However, instinct can do weird things, so maybe I’d go without even thinking.

  10. Susan Jordan was a hero. What she did makes me question what I would do in that same situation. She didn’t have much time to think but yet she made the selfless decision to save the children’s lives instead of her own. It’s true that no one can know what they would’ve done when put in her shoes unless the same thing happened to them. I wonder if I would have the courage to do the same thing.

  11. Mrs. Jordan is a hero. She loved the children so much that she gave her life to save them. She showed true courage and bravery and she will always be remembered.

  12. She really is a true hero. Not many people have the bravery like she did. She was willing to risk her life for the kids and I feel that we need more people like her in this world. The kids will forever remember her. I would have done the same thing if I was in her position. She will be greatly missed by her family, friends, and students.

  13. This woman is astonishing. She was willing to take her own life to save multiple other lives. I really don’t know if I could of done what she did. She was so brave to save her kids, but I can also understand why she would. Those kids weren’t just students to her, those kid’s were her family. It shows just by her actions. She died of hero and her actions will never be forgotten.

  14. When it comes to a situation where everything is happening so fast and you don’t know what to do well Susan did the right thing, and she is a hero for what she did. She must have loved kids as much for sacrificing her life for them.

  15. wow! That is amazing for someone to do that for children that are not even hers. She is a hero for saving all those children and will forever be remembered in that town!

  16. I believe ones heart is not measure in pounds but measured by what the cost they have provided for those indeed Susan is wresting as a hero and a heart of gold

  17. If I were in that situation, I would have to find a way to get those kids safe. It’s unfortunate that Susan lost her life to save several students, but if she hadn’t saved them then they wouldn’t be here.