Teachers Are Awesome: Educator Uses Game Show Winnings to Take Students to the Opera

Need more proof that teachers are pretty awesome? Back in September Deborah Bishop, a Spanish teacher at West Harrison High School in Harrison County, Mississippi, was a contestant on the trivia game show "Who Wants to be a Millionaire." The lucky teacher walked away $23,500 richer and decided to spend some of her extra loot on her students.

Indeed, Bishop spent $3,000 treating 20 students from the Spanish Honor Society to an all-expense paid trip to New Orleans, a fancy restaurant dinner, and a performance of the classic opera, The Barber of Seville.

Bishop says she did it "because they're good kids. They work really hard in my class. They're honor students and they should have the best of the best," she told local station WLOX. Her students are grateful for her generosity. "It's so nice of her to do it, because most of us have never been to an opera, and we might not get the chance again," said teen Erin Lavey.

But, Bishop's generosity doesn't end there. She's also using some of her winnings to create three $500 scholarships for Spanish Honor Society students. "That's for the students who are dedicated, who have really worked hard, who have done their philanthropy, and who have been dedicated," she said. When it comes to her students, Bishop's proving to be a model of dedication that they're sure to remember for the rest of their lives.