Mark Wahlberg Films Sweet Video With Teacher Encouraging Her Students To 'Stay In School'

Mar 08, 2023

Mark Wahlberg is an A-list actor, businessman, and former rapper that rose to stardom during the 1990s. During his career in entertainment, he has been nominated for several Academy Awards, Golden Globes, Primetime Emmy Awards and Screen Actors Guild Awards. 

Mark was born on June 5, 1971, in Boston, Massachusetts, into a large family and was the youngest of nine brothers and sisters. His older brother, Donnie Wahlberg, became a member of the famous boy band New Kids on the Block, and Mark joined the group at the age of 13.

However, fame caused Mark to head down a destructive life path. Within a few years of his parents’ divorce, he nearly hit rock bottom. In 1988, Mark served 45 days in jail for assault. Upon his release, Mark’s brother Donnie helped him get back on his feet and create his own hip-hop group, Marky Mark and the Funky Bunch. Soon after launching his band, the group went platinum, and Mark eventually broke into the Hollywood acting scene in 1994 when he debuted in the film “Renaissance Man.”

Since then, he’s appeared in numerous films ranging from comedies to dramas and blockbusters, such as “The Departed,” “The Other Guys,” “Deepwater Horizon” and the “Transformers” franchise.

While the actor has seen tremendous success in his career, it all could have gone sideways had he continued to follow the precarious path he had set on in his teens and early adulthood. Besides being a bona fide movie star, Mark is also a committed family man who wants to impart the lessons he has learned in his youth, not only to his own four children but also to schoolkids across the United States, as one lucky teacher discovered.

In 2008 Mark spoke with The Sun about some of the trouble he got into during his childhood.

“At 12 I was climbing out of the window and staying out all night and by the time I was 13 or 14 I stopped going to school,” Mark said. He added, “I was jealous of the kids who went to private school. I thought if you wore one of those uniforms you would have a different life without all the trouble.” Mark’s troublemaking ways caused him to drop out of high school, something he came to regret. 

“I can’t tell my kids to go to school and get an education if I don’t have a diploma. They’d think, ‘You didn’t go and you turned out all right,’” Mark stated. True to his word, he eventually earned his high school diploma in 2013 at the age of 42.

In May 2001, the actor launched the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation, aimed at “raising and distributing funds to youth service and enrichment programs” for inner city youth. In a 2013 interview, Mark said helping children reach their full potential was among his strongest passions.

“For me, I just try to give back to the kids that are facing difficult situations, like the ones I faced. That’s why I started my youth foundation. For me, it really kind of starts at home. I know there’s a lot going on in the world…but you know, we also have kids that are faced with a serious uphill battle here, you know at-risk youth, inner-city kids that are living in these dangerous places,” he said.

The foundation is still going strong, and Mark keeps the issue of children’s welfare close to his heart, as proven when one Texas teacher bumped into him at a store.

On March 2, 2023, Dallas schoolteacher Jac Farley had been nonchalantly waiting in her car in front of a store her husband had gone into to buy a few things. However, upon his return, he excitedly told her he had seen none other than “Boogie Nights” star Mark inside. Not wanting to miss her chance of catching him, she ran back into the store, where she found him signing bottles of his Flecha Azul Tequila and posing for photos with fans. She told Today while she was super excited to see him, she initially only wanted to get a selfie with him. However, he had other plans when he heard that she was a teacher.

“I was like, ‘I’m a teacher, my kids are gonna freak out when I show them this next week,’” Farley told the outlet. “And he was like, ‘No photo, put it on video. Let’s record something for your class.’” 

Farley posted the video on social media, and fans were thrilled. In the clip, Mark said, “I’m here with Mrs. Farley, she got a little stress reliever,” while showing a bottle of tequila. The shocked Farley responded, “OMG don’t tell them that.” Mark switched things up and said, “She’s getting water and juice and Gatorade,” as the teacher beamed beside him. Before signing off, Mark had a few words of advice for the teacher’s students. 

“God bless you guys,” he said. “Hey, stay in school. Can’t wait to see you guys change the world. Let’s go.” 

Farley told Today she and her husband came away from the store with a signed bottle of tequila that they’ve vowed never to open and went home to watch one of his classics, “Ted.”

“We watched because we were just like, this was so crazy,” she said.

What do you think about Mark Wahlberg’s focus on children’s welfare? Would you be surprised to come across him during a grocery run? Let us know, and don’t forget to pass this on to friends and family who are fans of the star.