Recap: Heart of a Teacher - Season 4 - Episode 5

Elizabeth charges over to the Mayor’s office to confront Henry after discovering she has been replaced at the school. Henry defends his decision, having received a letter from a former superintendent of the Western territory, Thomas Higgins. Higgins claims that Elizabeth only got her teaching job through her influential last name and parents’ wealth. She vows that she won’t cave in and storms out.

Back at the café, Elizabeth tells Jack and Abigail what happened. Jack wants to prove the letter is a forgery, but she says the letter is very much real. She admits that when she was going to transfer schools West, her mother offered money to the superintendent to keep Elizabeth in Hamilton. She headed West, anyway, but adds a sinister twist to the backstory. She says that when she confronted Higgins to turn down his offer to stay in Hamilton, he made advances towards her and she rejected them. Thus, it makes sense that he would exact revenge by writing the damaging letter. She tells both Jack and Abigail she has to head to Camp Fullerton to confront Higgins, in person. Jack can’t leave immediately because he has to accompany the Tate Brothers to Union City for trial, so Abigail offers to go, instead.

Meanwhile, back at the school, Elizabeth’s replacement, Mr. Stoneman, is not only a stern teacher but also strict one.

Bill lets Ray know about his suspicions over Henry’s charges being dropped. Ray nips them in the bud and tells Bill that business comes first. Now that Henry is Mayor, he wants Bill to reach out to him and clear the air between the two. Ray promises a bonus in Bill’s next paycheck if he does so.

Later that evening Elizabeth gets a surprise visitor, Rosemary, who tells her she heard the news of Elizabeth’s firing and is livid. She is later joined by more friends who offer their support as Elizabeth prepares to embark on her journey to confront Higgins and fight for her job.

Bill find Henry and the two decide to set aside their differences for the sake of the town. As the two shake hands, Abigail spies on them through her window and is not happy with seeing the two men being chummy.

The next morning, Abigail says goodbye to Cody and sets out to Camp Fullerton with Elizabeth. Cody tells Elizabeth how much the class misses her and she assures him she is going to fight to get her job back. Meanwhile, Jack is getting ready to head to Union City with the Tate Brothers.

Elizabeth meets a nervous Thomas Higgins at his office. She demands he retract the letter and he refuses, saying she is in no position to make any demands. It all comes down to her word against his. She tearfully pleads for her job back, telling him that teaching is her life. When he says he will retract the letter if she re-thinks his advances, a shocked Elizabeth storms out.

Back at the classroom, the students are all unruly and Mr. Stoneman takes out his ruler and slams it down to get their attention. He takes away recess for the rest of the week and starts reprimanding students for their behavior.

Elizabeth fills Abigail in about her exchange with Higgins and Abigail wonders if there are any other women who have faced similar situations with the superintendent. Elizabeth recalls another teacher, Francine, who she had heard that Higgins had eyes for, as well. Turns out the teacher, who Elizabeth took the board exams with, is also in Camp Fullerton and Abigail and Elizabeth agree to track her down.

While at the saloon, Rosemary confronts Mr. Stoneman to give him a piece of her mind. He silences her when she admits she doesn’t have a student in the class. Meanwhile, Ray spots Katie sitting alone and makes his move. Katie tells him how she is studying for medical school. Ray makes his move and says he would like to find some free time to spend together. She turns down his advances. She gets ready to leave and he grabs her arm. Seeing the exchange, Connor gets in the middle of the two and tells Ray to back away. Ray defends his actions, saying that he was just offering to walk Katie home, but Connor says he is walking her home. Before a frustrated Ray departs, he tells Connor he just made a big mistake.

Francine agrees to meet Elizabeth for breakfast and Elizabeth fills her in on Higgins’ actions. Elizabeth asks if Francine had ever been in a similar situation and Francine immediately shuts her down and says no. In fact, Francine is offended by the accusations and leaves. Elizabeth confides in Abigail that she knows Francine is lying and is probably scared of losing her job. Abigail suggests searching for more teachers she met while taking the board exams to find others who have had similar encounters with Higgins. Abigail pushes Elizabeth to not give up.

Shane picks up Phillip at school and has a word with Mr. Stoneman. Mr. Stoneman tells Shane he doesn’t think Phillip belongs in the school, saying he is too far behind in his studies to catch-up. Mr. Stoneman tells Shane that he will be expelling Phillip from the class.

Bill runs into Jack and asks him how his trip to Union City with the Tate Brothers went. Jack tells him that he saw firsthand how much the Northern territories need him. Bill reminds Jack that he is also needed in Hope Valley. Jack tells Bill that he feels that he needs to fight his own good fight in the Northern territory and Bills assures him he will do what he feels is right.

Elizabeth is back in Hope Valley and surprised to see Phillip out of school. Shane tells her the news of his son’s expulsion. Mr. Stoneman spots Elizabeth from afar, gives her a glare and goes back into his classroom. She finds Jack and tells him she needs to get her job back.

Elizabeth finds a way to corner Mr. Stoneman after class and pleads him with to come allow Phillip back in class. He refuses and cuts her off, telling Elizabeth she is the one who lost her job. Later on, Jack and Elizabeth have tea and he tells her how concerned he is about the Mounties up North. When Elizabeth presses him with what he wants to do about it, Jack grows uncomfortable and says he has to go back to his rounds. Later that night, Jack sits alone with his Commissioner’s Medal and ponders his thoughts.

The next morning in class, Mr. Stoneman targets Emily for how she holds her pencil. Cody stands up for his friend and refuses to back down. Cody takes Emily’s hand and the two walk out of the classroom, the rest of the class follow suit. They all find Elizabeth at the café and plead for her to come back. She tells the students they have to respect that Mr. Stoneman is their new teacher but makes them a deal: If they continue going to school, she will tutor all the kids after school for their upcoming exams. Mr. Stoneman overhears the exchange between Elizabeth and the students and smiles. She also says she will help them out as they prepare for their recital, which includes inviting Bill to play the guitar there. He reluctantly agrees.

That evening, Elizabeth and Jack go for an evening walk and she tells him of her plans to tutor the students. Their conversation is interrupted by a somber Bill, who delivers a telegram from Mountie headquarters up North. Jack breaks down and cries when he reads that his friend Doug has been killed in the line of duty.