>There is a story many years ago of an elementary teacher.
>Her name was Mrs.
>Thompson. And as she stood in front of her 5th grade class
>on the very
>first day of school, she told the children a lie.
>
>Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that
>she loved them
>all the same. But that was impossible, because there in the
>front row,
>slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.
>
>Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed
>that he didn't
>play well with the other children, that his clothes were
>messy and that he
>constantly needed a bath. And Teddy could be unpleasant.
>
>It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take
>delight in
>marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and
>then putting a
>big "F" at the top of his papers. At the school where Mrs.
>Thompson taught,
>she was required to review each child's past records and she
>put Teddy's off
>until last.
>
>However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a
>surprise. Teddy's
>first grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is a bright child with a
>ready laugh. He
>does his work neatly and has good manners...he is a joy to
>be around."
>
>His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an excellent
>student, well liked
>by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has
>a terminal
>illness and life at home must be a struggle."
>
>His third grade teacher wrote, "His mother's death has been
>hard on him. He
>tries to do his best but his father doesn't show much
>interest and his home
>life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken."
>
>Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and
>doesn't show
>much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and
>sometimes sleeps
>in class."
>
>By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was
>ashamed of herself.
>She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas
>presents,
>wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for
>Teddy's.
>
>His present which was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown
>paper that he got
>from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in
>the middle of
>the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh
>when she found a
>rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a
>bottle that was
>one quarter full of perfume. But she stifled the children's
>laughter when
>she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on,
>and dabbing some
>of the perfume on her wrist.
>
>Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough
>to say, "Mrs.
>Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to."
>
>After the children left she cried for at least an hour. On
>that very day,
>she quit teaching reading, and writing, and arithmetic.
>Instead, she began
>to teach children.
>
>Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she
>worked with him,
>his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him,
>the faster he
>responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of
>the smartest
>children in the class and, despite her lie that she would
>love all the
>children the same, Teddy became one her "teacher's pets."
>
>A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy,
>telling her that
>she was still the best teacher he ever had in his whole
>life.
>
>Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy.
>He then wrote
>that he had finished high school, third in his class, and
>she was still the
>best teacher he ever had in his whole life.
>
>Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that
>while things had
>been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck with
>it, and would
>soon graduate from college with the highest of honors. He
>assured Mrs.
>Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he
>ever had in his
>whole life.
>
>Then four more years passed and yet another letter came.
>This time he
>explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he
>decided to go a little
>further. The letter explained that she was still the best
>and favorite
>teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer-
>the letter was
>signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, M.D.
>
>The story doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another
>letter that
>spring. Teddy said he'd met this girl and was going to be
>married.
>
>He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago
>and he was
>wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit in the place
>at the wedding
>that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom.
>
>Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore
>that bracelet, the
>one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure she
>was wearing the
>perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their
>last Christmas
>together.
>
>They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs.
>Thompson's ear,
>"Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so
>much for making
>me feel important and showing me that I could make a
>difference."
>
>Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back. She
>said, "Teddy,
>you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that
>I could make a
>difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you."
Lawrence G. Gilligan
Professor of Mathematics
University of Cincinnati
OMI College of Applied Science
2220 Victory Parkway
Cincinnati, OH 45206
(513) 556-4868
FAX: (513) 556-4878
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