Angel's Craft
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 had 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Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and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 he 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 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 of 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, MD.
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."
* * *
Please remember that wherever you go, and whatever you do, you will
have the opportunity to touch and/or change a person's outlook. Please try to do it in a positive way.
courtesy
of Joelle
A COURSE IN MIRACLES [excerpt]
THINGS AREN’T ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM
Check out my web links page to see where I got my neat new
backgrounds.