Page 1 | Page 2 | Page 3 | Page 4 | Video's
Teddy
Her name was Mrs. Thompson. 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withdrawn and doesn't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 Mother 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."
Warm someone's heart today . . . pass this along. 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.
"Friends are angels who lift
us to our feet when our wings have
trouble remembering how to fly."
___________________________________________________
If you are trying to access a media file, and it does not show, you may need to download the player.
Click here to check out our FREE on-line games
|
|