ONE OF THE BEST STORIES I'VE EVER HEARD!
As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of
school,
she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked
at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, 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
did
not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and
that he
constantly needed a bath. In addition, 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Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't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 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, 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 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 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 honours. Heassured Mrs.
Thompson
that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had 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 does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that
spring. Teddy said he had 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 at the wedding in the place 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. Moreover, 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.'
(For you that don't know, Teddy Stoddard is the Dr. at Iowa Methodist in
Des
Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)
