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"Heart
Test"
Uncle
Bob Johnston was kind enough to forward
this story on to The Message Tree, and we
thought we would use it for this month's
inspirational article. We hope that you
will enjoy both the story and the
commentary at the end.
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withdrawn and doesn't show much interest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
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 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.
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.)
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In
a speech before the National
Conference on Education
Legislation, 1 March 1965,
President Lyndon B. Johnson
admonished the attendees;
"We
must not, we just cannot
afford the great waste that
comes from the neglect of a
single child."
In
the story above, one might say
that the student became the
teacher when through the acts of
an innocent child; Mrs. Thompson
learned how to open her own heart
and reach out to her class,
thereby giving little Teddy
Stoddard what he needed most,
someone to believe in him. Who
knows what the outcome of this
story would have been had she
failed to encourage the boy, that
would grow up to become a Doctor
specializing in the treatment of
one of societies' most feared
ailments.
It
is the supreme art of the
teacher to awaken joy in
creative expression and
knowledge.
This
quote attributed to Albert
Einstein could be demonstrated in
the following statement,
An
instructor is one who through
monotonous, repetitive
recitation of dates, facts,
and figures, hopes that the
student will retain something,
but a teacher is an angel in
disguise who touches the
student's soul, lovingly
instilling a lifelong passion
for the attainment of
knowledge.
An
old African proverb says that it
takes an entire village to raise
one child, therefore if we want
to enact social change, let us
all reach out to the children,
both young and old, and through
our own actions establish good
precedence and example as a guide
for others to aspire to.
The
Message Tree
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