Relation45

 A beautiful story

 

 

I request all of you to go through this nice REAL story. I always felt and feel that right guidance and support to our children can do wonders in their life. And we need to invest that for the initial 15 / 20 years and the dividend is lifelong.

  

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teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't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 he r 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 honors. He assured 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 DesMoines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)