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fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much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. 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 Hospital in Des Moines that has the
Stoddard Cancer Wing.
Source: This was a Face Book post that has no named source.
