Mrs. Thompson stood in front of
her fifth grade class on the first day of school and told a lie, a big lie
- the biggest lie she had ever told as she welcomed the students. She said that she would treat all the
students the same. But she knew there was one student she would not treat
the same - his name was Teddy Stoddard.
The school district had hired Ms. Thompson the year before and she couldn't
help but notice Teddy’s behavior throughout the last year. He was a known
problem child with a lousy academic record. He didn’t play well with other
children; his clothes were always a mess; everyday he looked like he needed a
bath, and he had a bad attitude regarding everything.
Throughout the beginning weeks of the
semester, Mrs. Thompson delighted in marking Teddy’s papers with a broad red
pen and placing big bold 'X's on all his wrong answers. She smiled
every time she put
a large 'F' at the top of his papers as she wanted the
other students in class to be able to see his grade when she handed them out.
Unfortunately school policy required every teacher to review the academic records
of their students during the first week of December. Mrs. Thompson held
Teddy's file off until last. When she finally sat down to review his
file, she was taken aback. Teddy’s first grade teacher had written,
"Teddy is a bright child who does neat work and has excellent classroom
manners. He is a joy to have in my class - I will miss him next year."
His second grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is an above average student who is
well liked by his classmates. He has been having trouble lately at home because
of his mother’s illness and life at home is really a struggle for Teddy."
His third grade teacher wrote, "His
mother's recent death has been very hard on Teddy. He tries hard to do
his best, but his father doesn't show much interest in him and I believe his
home life is going to be negatively impacted by these events."
Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote,
"Teddy is a withdrawn child who doesn’t show much interest in school.
He has very few friends, often comes to class unprepared and is
frequently disruptive in class. He generally
wears dirty clothes and looks like a mess."
Mrs. Thompson now felt ashamed of her behavior. She felt even worse a few weeks
later when her students all brought in their Christmas presents for her.
All were wrapped in brightly colored holiday papers and tied with fancy ribbons
except for one. Teddy's was gift was clumsily wrapped in brown paper from a
grocery bag and it had no ribbon. Mrs. Thompson decided to open Teddy’s
present first. Many of the children laughed when they saw a small rhinestone
bracelet with several stones missing and an old bottle of perfume which was barely
one 1/4 full; but Mrs. Thompson quickly stifled their laughter by commenting on
how beautiful the bracelet was as she put in on. She then dabbed some of
the perfume on each of her wrist, inhaled deeply and said it smells wonderful
Teddy – Thank You so much for this lovely gift.
Before he left class that afternoon, Teddy slowly walked up to Mrs. Thompson's
desk, leaned in and said, "I just want you to know you smell just like
my Mom use to." Then he quickly ran out of the classroom.
When all the other students left, Mrs. Thompson put her head down at the
desk and cried. This was the
day she vowed to quit teaching. Never again she said would she teach her
students reading, writing or arithmetic, instead she would start teaching
children how to live.
The following Monday morning she began to pay special attention to Teddy in
class. As she worked with him, his mind came alive. The more she
encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the school year,
Teddy was one of the brightest students in her class. Despite "her lie to
treat all students the same," it was obvious Teddy was Mrs. Thompson
pet. The following year, Teddy transferred to the middle school and Mrs.
Thompson never saw Teddy again.
Towards the end of the next school year,
Mrs. Thompson found a note under her door one night. It was a note from
Teddy. The note said “Dear Mrs. Thompson
you were the best teacher I ever had in my whole life – signed Teddy”.
Seven years passed before she received
another note. This time Teddy wrote he had just finished high school -
third in his class - and that he would be going off to college - and that, by
the way Mrs. Thompson, you are still the best teacher I ever had in my whole
life.
Four more years went by when a third note from
Teddy arrived. It stated “I have just graduated
from college and am now going to medical school in this fall - and by the way
Mrs. Thompson, you are still the best teacher I ever had”.
Several years passed before another letter arrived. In this typed letter,
Teddy stated he met a woman, a beautiful young lady, and he was going to get married
in June. He explained that his father had died a few years earlier and
was wondering if she, Mrs. Thompson, would agree to sit in the place of honor
reserved for the groom's parents at the head table on the night of his wedding.
This letter was signed Theodore J. Stoddard M.D.
Of course Mrs. Thomson agreed. When arrived at the plush wedding ceremony wearing
a beautiful dress on her wrist was an old rhinestone bracelet which had several
rhinestones missing. As she walked in
the room she carried a scent of a perfume that a young boy once said reminded
him of his mother.
Dr. Stoddard saw her and immediately came
forward and gave her a big hug. As he inhaled the fragrance of her
perfume, he whispered in her ear, "Thank you Mrs. Thompson for making me
feel so important and thank you for making a difference in my life."
With tear filled eyes Mrs. Thompson
whispered back "No Teddy you have it wrong. I need to thank you. I
want to thank you for what you taught me. Teddy you taught me I could make a
difference in other people’s lives."
