Had to pass this on!

[happybrew]

> A Teachers Story

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 Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, "Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show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 in
> Des Moines that has the Stoddard Cancer Wing.)
>
> Warm someone's heart today. . . pass this along. I love this story so very
> much, I cry every time I read it. Just try to make a difference in
> someone's life today? tomorrow? just "do it".
>
> Random acts of kindness, I think they call it?

[Pyramid]

Happybrew, that was a great story! :smile: Thanks

[pdxkevin]

yes, Thank you for posting. It is great stroy.

[Straydog]

[img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img] [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

Thank you for sharing!! :smile:

[Hoosier Daddy]

Geez, thanks for starting my day off with a good cry!!
Seriously though, great story.

[FallRiverGuy]

Priceless! [img]graemlins/applause.gif[/img]

[happybrew]

Priceless, and also fiction. It was originally printed as fiction in a magazine. Still a good story, though. Thanks (I think.. :smile: ), Pete, for spurring me to look on Snopes. The Stoddard Cancer Wing really exists, but it was named after John Stoddard, who was a businessman.

happybrew

[Pete]

There is no emoticon for hanging my head like a dog headed to his house in the back yard behind the wood pile. :depressed: The story is great. I had no right to question it. It could happen. The point of the story isn't it's truth, it's the lesson it demonstrates; that there is often an explanation for the way things are that isn't apparent without something more than a superficial understanding. Thanks for posting it, HB!

[happybrew]

Your right Pete. We don't look at Mark Twain, John Steinbeck, or Ernest Hemingway stories and brush them off because they're not literally true. They do contain truth, though. The truth of this story, while not literal,is readily apparent when we read it. I just don't know if I ought to tell the sender about it. [img]graemlins/1zhelp.gif[/img]

happybrew

[jokester]

WOW! Gripping story HB! Thanks!

-jokester

[FEAR NO FISH!]

Great,
Now all the guys on my crew want to know why my eyes are running so bad. Can't take any more feel good stories! :blush:

[DanS]

It doesn't matter if it's true. It COULD be true.......and that's what we SHOULD be thinking about during this season.

Thanks for sharing that nice story. :smile: