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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, August 07, 2002 12:22 PM
Subject: Fw: Inspiration...

Her name was Mrs. Thompson.

As she stood in front of her 5th grade class
on the very first day of school,
she told the children a lie.

Like most teachers, she looked at her students and
said that :she loved them all the same. But 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 didn't play well with the other
children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly
needed a bath and 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withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school.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 was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he
got from the grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in
the middle of the other presents. Some of the hildren
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 the lie, that
she loved all 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 his whole 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
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 doesn't end there. You see, there was yet another letter
that spring. Teddy said he'd 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 in the
place at the wedding 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 the several
rhinestones missing. And 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 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."

Please remember that wherever you go and whatever you
do, you will have the opportunity to touch and /or
change a person's outlook on life.

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