There is a story many years ago of an elementary teacher. Her name was Mrs. Thompson. And 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, slumped¹ in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy.
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.
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 neatly² 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 withdrawn³ and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and 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 rhinestone⁴ bracelet⁵ with some of the stones missing and a bottle that was one quarter full of perfume. She stifled⁶ the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing⁷ some of the perfume on her wrist.
Teddy 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, and 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 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, second 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 decided⁸ 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. Stoller, M.D.
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 groom⁹.
Of course, Mrs. Thompson, did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones¹⁰ 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 Teddy 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."

这是很多年前一位小学老师的故事。她叫汤普森夫人。开学的第一天，当她站在五年级教室前面时，她向孩子们撒了个谎。像大多数老师一样，她看着同学们说她会同样地爱他们。但那是不可能的，因为就在第一排，蜷坐在椅子里的，是一个叫特迪的小男孩。
汤普森夫人上年就观察过特迪，注意到他和其他孩子相处得不好，他的衣服又脏又乱，人也经常是该洗澡的样子，并且特迪可能会让人感到讨厌。
在汤普森夫人任教的学校，她必须查看一下每个孩子过去的记录，她一直等到最后才看特迪的。然而，看他的档案时，她着实感到吃惊。
特迪一年级的老师写道：“特迪是一个爱笑的聪明孩子，作业写得很整洁，又懂礼貌……他给周围的人带来了欢乐。”
他二年级的老师写的是：“特迪是一个优秀的学生，他的同学都很喜欢他，但他有些麻烦了，因为他母亲的病到了晚期，家里生活肯定非常困难。”
他三年级的老师写道：“他母亲的死对他打击很大，他尽力做好，但他父亲对他不够关心，如果不采取一些措施的话，家庭生活很快就会影响到他。”
特迪四年级的老师写的是：“特迪性格孤僻，对学习不感兴趣。他朋友很少，有时还在班里睡觉。”
到现在为止，汤普森夫人才意识到了问题所在，她为自己感到羞愧。当学生们为她带来那些圣诞礼物时，这种感觉更加强烈了，礼物都用漂亮的丝带和彩纸包装着，除了特迪的。他的礼物包装显得很笨拙，粗质的褐色包装纸也是从食品袋里找到的。在一堆其他人的礼物中间，汤普森夫人耐心地打开了它，她看到里面有一个人造钻石手镯，其中一些石子已经遗失了，还有一瓶只剩下四分之一的香水。有些孩子笑了起来，她制止住孩子们的笑声，惊呼这个镯子是多么漂亮，她带上了它，并洒了些香水在手腕上。
那天放学后，特迪呆了很长时间，只说了一句：“汤普森夫人，今天你身上的香味就像我妈妈过去一样。”在孩子们都离开后，她哭了不下一个小时。
就在那一天，她放弃了教阅读、写作和算术。相反，她开始教育孩子们。
汤普森夫人特别关注特迪。和她在一块的时候，他的头脑好像又活跃起来了。她越是鼓励他，他的反应越快。到这一年结束时，特迪已经成为这个班里最聪明的学生之一，尽管她曾撒谎会同样爱所有的学生，特迪却成为她“最喜欢的学生”之一。
一年以后，她在她门缝下发现一个短笺，是特迪写的，告诉她她仍是他一生中最好的老师。
六年后，她又收到来自特迪的另一张短笺，说他以班级第二的成绩从高中毕业了，她仍是他一生中最好的老师。
又过了四年，她收到另一封信，里面说尽管不时遇到困难，他还会呆在学校里，继续完成学业，而且很快他就会以优秀的成绩从大学毕业了。他向汤普森夫人保证说，她仍然是他一生中最好的也是他最喜欢的老师。
又一个四年过去了，他又写来一封信，这次他解释说，在获得学士学位后，他决定继续深造，信里还解释说她还是他最好的、最喜欢的老师，但是这时他的署名有些长了。署名的地方写着：医学博士西奥多·F·斯托勒。
故事并没有这样结束。你瞧，那个春天还有一封信呢。特迪说他遇到了一位女孩，并且马上要结婚了。他解释说他父亲几年前去世了，想知道汤普森夫人是否会愿意在婚礼上坐在新郎母亲的位置上。
当然，汤普森夫人去了。你猜怎么着？她戴着那个手镯，就是遗失了几颗石子的那一个。而且她特意用了特迪上次和她过圣诞节时送给她的他妈妈以前用过的香水。
他们互相拥抱，特迪在汤普森夫人耳边轻轻地说：“汤普森夫人，谢谢你信任我。非常感谢你让我觉得自己很重要，而且使我觉得我能够变得不同。”
含着泪水，汤普森夫人也轻轻地对他说：“特迪，你弄错了。是你让我知道我能够改变，直到遇到你我才知道怎么教学。”

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