BENRASID I.

SAMSI
TCP1-A
THE FOUNDATION OF TEACHIING

THREE LETTERS FROM TEDDY

REFLECTION

Teddy was the kind of kid who strained the mercy of any teacher. His
messiness and unpleasantness quickly worked their dark magic on Miss
Thompson, who just didn’t like the little brat. In time she enjoyed giving Teddy
bad grades on his consistently poor homework.

But when Miss Thompson checked Teddy’s permanent records, she

discovered he had been a fine student until his mother died of a terminal
illness a couple of years earlier. Miss Thompson’s shame over her misjudgment
of Teddy grew when, at Christmastime, the hurting boy gave her some
perfume that had belonged to his mother. When Miss Thompson put it on.
Teddy told her that she smelled just like his mother used to. At that moment
the teacher’s heart was forever changed toward Teddy. Miss Thompson
invested countless hours in Teddy, helping him improve in his schoolwork and
clean up his personal life. Her devotion paid off as Teddy began to turn his life
around.

Years later Miss Thompson received rich rewards for her effort, rewards
that came in the form of letters from Teddy. *ne letter arrived when Teddy
graduated from high school near the top of his class. *ne came when he
graduated with honors from college. The last letter arrived when he finished
medical school and was about to get married. This note was signed, “Theodore
F. Stallard. M.D.” In all his notes, Teddy credited Miss Thompson with
changing his life by believing in him.

What a touching story! I first heard it from a guest preacher at my

church. Not only was I moved, but also I resolved once again to love the
unlovely people in my life, no matter how much they bugged me. The story of
Teddy and Miss Thompson haunted me for days, so I decided to do a little
research on the Internet. May be there was even more to the story than I
knew.