There was a story many years ago of an elementary1 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, slumped2 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 messy3 and that he constantly4 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”5 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 file6, 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 terminal7 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 withdrawn8 and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and sometimes sleeps in class.” By now, Mrs. Thompson realized9 the problem and she was ashamed of herself. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped10 in beautiful ribbons11 and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily12 wrapped in the heavy brown paper that he got from a grocery13 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 bracelet14 with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one quarter full of perfume15. But she stifled16 the children's laughter when she exclaimed17 how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing18 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 arithmetic19. 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 responded20.
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 his whole life.
Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough21 at times, he's stayed in school, had stuck with it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest honors. He assured22 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 degree23, 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, MD24. 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 reserved25 for the mother of the groom26. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. And she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their Christmas together. They hugged27 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.”
这是多年前发生在一位小学教师身上的故事。她叫汤普森夫人。就在新学期开学的第一天，她当着五年级全班学生的面撒了个“谎”。像大多数老师那样，她看着学生并且告诉他们她会一视同仁地关爱他们。但那根本不可能。因为前排就有一个叫泰德·史达德尔的小男孩，懒散地坐在位子上。而在此前一年，汤普森夫人就注意到他和其他的孩子玩不到一起。他穿的衣服又脏又乱，并且经常不洗澡。泰德令人讨厌。发展到后来，汤普森夫人很乐意在他的作业本上用粗粗的红笔打上大红叉，然后在试卷顶端写上一个大大的“F”。
汤普森夫人任教的学校规定她必须查阅每个孩子的档案，她一直把泰德的资料压到最后。然而当她翻看泰德的卷宗时，她惊愕了。泰德的一年级老师写道：“泰德是个聪明的孩子，时常开心地大笑。他的作业很整洁，人也很有礼貌......总能给周围的人带来欢乐。”他的二年级老师写道：“泰德是个优秀的学生，深受同学们的喜爱。但是现在他很苦恼，因为他母亲的病已到了晚期，家里的生活一定很艰难。”他的三年级老师写道：“他母亲的去世对他打击很大。他尽了最大努力，但是他的父亲对他不怎么关心。如果不采取措施的话，家庭生活将很快影响他。”泰德的四年级老师写道：“泰德性格孤僻，而且对学业不感兴趣。他朋友不多，有时上课打瞌睡。”看到这里，汤普森夫人才意识到问题所在。她为自己感到羞愧。当她收到孩子们的圣诞礼物时，她感到更难受了。所有孩子的礼物都是用漂亮的丝带和彩纸精美包装，惟有泰德的例外。他的礼物用食品袋上扯下的纸草草地裹着，很难看。汤普森夫人挑出泰德的礼物，煞费苦心地打开了它。
她发现一个缺了几颗人造钻石的手镯，还有一个剩四分之一香水的瓶子。有些孩子鄙笑起来。但是当她惊呼说这手镯是多么的漂亮并将它戴上，将香水涂到手腕上时，孩子们的笑声嘎然而止。
那天放学后，泰德·史达德尔留下来只说了一句话：“汤普森夫人，今天你身上的香味跟我母亲以前的一样。”孩子们都离开后，汤普森夫人哭了至少一个小时。也就是在那天，她不再教什么读、写、算了，从此她开始育人。
汤普森夫人特别关注泰德。当她和他一起学习时，他的思维似乎活跃起来。她越鼓励他，他的反应就越快。
到学年末时，泰德一跃而成为班上最聪明的学生。尽管她曾撒谎说她会一视同仁地爱所有的孩子，但是泰德却成了她的“宠儿”。1年后，她在门缝底下发现了泰德写的字条，说她是他一生中所遇到的最好的老师。6年后，她又收到了泰德的另一张字条。他在字条中说他已经以全班第三的成绩从中学毕业，而她仍然是他一生中所遇到的最好的老师。
又过了4年，她又收到了一封信，泰德在信中说尽管他有时过得很艰难，但还是挺了过来，并即将以最优异的成绩从大学毕业。他郑重地对汤普森夫人说，她仍然是他一生中所遇到的最好的、他最喜欢的老师。
又过了4年，她收到了另一封信。这次他提到他拿到学士学位后，决定继续深造。信中说她仍然是他所遇到的最好的、他最喜欢的老师。但是这一次他的署名有点长了，签名是：医学博士西奥多·F·史达德尔。故事到此并未结束。那年春天又来了一封信。
泰德在信中说他遇到一个女孩，并打算结婚。他解释说几年前他父亲去世了，他想知道汤普森夫人是否愿意坐在婚礼上常常留给新郎母亲的位置上。汤普森夫人当然同意了。猜猜下面发生了什么事？她戴着那只缺了几颗人造钻石的手镯，并且喷上了泰德记忆中母亲与他一起过圣诞节时常喷的那种香水。他们彼此拥抱。史达德尔博士在汤普森夫人耳边小声说道：“汤普森夫人，感谢你对我的信任。谢谢你让我觉得自己很重要，让我知道我可以改变自己。”
汤普森夫人眼含热泪，对泰德耳语道：“泰德，你完全错了。是你给我启迪、让我知道我能开辟另一片天空。遇到了你，我才知道如何教书育人。”
1. elementary adj． 初步的, 基本的
2． slump v． 懒散地坐着，耷拉
3． messy adj． 凌乱，肮脏
4． constantly adv． 不变地, 经常地
5． F代表不及格，为美国学校评分体制的最低等
6． file [fail] n． 文件, 档案
7． terminal adj． 晚期的
8． withdrawn adj． 孤僻的，离群的
9． realize v． 认识到, 了解
10． wrap v． 包装
11． ribbon n． 缎带, 丝带
12． clumsily adv． 笨拙地，不漂亮的
13． grocery n． (美)食品杂货店
14． rhinestone bracelet 莱茵石（一种人造钻石）手镯
15． perfume n． 香水
16． stifle v． 制止
17． exclaim v． 呼喊, 惊叫
18． dab v． 轻抹
19． arithmetic n． 算术, 算法
20． respond v． 作出反应
21． tough adj． 艰难的
22． assure v． 作出保证
23． bachelor＇s degree 学士学位
24． MD ＝ Doctor of Medicine医学博士
25． reserve v． 保留
26． groom n． 新郎
27． hug v． 拥抱