To Teachers
I was a small shy boy of nine when I met Mrs. Wilson my fourth grade teacher. I thought she was the prettiest teacher I had ever seen but I was far too bashful to even be noticed in her class. I never answered a question, never offered a remark, and stayed very out of the way and near the back of the room.
I didn’t respond well to other children and seldom took part in any recess activity. For some reason, that is not part of that memory, I felt very inferior and just wanted to be alone.
Mrs. Wilson must have notice these traits in me and decided to invest more than teaching in my life. Before class one day she asked if I could do her a favor. I wasn’t sure how to respond but nodded that I would. She told me that she had been collecting ‘Blue Horse’ note book covers and when she got a certain number and sent them in she would receive a nice gift for our class. She said that she needed me to count all of the covers, put them in stacks of 100, and give her a total count. I am not sure why but this thrilled me and I gladly completed the task. She told the class what a good job I had done and how proud all of us should be since our class would be receiving a new world globe because of my hard work and their gifts of note book covers.
Without knowing it Mrs. Wilson became my first encourager.
Because of Mrs. Wilson I have always believed that teachers were the most important people in the community. I have always held them in high esteem and still consider their roll in the future of our nation more critical than their salaries and our compliments will ever speak. If you are a teacher considered yourself hugged by a grateful old man. Ivan
Ivans Stories 