The Difference a Teacher Can Make

    The Difference a Teacher Can Make

    Steve，a twelve－year－old boy with alcoholic 1 parents，was about to be lost forever，by the U．S． education system． Remarkably，he could read，yet，in spite of his readingskills，Steve was failing． He had been failing since first grade，as he was passed onfrom grade to grade． Steve was a big boy，looking more like a teenager than a twelveyear old，yet，Steve went unnoticed……until Miss White．Miss White was a smiling，young，beautiful redhead，and Steve was in love！For thefirst time in his young life，he couldn‘t take his eyes off his teacher；yet，still hefailed． He never did his homework，and he was always in trouble with Miss White． Hisheart would break under her sharp words，and when he was punished for failing to turn inhis homework，he felt just miserable 2！Still，he did not study．In the middle of the first semester of school，the entire seventh grade was testedfor basic skills． Steve hurried through his tests，and continued to dream of otherthings，as the day wore on． His heart was not in school，but in the woods，where heoften escaped alone，trying to shut out the sights，sounds and smells of his alcoholichome． No one checked on him to see if he was safe． No one knew he was gone，because noone was sober enough to care． Oddly，Steve never missed a day of school．One day，Miss White‘s impatient voice broke into his daydreams 3．“Steve！！”Startled，he turned to look at her．“Pay attention！”

    Steve locked his gaze on Miss White with adolescent adoration，as she began to goover the test results for the seventh grade．“You all did pretty well，”she told the class，“except for one boy，and it breaksmy heart to tell you this，but……“She hesitated，pinning Steve to his seat with asharp stare，her eyes searching his face．“……The smartest boy in the seventh grade is failing my class！”

    She just stared at Steve，as the class spun 4 around for a good look． Steve droppedhis eyes and carefully examined his fingertips．After that，it was war！！Steve still wouldn‘t do his homework． Even as thepunishments became more severe，he remained stubborn．“Just try it！ONE WEEK！”He was unmoved．“You‘re smart enough！You’ll see a change！”Nothing fazed him．“Give yourself a chance！Don‘t give up on your life！”Nothing．“Steve！Please！I care about you！”

    Wow！Suddenly，Steve got it！！Someone cared about him?Someone，totally unattainableand perfect，CARED ABOUT HIM??！！

    Steve went home from school，thoughtful，that afternoon． Walk ing into the house，hetook one look around． Both parents were passed out，in various stages of undress，andthe stench was overpowering！He，quickly，gathered up his camping gear，a jar of peanutbutter，a loaf of bread，a bottle of water，and this time……his schoolbooks． Grim facedand determined，he headed for the woods．The following Monday he arrived at school on time，and he waited for Miss White toenter the classroom． She walked in，all sparkle and smiles！God，she was beautiful！Heyearned for her smile to turn on him． It did not．Miss White，immediately，gave a quiz on the weekend homework． Steve hurried throughthe test，and was the first to hand in his paper． With a look of surprise，Miss Whitetook his paper． Obviously puzzled，she began to look it over． Steve walked back to hisdesk，his heart pounding within his chest． As he sat down，he couldn‘t resist anotherlook at the lovely woman．Miss White‘s face was in total shock！She glanced up at Steve，then down，then up．Suddenly，her face broke into a radiant smile． The smartest boy in the seventh grade hadjust passed his first test！

    From that moment nothing was the same for Steve． Life at home remained the same，butlife still changed． He discovered that not only could he learn，but he was good at it！

    He discovered that he could understand and retain knowledge，and that he could translatethe things he learned into his own life． Steve began to excel！And he continued thiscourse throughout his school life．After high－school Steve enlisted 5 in the Navy，and he had a successful militarycareer． During that time，he met the love of his life，he raised a family，and hegraduated from college Magna Cum Laude． During his Naval 6 career，he inspired many youngpeople，who without him，might not have believed in themselves． Steve began a secondcareer after the Navy，and he continues to inspire others，as an adjunct professor in anearby collegeMiss White left a great legacy 7． She saved one boy who has changed many lives． Iknow，because I am the love of his life．You see，it‘s simple，really． A change took place within the heart of one boy，allbecause of one teacher，who cared．