The Teacher

Charter 1

There is a story many years ago of an elementary teacher.
Her name was Mrs.Griffen .
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, slumped in
his seat, was a little boy named Carson.

Mrs.Griffen had watched Carson 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 Carson could be unpleasant. It got to the point where
Mrs. Griffen would actually take delight in marking his
papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting
a big "F" at the top of his papers.

At the school where Mrs. Griffen taught,
she was required to review each child's past records
and she put Carson off until last.
However, when she reviewed his file,
she was in for a surprise.

Carson's first grade teacher wrote,
"Carson 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,
"Carson 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."