| I was standing
in line at a checkout counter in a local store when someone
in line behind me said to the clerk, "I have to ask your
customer something." I turned to see a young man who
appeared to be about thirty years old. He looked at me and
asked, "Are you Mrs. Ziehl?"
After thirty-seven years as an educator, it is not unusual
for me to be asked this question when I am out about town.
This time I replied with another question, "Yes, are
you one of my students?"
Ordinarily, the person supplies me with a name, greets
me, tells me I look the same, and we talk about what the
person is doing now. Although I asked my standard question,
his answer was not ordinary. He said, "Yes, you were
my third-grade teacher, and I have to tell you something.
You changed my life. You made me believe in myself. I want
you to know that and to say thank you.
I was taken aback with emotion, stunned to the point of
being speechless. I recovered enough of my wit to take a
long look at this former student who had spoken so boldly
to me. Some twist of fate made it possible at that moment
for me to say, questioningly, both his first and last name.
"YES!" he exclaimed, voicing his excitement.
I was as amazed as the clerk who was still watching the
scene that I had been able to pull that name from the many
choices available to me. The look on this man's face made
me extremely grateful that luck had allowed me to present
this individual with the gift of knowing his name.
Was it really luck that allowed this gift? Maybe not. After
all, how could I forget a kid who was a middle child in
a family of seventeen children; one who came to me to repeat
third grade; one who thought he was not smart and thought
he could not do the work of a third grader; but who could
do well at drawing pictures, and whom I remembered as a
shy leader. I had not forgotten the praise and encouragement
I had offered this child or his bowed head as he accepted
it.
What I regretted, because of being overwhelmed by the revelation
of this former student, was that I did not ask about his
present life. This haunted me for several years as I shared
the story of that day with other teachers. Finally, by chance,
I discovered that this young man, this shy leader, had become
a minister and has a family of his own.
Ollie Ziehl began teaching in 1970, then got her masters
degree in counseling and has been a school counselor since
1990. Ms. Ziehl is currently a school counselor in the Las
Cruces School Dristrict in New Mexico. "Although I
have worked for the schools for 37 years, I am not ready
to retire. I am energetic, creative and love helping children
make wise decisions about who they are and who they want
to be."
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