Never too Busy For A Friend
One day a teacher asked her students to list
the names of the other students in the room on two
sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.
Then she told them to think of the nicest thing
they could say about each of their classmates
and write it down.
It took the remainder of the class period to
finish their assignment, and as the students
left the room, each one handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the
name of each student on a separate sheet
of paper, and listed what everyone else had
said about that individual.
No one ever mentioned those papers in
class again. She never knew if they discussed
them after class or with their parents, but
it didn't matter. The exercise had
accomplished its purpose. The students were
happy with themselves and one another. That
group of students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was
killed inVietNam and his teacher attended
the funeral ofthat special student. She
had never seen a serviceman in a military
coffin before. He lookedso handsome, so
mature.
The church was packed with his friends.
One by onethose who loved him took a last
walk by the coffin. The teacher was the
last one to bless the coffin.
One day a teacher asked her students to list
the names of the other students in the room on two
sheets of paper, leaving a space between each name.
Then she told them to think of the nicest thing
they could say about each of their classmates
and write it down.
It took the remainder of the class period to
finish their assignment, and as the students
left the room, each one handed in the papers.
That Saturday, the teacher wrote down the
name of each student on a separate sheet
of paper, and listed what everyone else had
said about that individual.
No one ever mentioned those papers in
class again. She never knew if they discussed
them after class or with their parents, but
it didn't matter. The exercise had
accomplished its purpose. The students were
happy with themselves and one another. That
group of students moved on.
Several years later, one of the students was
killed inVietNam and his teacher attended
the funeral ofthat special student. She
had never seen a serviceman in a military
coffin before. He lookedso handsome, so
mature.
The church was packed with his friends.
One by onethose who loved him took a last
walk by the coffin. The teacher was the
last one to bless the coffin.