One Starfish at a Time

On my very first day of teaching, I was given a bookmark with that story on it about a little boy walking on the shoreline, picking up each stranded starfish and throwing it back in the ocean.  A man on the beach says to the boy, "But why are you bothering, you can't possibly save all of them.  It doesn't make a difference."  At that, the boy picks up another starfish, tosses it into the sea and says, "It made a difference to that one." Good teachers are in this business to make a difference -- it's not about the vacation, or the health benefits, and definitely not the money.  It's for the reward of knowing we helped someone succeed.

One of the most fulfilling moments of my career happened a couple weeks ago when a student of mine gave me the most rewarding gift I've ever received.  He wanted to thank me for being his mentor for a speech competition he entered, in which he will be presenting the argument paper he wrote for my class last semester.  When we first met in my Comp I class in the fall, he had just returned to school for the first time after having been laid off from his job, and I was very interested in his writing.  In fact, I told him that I thought his style resembled that of David Sedaris, the author of a piece I had read with the class.  This student proceeded to buy every one of Sedaris' books, becoming more enthralled with this writer's style with every piece he read.

A few weeks ago, this same student (now in my Comp II class) attended a book signing for David Sedaris and brought with him all of the books he had bought since last semester.  He also bought a book for me that he had Sedaris sign to thank me for helping him.  My student had some time at the signing to chat with Sedaris; the student talked about our writing class and how I had inspired him to explore a career in writing and "be more than a worker drone," as he put it.  So, Sedaris wrote in the front cover of my book, "To Krista: I wish you were my writing teacher."  I was so flattered and honored that such a renowned author would write such a thing to me, but I was even more honored that a student of mine would have such nice things to say about me that it would prompt such a message.

For all the times we are unappreciated in this profession, and for all the times these moments of inspiration go unmentioned, there are these select few times that remind me, once again, that I am meant to do this. This student thanked me for all I've done for him, but it is I who was grateful for knowing I am making a difference, one "starfish" at a time.