Three very strong women — my mother, my grandmother and Melinda — deserve big credit for helping me become the man I am today. But Blanche Caffiere, a very kind teacher and librarian I’ve never written about before, also had a huge influence on me.
Mrs. Caffiere died in 2006, shortly after reaching her 100th birthday. Before she passed away, I had an opportunity to visit her and thank her for the important role she played in my life.
When I first met Mrs. Caffiere, she was the elegant and engaging school librarian at Seattle’s View Ridge Elementary, and I was a fourth grader. I was desperately trying to go unnoticed, because I had some big weaknesses, like dysgraphia (书写障碍), and had a totally messy desk with books around. And I was trying to hide the fact that I liked to read — something that was cool for girls but not for boys.
Mrs. Caffiere took me under her wings and helped make it okay for me to be a messy, nerdy boy who was reading lots of books. She pulled me out of my shell. She started by asking questions like, “What do you like to read?” and “What are you interested in?” Then she found me a lot of books. For example, she gave me great biographies she had read. Once I’d read them, she would make the time to discuss them with me. “Did you like the book? Why? What did you learn?” She listened to what I had to say patiently. Through those book conversations in the library and in the classroom we became good friends.
Teachers generally don’t want to burden their students with extra reading beyond the homework they’ve given. But I learned from Mrs. Caffiere that my teachers had so much knowledge to share. Looking back on it, there’s no question that my time with Mrs. Caffiere helped spark my interest in libraries and my focus on helping every child in America get the benefit of great teachers. I should give great thanks to the devoted teacher and librarian who helped me find my strengths when I was nine years old. It’s remarkable how much power one good person can have in shaping the life of a child.
【小题1】Which of the following best describes the writer when he was in his fourth grade?| A．Elegant and engaging | B．Shy and untidy |
| C．Weak and desperate | D．Curious and friendly |
| A．She forced the writer to read more books. |
| B．She helped the writer to overcome his weaknesses. |
| C．She turned the writer into a book lover. |
| D．She encouraged the writer not to hide his love of reading. |
| A．She had the greatest influence on the writer. |
| B．She influenced the writer’s decision on helping American children. |
| C．She used to give the writer too much homework to help him learn. |
| D．She hadn’t seen the writer since he left the school. |
| A．A Teacher Who Changed My Life. |
| B．The Story of a Kind Teacher. |
| C．My School Life with Great Teachers. |
| D．Every Student Deserves to Be Encouraged. |
