I noticed a dad and his son at the park. His son wasn’t able to communicate, but he seemed satisfied sitting in the sand. The dad explained to me that his son could only make some sounds. The boy had been in speech therapy(言语治疗)for years. After so much time in therapy, the boy was able to keep eye contact for a few seconds! He told me how expensive the therapies for his son’s special needs were and what a pleasure it was to see all of the years of hard work pay off.

As we talked about therapy, the dad shared with me that his goal for his boy was to someday be able to go for ice cream together. He said his father used to take him out for ice cream and he hoped he could do the same with his child. Suddenly, the son stopped putting his fingers in the sand, looked at his father and said, “hi.” Seconds later the boy went back into his own world. The dad wanted to say something, but be couldn’t. His love for this boy was so great that the words would not come. But what did come were tears. Those tears conveyed how proud he was of his son.

Although they were strangers to me. I am happy to have shared the unforgettable moment. I hope someday they will be able to go fur ice cream and have a beautiful father and son outing. This event touched me deeply and made me consider my relationship with my own father. I hope that as they communicate further, more and more memories will be created for them to share. I believe the feelings held by all awesome fathers— their hard work, their love, their pride, and their tears of love— are all the same.

I had worried myself sick over Simon’s mother coming to see me.

I was a new teacher, and I gave an honest description (描述) of the students work. In Simon’s case, the grades were really low. He couldn’t read his own handwriting. But he was a bright student. He discussed many adult subjects clearly, though his work couldn’t show his abilities.

So when Simon’s mother entered the room, my palms (手心) were sweating (流汗). I was completely unprepared for her kisses on both my cheeks. “I came to thank you,” she said, surprising me beyond speech. Because of me, Simon had become a different person. He talked of how he loved me, he had begun to make friends, and for the first time in his twelve years, he had recently spent an afternoon at a friend’s house. She wanted to tell me how thankful she was for the self-respect I had developed in her son. She kissed me again and left.

I sat, shocked, for about half an hour, wondering what had just happened. How did I make such a life-changing difference to that boy without even knowing it?

What I finally came to remember was one day, several months before, when some students were giving reports in the front of the class, Jeanne spoke quietly, and to encourage her to raise her voice, I had said, “Speak up. Simon is the expert on this. He is the only one you have to convince, and he can’t hear you in the back of the room.” That was it. From that day on, Simon had sat up straighter, paid more attention, smiled more, and became happy. And it was all because he happened to be the last kid in the last row. The boy who most needed praise was the one who took the last seat that day.

It taught me the most valuable lesson over the years of my teaching career. A simple act can indeed make a difference.

Robert was a boy of eight years old. One day, when he was doing cleaning at home, he thought he should move the box out of the house. The box made of wood was very heavy. And it was much bigger than he. He tried, but he could not move it. After resting for a short time, the boy started once more, but failed again. He couldn’t even move it a bit. He felt very tired and hopeless.

Just then, his father came home from work and saw his son work hard. He didn’t help Robert. Instead, he asked, “Dear son, have you done your best? And are you doing everything you can?”

“Yes, I am.” the boy cried.

“No, you’re not.” his father said quietly, “You have not asked me to help you. Asking for help is not a weakness. At some point, even the strongest of us needs help. It is important to know when to ask for help and understand why you need it. Never be afraid to ask others for help when you’re in trouble.”

Robert nodded with a big smile.