Inspirational Writing

Lesson 4: Changing the World One Story at a Time

As Chance Would Have It

A first grade teacher named Judith Chance tells a tearjerker in Chicken Soup for the Writer's Soul --

One of her students, eight year-old Ronny, was neglected at home. He always arrived at school filthy, had a speech impediment, had already been held back a year and had parents who liked to move throughout each year.

Chance was a teacher that enjoyed working one-on-one with students on reading skills, so she really got to know Ronny:

She wrote, "Each word offered a challenge and a triumph wrapped as one; Ronny painstakingly sounded out each letter, then tried to put them together to form a word. Regardless if 'ball' ended up as Bah-lah or 'bow,' the biggest grin would spread across his face, and his eyes would twinkle and overflow with pride."

Many nights after putting her children to bed, she'd wonder if Ronny was safe.

Just before the school year ended, Chance held an awards celebration. She provided certificates of achievement for every student: Best Sounder-Outer, Most Expressive, Loudest Reader, Fastest Page-Turner.

She'd sweated over the sort of certificate to give Ronny and could only think of “Most Improved Reader." She could just see his eyes light up!

As she typically gave inexpensive gifts with each certificate, she bought a forty-nine cent supermarket book for Ronny -- one of those Little Golden ones you can't help but notice because it's in the checkout line.

"Tears rolled down his cheeks, streaking the ever-permanent layer of dirt as he clutched the book to his chest and floated back to his seat. I choked back the lump that rose in my throat," Chance wrote.

Then: "I stayed with the class for most of the day; Ronny never let go of the book, not once. It never left his hands."

A few days following the celebratory day, Chance noticed Ronny on a school bench reading the book.

Another teacher approached her, telling her he hadn't put his gift down since she'd given it to him. The teacher asked if she knew that was the first book he’d ever actually owned.

She hadn't. She went over to Ronny and asked if he would read her his book.

Filled with newfound confidence, he read to his gift bearer with more clarity than ever before!

When he was through, Ronny caressed it saying, “Good book.”

The teacher took her student's hand in hers, thinking what a powerful contribution the author of the golden book had made in the life of a weathered child.

Chance capped the story by saying she knew she was about to get serious about writing in hopes of doing what the author of that Golden Book had done, and no doubt continues to do -- care enough to contribute a story that changes a life.

As Chance would have it sharing even one moving lesson like the one you've just read will change more than one life.

What better reason to follow her lead?

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