The son of an idiot
I read this story about a week ago and it stuck with me, so I thought it was worth sharing. It's too long to retype, but here's a synopsis:
A teacher once required his students to bring a 3X5 card with a thought or quotation to every class session. The cards were kept confidential and were returned to the students at the next session. The teacher would often write a question or a comment on the cards.
One day a young man raced to class after a fight with his father. He tried to think of something to write down, but all he could think about was the fight, so he wrote "I am the son of an idiot!" on the card.
At the next class session the student waited in fear for the card to be returned to him. As usual the teacher moved silently through the classroom, placing cards facedown upon the desks. The teacher placed the card on the young man's desk, with no indication that there was anything out of the ordinary. The student turned over the card and read "What does the "son of an idiot" do with the rest of his life?
No matter who we are or what circumstances we come from, we bear the responsibility for what we become.
(Summary of "The Thought Card" by Hanoch McCarty in A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul)
A teacher once required his students to bring a 3X5 card with a thought or quotation to every class session. The cards were kept confidential and were returned to the students at the next session. The teacher would often write a question or a comment on the cards.
One day a young man raced to class after a fight with his father. He tried to think of something to write down, but all he could think about was the fight, so he wrote "I am the son of an idiot!" on the card.
At the next class session the student waited in fear for the card to be returned to him. As usual the teacher moved silently through the classroom, placing cards facedown upon the desks. The teacher placed the card on the young man's desk, with no indication that there was anything out of the ordinary. The student turned over the card and read "What does the "son of an idiot" do with the rest of his life?
No matter who we are or what circumstances we come from, we bear the responsibility for what we become.
(Summary of "The Thought Card" by Hanoch McCarty in A 4th Course of Chicken Soup for the Soul)