Becoming a Teacher
Timmy was in the 4th Grade and not doing very well. He seemed to be a very unhappy little boy. His teacher, Mrs. Thompson, found him distracted, and gave him "Ds" and "Fs" throughout most of the year.
Just before the Christmas recess, Mrs. Thompson suggested the children exchange cards. On the day they were to share the cards, many of the kids gave Mrs. Thompson brightly wrapped gifts. Timmy's was poorly wrapped in plain brown paper that he had fashioned from a grocery bag. When Mrs. Thompson opened it, she found an old costume jewelry bracelet with several stones missing and a half-full bottle of perfume.
Seeing the gift Timmy had given to Mrs. Thompson, some of the kids started to snicker. She told them to stop and thanked Timmy for his thoughtfulness. She then put on the bracelet and dabbed some of the perfume on her wrists. At the end of the day, Timmy came up to her desk a smiling said, "you smell just like my Mom".
Mrs. Thompson decided to inquire about this unhappy little boy. She found that in the 1st grade his teacher had remarked that he was bright, attentive and an excellent student. His second grade teacher said the same thing, but noted that Timmy seemed increasingly unhappy because his mother had become sick. The 3rd grade teacher reported that since his mother's death, Timmy had been doing poorly in his studies and seemed more and more distant and unreachable.
Mrs. Thompson started wearing the bracelet and perfume Timmy had given her every day. She made a point of getting close enough to Timmy so he could see the jewelry and smell the perfume. Very quickly Timmy's mood brightened and he became more and more engaged in the class work and began to have fun with his classmates.
Mrs. Thompson often saw Timmy from time to time until he finished grammar school. Four years later she got a card from Timmy thanking her for her kindness and telling her he had graduated high school. Four more years passed and another card arrived saying how much he appreciated her and that he had finished college and graduated with honors. Four years after that, Timmy walked into her class and thanked her for having such an important impact on his life. He had finished medical school and was now a M.D.
Mrs. Thompson reached out and hugged him. She said it was she who should be doing the thanking because the day she put on that perfume and bracelet was the day she learned to be a teacher. They hugged each other and broke into the laughter of joy.
As Milton H. Erickson, M.D. might say, "that's the way you do psychotherapy".