老师的鼓励和赞美对学生永远有着 不可估量的价值。看看这位公认的笨孩 子是怎样在老师的鼓励下成功的。
One day when I was waiting for a friend in a classroom， Mr. Washington suddenly asked me to go to the board to write something down. I told him I couldn’ t.He said，” Why not？“I said，”Because I‘ m not one of your students.“He said，” It doesn’t matter.“I still refused. He said，” Why not？“I was embarrassed and said ，” Be-cause I‘m not clever.“He looked at me and said”， that again. Just have a try.“Never sayI was thought to be foolish at that time because I’d been put back from the fifth grade into the fourth. But what the teacher said made a dramatic difference in my life.
Mr. Washington always gave students the feeling that he had high expectations of them， and this made them confident. When I was a junior， I heard him give a speech to some seniors. He said，”You have great- ness within you. You have something spe-cial. If you believe in yourselves， you canmake your school and parents proud.“I remember that they gave him a standingovation. Afterwards I asked him”，Sir， yousaid they had greatness within them. Isthere greatness within me？“He said”，Yes，Jack.“”But what about the fact that I failed all my exams？“” It doesn‘t matter. It just means that you have to work harder. Your grades don’t determine who you are.““ I want to buy my mother a house.”“ It‘s possible. You can do it.”“ Sir ， please re- member my name. One day I will make you proud，”I said. I worked harder than ever because I believe I could do greatthings.
Years later， after I’d appeared on television because of the magazines I pro- duced， I received a call from Mr. Washing- ton.“ You have made me proud，”he said.