Good Words/کلمات خوب – A Voice from Iran

One day, a teacher asked her students to write down the names of all their classmates on two sheets of paper.

After writing each name, they were to leave a blank line. Then, she asked them to think about the nicest thing they could say about each classmate, and write it in the blank lines. The rest of the class was spent on this task. When they were done, each student handed in their paper and left.

On Saturday, the teacher wrote down each student’s name on a separate sheet and copied all the kind comments their classmates had written underneath, labelling them as anonymous.

On Monday, she handed each student their list. A wave of joy filled the classroom. She heard whispers like:

“Really?”

“I never knew others cared about me this much!”

“I didn’t know people liked me so much.”

The assignment had fulfilled her goal. The students felt good about themselves and about each other.

Years went by, and the students drifted apart. Some years later, one of them was killed in the Vietnam War.

The teacher attended his funeral. She had never seen a soldier in a coffin before. He looked handsome and dignified. The church was full of his friends. After they paid their respects, the teacher approached the casket. One of the pallbearers came to her and asked:

“Were you Mark’s math teacher?”

She nodded.

The soldier said, “Mark always talked about you.”

After the burial, many of Mark’s classmates gathered for lunch. His parents were also there, and they clearly wanted to meet the teacher. Mark’s father pulled out his wallet and said, “We want to show you something.” He carefully unfolded two worn sheets of paper held together with tape. The teacher immediately recognized them — the very paper on which Mark’s classmates had written kind things about him.

Mark’s mother said, “Thank you for doing this. As you can see, Mark treasured it like gold.”

The old classmates chimed in. Charlie smiled shyly: “I still have mine. It’s in the top drawer of my desk.” Charlie’s wife said, “He asked me to put his list in our wedding album.” Marlene said, “Mine is in my diary.” Then Vicky pulled out her worn list from her purse and said, “I carry it with me everywhere. I don’t think anyone threw theirs away.”

Hearing this, the teacher couldn’t hold back her tears. She wept for Mark, and for all her students she would never see again.

Tell the people you love and care about them, that they are important to you — before it’s too late.

Source: Good Words/کلمات خوب – A Voice from Iran

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