Teachers should be aware of the differences so that they can devote their lives to education in order to transform society.

Have you ever explored the difference between a teacher and an employee? Anyone who teaches should be aware of the difference. You are a good employee if you are punctual, teach your lessons on time, follow the institution’s policies, and listen to your employer. Being a good employee is not the same as being a teacher. You can call yourself a teacher if you are an employee who takes individual care of your students, listens to their problems and works to solve them, guides and motivates them; in short, you are putting your heart and soul into making societal changes. Otherwise, you may be a good employee but not a teacher. Crossing the line between employee and teacher requires passion, love, and pure extra work for which no remuneration is needed.

Let me tell you a story for declaring a difference between a teacher and an employee. This is the story of teacher Mrs Thompson.

“Mrs Thompson, an elementary school teacher, was the subject of a storey told many years ago. She told her children a falsehood as she stood in front of her fifth-grade class on the first day of school. She glanced at her students, like most instructors do, and told them that she loved them all the same. But that was simply not the case, for a little kid named Teddy Stoddard sat in the front row, slumped in his seat.

Mrs Thompson had been watching Teddy the previous year and noted that he didn’t get along with the other kids. His clothes were filthy, and he was always in need of a bath. Teddy was annoying. Mrs Thompson enjoyed marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X’s, and then writing a big “F” on the top of them.

Mrs Thompson was obligated to evaluate each child’s previous records at the school where she worked. Teddy’s was the last to be done. She was shocked when she eventually looked through his file. Teddy’s first-grade teacher penned the following: “Teddy is a bright child with a cheerful smile. He is neat in his work and has decent manners. It’s a pleasure to be with him.” His second-grade teacher penned the following: “Teddy is a good student who is well-liked by his peers. But he’s disturbed by his mother’s fatal sickness, and he knows how difficult life must be at home.” His third-grade teacher penned the following: “He had been crushed by his mother’s death. He tries to do his best, but his father is uninterested. If no action is taken, his home life would eventually have an impact on him.” Teddy’s fourth-grade teacher penned the following: “Teddy is a loner who doesn’t seem to care about school. He doesn’t have many friends, and he even sleeps in class sometimes.”

Mrs Thompson had discovered the problem by this time and was embarrassed. Except for Teddy’s, she felt even worse when her students handed her Christmas presents wrapped in lovely ribbons and vibrant paper. His gift was wrapped badly in a heavy brown paper he took from a shopping bag. Mrs. Thompson took great care in opening it in the midst of the other gifts. When she discovered a crystal bracelet with some stones missing and a perfume bottle that was only a quarter full, several of the kids began to laugh. However, she restrained the children’s laughing as she described how lovely the bracelet was while putting it on and applying some perfume on her arm. Teddy Stoddard stayed just long enough after school that day to tell Mrs Thompson, “Today you smell just like my mother used to.” She cried for at least an hour after the kids had left.

As she worked with Teddy, Mrs Thompson began to pay special attention to him. His thinking appeared to grow alive as time passed. He answered more quickly the more she encouraged him. By the conclusion of the year, Teddy had established himself as one of the class’s brightest students. Despite her deception, he had become a favourite of her teacher. Teddy wrote her a message under the door a year later, saying — she was the best teacher he’d ever had in his life.

Six years had passed when she received another note from Teddy, much to her surprise. He said that he had finished third in his class in high school and that she was still the best teacher he had ever had. Four years later, another letter arrived, explaining that despite the difficulties, he had continued in school and survived and that he had graduated from college with honours. He reminded Mrs Thompson that she was still the best and most beloved teacher he had ever had in his life.

After another four years, another letter arrived. This time, he indicated that he had opted to continue his education after receiving his bachelor’s degree. He assured her once more that she was still the best and most beloved teacher he had ever had.

That April, there was one more letter. Teddy announced that he had met this girl and that they were planning to marry. He said that his father had passed away a few years earlier, and he was hoping Mrs Thompson would agree to sit in the spot intended for the groom’s mother at his wedding. Mrs Thompson, of course, did. She was wearing the bracelet with the lost rhinestones. She also made sure she was using the perfume Teddy recalled his mother wearing the last time they spent Christmas together. “Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference,” Dr Stoddard whispered in Mrs Thompson’s ear after the wedding. Mrs

Thompson whispered back, tears in her eyes “Teddy, you’re completely mistaken. You were the one who showed me that I had the ability to make a difference. Until I met you, I had no idea how to teach.”

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