A Boy Highlights the Spirit of Giving
In the 6 years that I taught 4th grade, I'll never forget the gift I received from Raymond, a boy who struggled academically and behaviorally. He would drive me crazy some days, but for some reason I could never stay mad at Raymond—we had a connection.
At the time he was in my class, Raymond was living with his Grandmother, who was his foster mother. They didn't have a lot. She had to take the bus to come to our conference, during which she told me Raymond had once asked her if they were poor.
One day shortly before Christmas, Raymond was given a basket of school supplies by a teacher he met with for extra help. You should have seen the look on his face as he proudly showed me the erasers, pencils, scissors, and markers. What he was most excited about was the 2-pack of erasable highlighters. Neither of us had ever seen an erasable highlighter before.
Later that day, Raymond came up to my desk, holding out an object which was carefully wrapped in a piece of notebook paper. Inside was one of the erasable highlighters. It brought tears to my eyes. This boy who literally had nothing but the clothes on his back was giving me something that meant a lot to him. It really touched my heart. I still have the highlighter and I'm still using it. I think about Raymond every time I pull it out.
Jean Braun, New Hope, Minnesota
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