One At A Time

In June 2006, I received this picture frame as a gift from a wonderful administrator - I will never forget that day. Four years later - Christmas 2009, I received the starfish from an amazing friend. These two items now travel and are present in every classroom/office I am in!!!


As teachers we are faced with many challenges/obstacles everyday. Ask yourself which student right now might be your 'starfish', or when you reflect on your career which student or students have you gone above and beyond for.
We all have the power to make a difference, it is just whether or not we choose to do so.
When you have a bad day or wonder if you are actually making a difference think about this beautiful story.
Thank you teachers for the difference you make in the lives of children everyday!!!


For those of you who have never read the story.
Here it is:
One At A Time
A tourist was walking on a beach at sunset. He saw another man who kept leaning down, picking something up and throwing it back into the water. The second man kept doing this over and over.


As he got closer, the tourist noticed that the man was picking up starfish and throwing them back into the water. The tourist was puzzled, so he asked the man what he was doing. The man explained that the starfish were washed onto the shore at low tide. If they are left on the beach, they will die from lack of oxygen. By throwing them back into the ocean, the man was saving the starfish. The tourist said that he understood that, but that there were thousands of starfish on that beach alone, and many beaches the same along the coast. He asked the man, "Can't you see that you can't possibly make a difference?"


The man smiled, bent down and picked up yet another starfish, and as he threw it back into the sea, he replied,


"Made a difference to that one!"


- from Chicken Soup for the Soul