superior girl
16-07-2009, 06:02 PM
Who I Am Makes A Difference
A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high
school by telling them the difference they each made. Using a process
developed by Helice Bridges of Del Mar, California, she called each
student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told them
how the student made a difference to her and the class. Then she
presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters
which read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference." Afterwards the teacher
decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition
would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more
ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this Acknowledgment
ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored
whom and report back to the class in about a week.
One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby
company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He
gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two
extra ribbons, and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition,
and we'd like you to go out, find somebody to honor, give them a blue
ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a
third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please
report back to me and tell me what happened."
Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had
been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his
boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a
creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive
asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he
give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, "Well,
sure." The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on
his boss's jacket above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon,
he said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon and
pass it on by honoring somebody else? The young boy who first gave me
the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this
recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people."
That night the boss came home to his 13-year-old son and sat him down.
He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my
office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired
me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine. He
thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says
'Who I Am Makes A Difference' on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an
extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was
driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with
this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you. My days are
really hectic and when I come home I don't pay a lot of attention to
you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in
school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just
wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a
difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person
in my life. You're a great kid...and I love you!"
The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop crying.
His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his
tears, "I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow, Dad, because I
didn't think you loved me. Now I don't need to."
A teacher in New York decided to honor each of her seniors in high
school by telling them the difference they each made. Using a process
developed by Helice Bridges of Del Mar, California, she called each
student to the front of the class, one at a time. First she told them
how the student made a difference to her and the class. Then she
presented each of them with a blue ribbon imprinted with gold letters
which read, "Who I Am Makes a Difference." Afterwards the teacher
decided to do a class project to see what kind of impact recognition
would have on a community. She gave each of the students three more
ribbons and instructed them to go out and spread this Acknowledgment
ceremony. Then they were to follow up on the results, see who honored
whom and report back to the class in about a week.
One of the boys in the class went to a junior executive in a nearby
company and honored him for helping him with his career planning. He
gave him a blue ribbon and put it on his shirt. Then he gave him two
extra ribbons, and said, "We're doing a class project on recognition,
and we'd like you to go out, find somebody to honor, give them a blue
ribbon, then give them the extra blue ribbon so they can acknowledge a
third person to keep this acknowledgment ceremony going. Then please
report back to me and tell me what happened."
Later that day the junior executive went in to see his boss, who had
been noted, by the way, as being kind of a grouchy fellow. He sat his
boss down and he told him that he deeply admired him for being a
creative genius. The boss seemed very surprised. The junior executive
asked him if he would accept the gift of the blue ribbon and would he
give him permission to put it on him. His surprised boss said, "Well,
sure." The junior executive took the blue ribbon and placed it right on
his boss's jacket above his heart. As he gave him the last extra ribbon,
he said, "Would you do me a favor? Would you take this extra ribbon and
pass it on by honoring somebody else? The young boy who first gave me
the ribbons is doing a project in school and we want to keep this
recognition ceremony going and find out how it affects people."
That night the boss came home to his 13-year-old son and sat him down.
He said, "The most incredible thing happened to me today. I was in my
office and one of the junior executives came in and told me he admired
me and gave me a blue ribbon for being a creative genius. Imagine. He
thinks I'm a creative genius. Then he put this blue ribbon that says
'Who I Am Makes A Difference' on my jacket above my heart. He gave me an
extra ribbon and asked me to find somebody else to honor. As I was
driving home tonight, I started thinking about whom I would honor with
this ribbon and I thought about you. I want to honor you. My days are
really hectic and when I come home I don't pay a lot of attention to
you. Sometimes I scream at you for not getting good enough grades in
school and for your bedroom being a mess, but somehow tonight, I just
wanted to sit here and, well, just let you know that you do make a
difference to me. Besides your mother, you are the most important person
in my life. You're a great kid...and I love you!"
The startled boy started to sob and sob, and he couldn't stop crying.
His whole body shook. He looked up at his father and said through his
tears, "I was planning on committing suicide tomorrow, Dad, because I
didn't think you loved me. Now I don't need to."