Have you ever wished you could see that one person again? That person who you just really cared about but you never ever got to see them anymore and you just don't know how to get a hold of them? Well that is what happened to me a few days ago. I saw one of my past students...possibly one of the most challenging students that EVERYONE ELSE had ever met, but to me, he was just as pliable as my other students. He got into my class and for one full year while in the third grade, he totally turned his life around. He was not reading on grade level; his behavior was atrocious, and he just didn't care about his work. And then there was Dr. Collins. Not to brag, but I was able to reach him. I distinctly remember one particular conversation we had: he had left his dollar bill in another class and was adamant to leave a reading lesson I was conducting with him (he was so low in reading skills that he was the only one in the group) to go and retrieve his dollar. I explained to him ... for he was a practical guy - that if he was able to read - which was what I was teaching him at the moment, then he would be able to go to college and to get a job that would pay him so much more than one dollar. My student fingered his chin for a few moments, mulling over the idea, then quite satisfactorily said, "Oh yeah!" And with that, we went one with our reading lesson, and he went on to make great strides in his reading as well as with his behavior. When I saw him a few days ago, (for he no longer attends my school), he said he was on the honor roll, had all A's and B's and was doing a great job with his behavior. Wow! Now I can rest.

My work there is done,

Dr. Collins