The Teacher Learns from her Students

Story---I was teaching 4th graders in the
OKC
school system in the '70.s and as always had students with different
learning abilities. A young man named Patrick was just a brilliant
kid.I
don't think I ever had another student as smart as Patrick.But then I
had
another boy named Ray, that was very slow andcould hardly read. Patrick
had
no patience with Ray and "put him down" a lot. One day as the class was
going to recess, I asked Patrick to stay and talk to me. I was trying
to get
him to see he should be kinder and more understinding of Ray. In my
conversation, i said"Patrick, what if you were in Ray's shoes?"Without
pausing, Patrick says,"Then I would get a new pair of shoes!" What's a
teacher to do.!!