During the next hour, I attended a session that was a notch less than engaging. However, one story stood out to me. There was a student in school that struggled with getting to class on time. When it became a routine occurrence, the teacher confronted him. Although the student understood the importance and consequences, his behavioral pattern continued for the rest of the year. It was not until this student came back years later that the teacher understood why it had happened. The student was gay, and thus, singled out as a prime target for both verbal and physical bullying. By hiding in his locker while the other students changed classes, this boy was able to avoid the abuse at the cost of being tardy, a relatively small price to pay. The teacher’s name was Steve Ham. Steve was so crushed to hear the student’s story, wishing he could have known when he would have had the opportunity to intervene. Steve used this experience as motivation to change the entire school system’s perspective towards bullying. I can’t imagine the number the students who were rescued by Steve’s action.
Steve Ham. What’s in the remembering of a name? When Steve set out to open other’s eyes to the problem of bullying, he was motivated not by making his name known, but by what he could offer other people. The story was convicting. How many of us work long and hard to enlarge the recognition of our own name? How much energy is spent working towards maximizing the number of times our name is repeated by others? I confess that I want to see my name on a book. Where do you hope to see your name? On a certain desk in the corner office? On a trophy? On a blog that you hope more than 2 people will read?
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