Welcome to Darin Daily On Demand, your most trusted resource to help you become better

every day.

Here's your success mentor, Darin Hardy.

In 1974, Elizabeth Ballard penned the late tale of Teddy Stoddard.

Jean Thompson stood in front of her fifth grade class on the very first day of school in

the fall and told the children a lie.

Like most teachers, she looked at her pupils and said that she loved them all the same

and that she would treat them all alike.

However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in a seat, was

the little boy named Teddy Stoddard.

Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with

the other children.

And his clothes were always messy, and then he constantly needed a bath.

In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant.

It got to the point during the first few months that she would actually take delight in

marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold axes, and then marking the F at the

top of the paper, biggest of all.

Because Teddy was a sullen little boy, no one else seemed to enjoy him either.

At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's records

and she put Teddy's off until last.

When she opened his file, she was in for a big surprise.

Her first grade teacher wrote Teddy is a bright, inquisitive child with a ready laugh.

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