The Teacher Who Remembered

In fourth grade I was the quiet kid who sat in the back and drew in the margins of my worksheets. Most teachers told me to pay attention. Mrs. Okafor asked to see my drawings.

She hung one on the classroom wall: a dragon reading a book. She told me I had a real eye for detail. Nobody had ever said anything like that to me before.

Twenty years later I'm a children's book illustrator. Last spring I visited my old school for a reading day, and there she was, gray-haired, still teaching fourth grade. I gave her a signed copy of my first book. On the dedication page it says, "For Mrs. Okafor, who hung up the dragon."

She held the book against her chest for a long time without saying anything.

If someone believed in you once, tell them. And if you see a quiet kid drawing in the margins, ask to see the picture.