It's What's Inside That Counts!

      It's what's inside that counts! I have taught some classes to my students about this idea.  What is on the inside of a person is so much more important than outward appearance. I want them to understand that in a world of glamour and image. That is an important lesson for children and adults alike, I believe.
       As a teacher, my job at the end of the school day is to get on a walkie-talkie and call the students out of the building when their parents arrive to pick them up at dismissal time.  I make a point of waving and saying good-bye to each student.  Some children are so excited to see the parent and some are slow-moving and do not seem to be terribly motivated to go home.
       One little girl, Leanna, out of about forty students who ride cars instead of buses, is always excited to go home. She always smiles to me and speaks to me by name and says "good-bye" to me.  She might tell me to have a good evening or a nice weekend.  I have never taught her in my class and I don't really know her well, even now.  She is the most polite of all forty.  She is the only one who initiates speaking to me and the only one who uses my name. It is remarkable to note how much a little outgoing concern, training and manners are appreciated in an age of "gimme". Yes, even a child is known by her fruits.
       Her mother picks her up with the same smile and sweetness, too.   It causes one to take note. Why does she stand out?She is not the cutest child of the group, but she has something that the others do not have quite as much.  It is a glow that comes from the inside.  It radiates a bit like love.
       So much for the nice, sweet story. Oh, but let me not forget the rest of the story.  Ours is a school,where all of the students are underprivileged and poor.  Leanna stands out to me among the car riders, because she speaks to me and says my name.  If you lined her up with all the other girls, she would be most ordinary of the children; one might say she was almost homely in appearance. Her hair is not tamed and her clothes are not particularly nice.
       When her mother picks Leanna up, it is in the oldest, beat-up, dented car that one could imagine with a smashed in windshield across the entire front.  It makes a horrendous noise when it arrives, but the face inside the car is always smiling. When her grandpa, with his scruffy beard comes, in his dented, rattle-trap of a truck; he has to move his tools and junk to the back, so there is room for her inside.  He looks like someone on the "most wanted" list. He gave the wrong name for the child, when he came to pick Leanna up for the first time, so I was very cautious about even letting her go home with this wild-looking character, but again he was joyful and kind.
        A woman from my church,with a heart of gold, made some beautiful crocheted hats and scarves for me to distribute to some of the students at my school.  I had given all of my students a set and I had one left over.  It was a pale green scarf and hat of a most lovely color.  I somehow kept thinking of  Leanna.  Yesterday, I pulled her aside and ask her if she could use a scarf and hat.  She quietly nodded and humbly accepted.  I felt so happy; she was a good choice.
        Today, at dismissal, when Leanna's name was called she bounced  past me with the beautiful, pale green scarf securely wrapped around her sweet neck. It was the only new item I ever saw her wear. We said ''good-bye" to each other and she got in the car. She had the biggest smile on her face as she rolled down the window to call out, "I hope you have a nice weekend, Mrs. G!" As the car chugged off, I found myself wishing that I knew her better. It was that inside stuff oozing out that cannot be not diminished by poverty.  That is the stuff that really counts!