My older brother went to his 40 year reunion for a High school in England that he and I went to. (He was there for two years. After he left I was there for one year.) During a reunion a teacher came up to him with a message that he wanted him to give to me, saying that I was a "stand up guy". I believe the Lord made him get that message to me and this was the only way he knew how.
Basically forty years ago I had done something that offended this teacher. I had done several things which when taken together would have gotten me expelled, but I had already been punished for the worst offenses so the Headmaster did not think it fair to expel me over this latest offense. So this teacher decided to punish me himself on the final exam and gave me the lowest grade in the class, a 25. It was an essay exam, three questions each requiring the answer to be an essay. I guess he figured he would always be able to find something wrong with an essay if I challenged him and apparently did not check my paper before giving me that grade. However, since I was one of the top students in the class many couldn't believe the grade and so afterwards he went back and looked at that test and that was when he realized he was about to be fired.
For the exam he had given us 10 questions and said 3 would be on the exam. No one could have done a good job preparing all ten questions, so I guessed that there were three questions with the highest probability of being on the test and prepared those. I felt for sure one would be on it, and that I had even odds of two being on it and if I was lucky I'd get all three. So I did an extraordinary job preparing those three questions because I knew if he asked one of them I needed to get 100% on it. He asked all three. I obliterated that test, probably the best test he had ever seen. If I challenged him he would have had no defense at all.
However, I was an American, I had come to this English boarding school for one year, they had already shown me mercy for not expelling me and now I had been accepted to Rice University which was my first choice. I did the math and this grade was not going to hurt my grades enough to prevent me from going. So to me this whole thing meant nothing. I could walk away, forget it, and it would be no big deal. Even though I had some issues with this teacher I didn't hate him, I didn't want to be responsible for getting him fired. On the other hand this is abusive and if he does this to other students it could be terrible. Even if I didn't want to be responsible for him being fired it might be my duty to protect other students. I didn't know what to do but then after asking the Lord I had this great idea. He was in charge of the RAF and I was a member, we had to return our uniforms and my jacket was missing a button. I decided that with what judgement he judges he shall be judged. I went to him and said that my jacket was missing a button what should I do? If he made a big deal of it then I'd challenge the exam and if he didn't then I also wouldn't. I went up to him at lunch and he was trembling, he wouldn't even look at me. That was when I realized he hadn't looked at my exam when he gave me the grade and since that time he has looked at it and now knows that he will be fired. Anyway he waves his hand and says "forget it" concerning the button.
So I forgot about it and didn't think about it again until my brother came back from England with that message from him. I have been a teacher for about 20 years and there are only a few kids I can remember after 20 years, much less 40 years. But even if I could remember someone after 40 years the idea that I would seek out their brother at a 40 year reunion is stunning to me. It seems to me that the Lord was really bothering him to find a way to get that message to me. Finally, it was a great encouragement to me to learn he stayed and taught for 40 years. That tells me I did the right thing. Thank you Lord.
Basically forty years ago I had done something that offended this teacher. I had done several things which when taken together would have gotten me expelled, but I had already been punished for the worst offenses so the Headmaster did not think it fair to expel me over this latest offense. So this teacher decided to punish me himself on the final exam and gave me the lowest grade in the class, a 25. It was an essay exam, three questions each requiring the answer to be an essay. I guess he figured he would always be able to find something wrong with an essay if I challenged him and apparently did not check my paper before giving me that grade. However, since I was one of the top students in the class many couldn't believe the grade and so afterwards he went back and looked at that test and that was when he realized he was about to be fired.
For the exam he had given us 10 questions and said 3 would be on the exam. No one could have done a good job preparing all ten questions, so I guessed that there were three questions with the highest probability of being on the test and prepared those. I felt for sure one would be on it, and that I had even odds of two being on it and if I was lucky I'd get all three. So I did an extraordinary job preparing those three questions because I knew if he asked one of them I needed to get 100% on it. He asked all three. I obliterated that test, probably the best test he had ever seen. If I challenged him he would have had no defense at all.
However, I was an American, I had come to this English boarding school for one year, they had already shown me mercy for not expelling me and now I had been accepted to Rice University which was my first choice. I did the math and this grade was not going to hurt my grades enough to prevent me from going. So to me this whole thing meant nothing. I could walk away, forget it, and it would be no big deal. Even though I had some issues with this teacher I didn't hate him, I didn't want to be responsible for getting him fired. On the other hand this is abusive and if he does this to other students it could be terrible. Even if I didn't want to be responsible for him being fired it might be my duty to protect other students. I didn't know what to do but then after asking the Lord I had this great idea. He was in charge of the RAF and I was a member, we had to return our uniforms and my jacket was missing a button. I decided that with what judgement he judges he shall be judged. I went to him and said that my jacket was missing a button what should I do? If he made a big deal of it then I'd challenge the exam and if he didn't then I also wouldn't. I went up to him at lunch and he was trembling, he wouldn't even look at me. That was when I realized he hadn't looked at my exam when he gave me the grade and since that time he has looked at it and now knows that he will be fired. Anyway he waves his hand and says "forget it" concerning the button.
So I forgot about it and didn't think about it again until my brother came back from England with that message from him. I have been a teacher for about 20 years and there are only a few kids I can remember after 20 years, much less 40 years. But even if I could remember someone after 40 years the idea that I would seek out their brother at a 40 year reunion is stunning to me. It seems to me that the Lord was really bothering him to find a way to get that message to me. Finally, it was a great encouragement to me to learn he stayed and taught for 40 years. That tells me I did the right thing. Thank you Lord.
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