Starfish

One of my favorite stories is that of the Starfish.  It was introduced to me during my first year teaching, and while I didn't heed the message for the first few years..... I finally, over the past two years or so, realized that while I might not be able to "save" all my students, each one that I do connect with, that I do help see their own spark...... every little bit counts.......

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A young girl was walking along a beach upon which thousands of starfish had been washed up during a terrible storm. When she came to each starfish, she would pick it up, and throw it back into the ocean. People watched her with amusement.

She had been doing this for some time when a man approached her and said, “Little girl, why are you doing this? Look at this beach! You can’t save all these starfish. You can’t begin to make a difference!”

The girl seemed crushed, suddenly deflated. But after a few moments, she bent down, picked up another starfish, and hurled it as far as she could into the ocean. Then she looked up at the man and replied, “Well, I made a difference to that one!”

The old man looked at the girl inquisitively and thought about what she had done and said. Inspired, he joined the little girl in throwing starfish back into the sea. Soon others joined, and all the starfish were saved.

--Adapted from The Star Thrower by Loren C. Eiseley