See Also:
Beginning of a FAMOUS Hero: The Cesar Chavez Story.
Life Lesson #58 – Educate Your Fears
Mr. Delaney asked his class one day if anyone had ever been afraid to come to school because they thought someone might hurt them, or laugh at them, or call them names or something. No one raised a hand, even though Mr. Delaney knew some wanted to, and indeed several did want to, but they were afraid of what others might think, say, or do when the teacher wasn’t watching.
Mr. Delaney went on to tell a story of when he was in school, and another kid was making him afraid to even be there. That boy had said and done some things that made him think he might get hurt. “What did you do?” one of his students asked. “Well,” said Mr. Delaney, “I talked to my teacher privately about it, and I made sure she listened.”
“You mean you were like a … tattle-tale or something,” another student asked? Mr. Delaney already knew that question was coming! “No,” he said, “tattling is when you tell on someone for something that’s not your business, like if they’re chewing gum when they’re not suppose to. But when you have reason to believe someone might hurt you or hurt someone else, even if it’s just hurting your feelings a lot and making you afraid, it’s not tattling, it’s ‘reporting.’ It’s being responsible and it’s actually ‘HELPING,’” he said. “So, if you start HELPING yourself or HELPING other people not to be hurt, then you’re a—what?”
“HERO,” they all said! And Mr. Delaney smiled as he said, “I’m Richard Delaney. That’s what I know about the beginning of a HERO, and I know that you can become HEROES, too.”
– Jim Lord