The Starfish Story (Author Unknown)

While walking along the beach one morning, an elderly gentleman saw someone in the distance leaning down, picking up something, and throwing it into the ocean. As he got closer, he saw it was a young man, picking up starfish one by one, and tossing each one into the water.

He came closer and called out, “Good morning! Can I ask what you’re doing?”

The young man paused, looked up, and replied “Throwing starfish back into the ocean.”

The old man smiled, and said, “Why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?”

The young man replied, “The sun is up. The tide is going out. If I don’t throw them in, they’ll die.”

The elderly observer commented, “But don’t you realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along the way? You can’t possibly make a difference!”

The young man listened politely, bent down, picked up another starfish, threw it back into the ocean and said, “Made a difference to that one.”

It gets tiresome this time of the year, but you’re making a difference in the lives of your students, my friends. Keep up the good work.