The Teacher Who Made Me Speak

Carl Glickman

Noted education writer and speaker Carl Glickman recounts how, as a high school student with a stutter, he dreaded teachers calling on him in class. Glickman’s teachers observed a “hidden contract” with him: He would do all his work, and they wouldn’t put him on the spot by calling on him—until Mr. Matheson. As this teacher continued to call on Glickman—and let the self-conscious teen know his insights were worth waiting for—Glickman realized that his disability didn’t need to interfere with sharing his ideas. This teacher’s persistence enabled him to begin speaking confidently in public.