Teacher goes the extra mile

Shannon Grimm, 31, teaches kindergarten at Meador Elementary School in Willis, Texas. One day last fall she noticed one of her pupils, 5-year-old Priscilla Perez, was extra quiet in class, and seemed sad. She was feeling down because other kindergarteners were making fun of her new haircut, saying that it made her "look like a boy." Priscilla was so embarrassed that she wore a cap to school and refused to take it off during class.

Miss Grimm was heartbroken over Priscilla's melancholy, so when students returned after winter break, they were shocked to find their teacher had cut off her waist-length hair to get the same haircut as Priscilla. She said, "I had to show them that boys can have long hair like girls, and girls can have short hair like boys." She even brought matching bows to class, so she and Priscilla could wear the same ribbon to class each day. According to Grimm, Pricilla's confidence shot through the roof, and the haircut also taught her a valuable lesson. She told her teacher, "When I get big like you, I will have friends who will be mean to me, but I will be nice to them, just like you."