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Certificate of Excellence

The principal of the school awarded a Certificate of Excellence each month to a top-performing student at the school.

This one month, when the principal notified the parents, he mistakenly sent his message to the wrong family.

The parents were thrilled to receive the news. You see, their son was a poor student. He was fidgety and misbehaved. He was behind in all his classes. For him to be awarded the prized certificate was an answer to their prayers. 

The child’s mother called the principal to thank him for bestowing the honor on their son. Because she was so proud and excited, the principal didn’t have the heart to tell her that it had been sent in error. Instead, he congratulated her and the family.

The principal knew something had to be done to set the record straight. He called the boy to his office.

“I’m doing something special that I have never done for any student before. I’m awarding you with the Certificate of Excellence in advance, so you can have the entire month to be excellent."

Sure enough, the student buckled down and learned how it felt to be excellent, and it transformed him.