Henry Maxwell's Gift

Liz Cassello is a veteran art teacher at Forest Place Middle School in Columbia, SC. Despite her love of teaching and years of dedication to her school and her students, she is having a difficult time finding even minimal enthusiasm as she starts her twenty-eighth year. Despite her best efforts, she finds little reward in her work and fears she no longer makes a difference in the lives of her students. An aging father and the marital problems of her dearest friend only add to her...
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Liz Cassello is a veteran art teacher at Forest Place Middle School in Columbia, SC. Despite her love of teaching and years of dedication to her school and her students, she is having a difficult time finding even minimal enthusiasm as she starts her twenty-eighth year. Despite her best efforts, she finds little reward in her work and fears she no longer makes a difference in the lives of her students. An aging father and the marital problems of her dearest friend only add to her stress as Liz tries to cope with her negativity and frustrations. When a scheduling error places Henry Maxwell in one of her honors classes, LIz's indifference towards the ill-prepared and pitiful student seems contrary to all the principles she used to hold dear. Through the course of a school year Liz soon finds that working with Henry somehow helps elevate her mood and dispels those fears that she no longer matters as a teacher. She discovers that, as much as Henry needs her guidance and compassion, she has needed him even more. Henry Maxwell's gift is a story of caring, hope, and the need for all of us to feel valued and needed. (This is a revised edition of the book originally published in 2008)