na'im madyun's "ode to teachers"

na'im madyun reads a short story about a second grader named Ellis and her friend Coolidge, who prayed that their 3rd grade teacher WOULDN'T be the aging Mrs. Nimble.  The prayer wasn't answered, but by the end of the year, with Mrs. Nimble as their teacher, they offered another prayer -- that she wouldn't retire. It's an ode to teachers, madyun says--one that provides insight into the journey that led him to become a teacher himself.