In Southern California, using a prefix to address people is falling by the wayside�but not in Mr. Beadle's class. You might expect this for addressing the teacher, but Mr. Beadle insists on prefixes even for his students. And, this is in a class of middle-school students that have all been labeled "at risk."

To Mr. Ronald Beadle, using "Miss" or "Mr." is a gesture of respect�and that's what his academic guidance program at Torch Middle School in La Puente, California, is all about. He's been proving for over 32 years that children labeled as "at risk" can be helped.

The school district has been sending kids with behavioral and other problems to Mr. Beadle's program for many years and has deemed it a success. His track record shows that many of his students have become successful adults and have come back to thank him for the good they received from his program.

Recently, I visited Mr. Beadle's classroom to see his program in action. Mr. Beadle treats the children, mostly 12-14 year olds, with respect. The prefix issue is just one factor contributing to the tone for each one-hour class. The children were very polite, not only to me, but to each other.

Later, he told me, "We have a problem with teachers not communicating with students. We get into a rigid situation, where it's the same thing every day�'Sit down, be quiet. Open your books turn to page thus-and-so.' That's not teaching. We spend 60% of the day with these kids, 8 hours a day. We're part of their family because of that. So we should have the closeness of a family.

"I often say, 'I'm talking to you today, because as a family, we have to do better.' They hear that word family from me, all the time. Instead of rushing them into academic lessons when they walk in, we talk. I ask them: 'What's going on today?' They share part of their life with me so I share part of my life with them. They're students; they have lives, too. So why can't we take five minutes out of our time to acknowledge this?"

I asked Mr. Beadle why he thinks his program has been such a success. "I practice Christian love," he says. "To me, the higher power is God, who is Life, Truth and Love. God is the All and everything of existence. God loves all His children so much that He is caring for them every moment."

This point of view has a direct impact on how Mr. Beadle treats the kids in class. "I respect the dignity of every child. I teach them to respect themselves, and each other. I believe each student is the child of God."

Mr. Beadle especially likes to think of God as Mind, a term he learned from the Bible and Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures by Mary Baker Eddy. He studies these books every day. "There are many places in the Bible that refer to God as Mind," he says. "I firmly believe that these students are the active reflections of that Mind. Since they are the reflections of Mind, nothing is impossible to them. All things are possible to Mind. So, they all have unlimited potential. I do not doubt for a moment that each of them can achieve that potential."

And, it's great to hear from a teacher whose day starts with prayer. "I start my day asking our Maker to give me guidance for these students; give me strength to make a difference in their lives," he says. "In my prayer I refuse to see that there is anything going on in my classroom but God, good. I continue this prayer while my students are entering the room."

Mr. Beadle knows why his class is a success. "Other teachers wonder, why are these children doing so well in my classroom? Well, I say, my kids are good kids. When you reflect that wisdom, that love, as God's children, then what happens? It's displayed. And I don't have to say, 'Hey, everybody, let's hold our heads up!' But they see it. Once you let students know what you expect, then they perform."

One student posed a particular problem. She has a rough family life and was very negative. She even told Mr. Beadle that she thrived on getting teachers upset. But Mr. Beadle never doubted her. "It took months," he says now. "At the end of every day, I would go home, and ask my Maker for the wisdom to deal with the next day. And I prayed that, whatever this young lady is going through at home, she will have the strength to deal with it, and she will come to the realization that she is a child of God."

The end result surprised even him. "Two months later," he says, "she said to me, 'You never gave up on me. You never hollered at me.' And she gave me a gift of a beautiful necktie. Ever since that day, she has shown the utmost respect for herself, for me, and for the other students in the class."

Mr. Beadle also introduced me to Miss Adeline Zapata, one of his best students. Miss Zapata proudly told us what she had done recently at California State University. Mr. Beadle was asked to give a talk about his program to CSU's teaching candidates. He said he would only do so if his students could give the presentation. The university faculty reluctantly agreed. But after the presentation, both the professors and future teachers asked, "These are not really only eighth graders, are they?" It took some doing to convince them that an eighth grader had stood up and given a presentation with such poise. And, these were two students that had almost been given up by the school district before they landed in Mr. Beadle's class.

As class and my visit ended, Mr. Beadle said: "Ladies only, line up! Fellows, take a seat!"

After the girls left, he called out, "Fellows, you may depart. Thank you!"

Love, respect, prayer. This is the course description in Mr. Ronald Beadle's class. And every student makes the grade.