During the years Bill Gates attended Seattle’s View Ridge Elementary, he was an introverted fourth-grader with a typical nerdy nature who did his best to keep himself to himself as much as possible. It was thanks to a kind librarian named Blanche Caffiere, who offered support to him in the beginning, that he was able to come into his own in a way that would ultimately change the world for the better. As Gates explains on his blog, he sets the stage for this story by writing:
“When I first met Mrs. Caffiere, she was the elegant and engaging school librarian at Seattle’s View Ridge Elementary, and I was a timid fourth grader. I was desperately trying to go unnoticed, because I had some big deficits, like atrocious handwriting … and I was trying to hide the fact that I liked to read—something that was cool for girls but not for boys … Mrs. Caffiere took me under her wing and helped make it okay for me to be a messy, nerdy boy who was reading lots of books.”
He gives Mrs. Caffiere a lot of the credit for breaking him out of his shell and providing him with an amazing education in general. First, she supported Gates’ interest for reading by assisting him in exploring it through the use of introspective inquiries, such as what kinds of books he enjoyed reading and the reasons why he like them. After that, she would go to great lengths to find source materials that were gradually more engaging and challenging for him to read. In the end, after he had finished reading them, she would sit down with him and ask him if he enjoyed what he had read and, more importantly, what he had learned and the reason for it. Gates recalled, “She listened to what I had to say in an attentive and honest manner.”
Blanche Caffiere sadly passed away in 2006, not long after celebrating her 100th birthday; nevertheless, Bill Gates was able to express his gratitude to her in person for the long-lasting impact that her love and curiosity had on his life before she passed away.