YayTheRedHead

I didn't delete it! It disappeared :/.

But I'm literally standing in line to get a coffee right now before work (it's 715am in Hawaii) and I'm crying! You have no idea how excited I am that you even read my comment and to get this reply..... I'm overwhelmed!!!! My life has been so touched by not only Reading Rainbow, but Captain Planet and Star Trek, as well. Thank you so much! I'll absolutely message you ASAP!

EDITED TO ADD A BUNCH OF STUFF:

I’ve been so overwhelmed with all of the incredible responses from everyone today! I’ve been trying to reply to almost everyone, but I wanted to add a couple of quick things here to help with some common comments/questions I’m getting:

1. To everyone gifting me gold:

I reddit exclusively on Mobile! While I appreciate it very much, please either donate that to Levar's kickstarter or go give a random user gold on /r/suicidewatch. You never know how much something small can mean to someone who is so close to ending it all!

2. Regarding the 1 day old Reddit account and how I posted to the AMA so quickly:

I've been on Reddit for about 3 years (joined about 6 months before my wedding - that was a mistake! goodbye to wedding planning!) and am very active on the site. As with most other people, I didn't want to associate my main account with my real name in case this blew up and people knew who I was (I have had a number of people text/call/facebook me today, knowing it was me).

I saw that the AMA would be happening today at 12pm EST. I live in Hawaii, so 12pm EST is 6am HST. I wrote the comment for him last night and left it open in a word doc on my computer and then set my alarm for 5:45am. I also made a throwaway to use to hold onto the anonymity of my main account. I got up at 5 til 6, dragged myself into my office, found the AMA and posted.

3. Regarding the teacher:

I can honestly say that I have found ways to understand where she was coming from. As a second grade teacher in the area that I was living at the time, she should have had a 100% literacy rate in her classroom. I think that she was worried for herself/her job/her reputation where people would see that she had a student that couldn't read at that age. I'm not saying that she was right, just that I've found ways to be forgiving/understanding for her choices that day. I can't imagine that anyone would come to the decision that she did in haste and I'm sure that she had her reasons, as hurtful as the situation was.

Please don’t see her as a villain. While I honestly don't have any positive memories of her, she has been a teacher for probably 20-30 years and I'm sure she has touched countless lives in positive ways. Mine was not one of them, but even if she only did good for one person, that is enough.

4. Regarding my original comment getting deleted:

I finally received a comment from someone directing me to the sub rules. I assume that this must be the rule that I broke: Requests for personal favors from the OP (For example, "OP, can you send me a signed autograph").. I understand their reasoning and appreciate the moderation of a subreddit that has made such interesting and open discussions with so many people/celebrities possible.

Yeah, and I was standing right there when it happened. I remember dropping my book on the floor and just being completely devastated. I actually grew up to be a teacher and looking back, I absolutely can't imagine saying something like that about and especially not TO a student or their parents.

My mom turned full-on mama bear, though, and lost her mind on the woman. She still gets lit up when I talk about it. I can't wait to tell her about this later today!

I have no doubt that it was the very first time I ever heard my mother swear. As unhappy as I was, her unhappiness was equal to tenfold my own.

Thank you so very much, Mr. Burton. I'm still sifting through all of the comments people are posting, but this has been so absolutely, incredibly heartwarming today! My mother is on a plane right now and she remembers this as vividly as I do... I know that she will be absolutely thrilled when she hears about what happened today, as well!!

On a totally different note, Geordi without the cool glasses always scared me. Also, I used to put my headband down over my eyes and pretend to be Geordi.

As much as I've thought about it over the last 20 years, I can honestly say that I have found ways to understand where she was coming from. As a second grade teacher in the area that I was living at the time, she should have had a 100% literacy rate in her classroom. I think that she was worried for herself/her job/her reputation where people would see that she had a student that couldn't read at that age. I'm not saying that she was right, just that I've found ways to be forgiving/understanding for her choices that day. I can't imagine that anyone would come to the decision that she did in haste and I'm sure that she had her reasons, as hurtful as the situation was.