The Experience

One day, a teacher was talking to his students when one of them said to him, discouragedly:

- Teacher Joel, I do not understand why I got such a low grade! I thought I had answered everything correctly but apparently not. I am very sad!...

- Lucas, you did not think straight when you answered the questions. If you had thought better, you would have been right. You needed to reflect on the question and then find the best answer.  Do you understand? - said the teacher after hearing the boy's complaint.

- Sort of, teacher. I do not think I understood what you wanted!

- That’s right, Lucas. You were supposed to think about the questions and answer in the best possible way.

The students exchanged a look showing that they did not understand. The teacher looked at them and proposed:

- How about we have an experiment?

The students agreed to the suggestion. Then the teacher nodded his head and slipped his hands into his pants’ pockets and took out the bills of money he carried. He separated the five notes that were of equal worth.

- Good! Let's see who wants to participate in the experience. I need five students.

Several students raised their hands, and the teacher chose five of them. Then he explained:

- I will give 10 bucks to each of the participating students. Next week, you will have to give me back the 10 bucks plus whatever you can gain from your work, ok?

The boys nodded and the whole class clapped. The teacher reported:

- You, the other students, will be the judges, figuring out who worked better with the money they received. So, good weekend to everyone!

The students left the room still thinking what they would do with the 10 bucks. But that was a concern just for the students who were participating in the game.

The first kid, Roberto, was a very poor boy. When he got home, he saw that they had nothing for lunch. He reached into his pocket and, feeling the note, decided that it was not important to win, because at that moment he needed to hand the money over to his mother so she could buy something for his family's lunch.

The second boy, Miguel, got home thinking how to make the note produce more. He remembered that his mother liked to make sweets, so he said to his mother:

- Mom, I got 10 bucks and I need to increase this money, and I remembered that your sweets are very good! Could you do them, please?

His mother agreed. Shortly after lunch she cleaned the kitchen and went out to buy what she needed. She spent exactly the ten bucks and went back home. She put the mix of the ingredients on the stove and after a while a good smell of candy spread in the air. She took the pan from the fire and put the mix on a tray, spread it well and then cut it to size. Soon they were ready and smelling appetising. Miguel picked up a basket, put the sweets inside and went out to sell them. Half an hour later, he returned home with nothing but a pocket full of money. The 30 sweets yielded 30 bucks!

The third one, John, was thinking about how to make money. But when he got home, he found his mother in distress. His three-year-old brother had tripped and gotten hurt, and his mother needed to buy medicine for him. John felt the note in his pocket and took a deep breath; He reached into his pocket and handed the money to his mother. She went to the pharmacy, brought medicine to relieve her son’s pain and was happy. Soon the little one was sound asleep.

The fourth boy, Gabriel, left school wondering what to do with his money. Passing by a small square, he saw his friends playing marbles for money. So he decided to do the same. On his turn, he won a few coins. Excited, he kept going. But he lost what he had won from gambling and also his teacher’s money. With nothing in his pocket, he went home very sad.

The fifth kid, Murilo, knew that the situation at home was serious. There was no money for anything. Both his father and mother were unemployed so the family had nothing to eat and his brothers were crying with hunger. Thus Murilo gave the 10 bucks to his mother to buy something to feed them. On that day, Murilo was happy to see the cheerful faces of his siblings. He had missed the opportunity to make more money but his conscience was clear.

On the day set by the teacher, after the classes, the chosen students had to explain how they used the 10 bucks, and each one of them told the class what they had done with the money they had received. In the end, the teacher asked the students what they thought of the outcome of the experiment. Each one gave their opinion about what they had done with the 10 bucks. And the teacher explained:

- You see? Everyone had to use their heads to figure out how to use the money they had received. I am glad to see that in general they acted on behalf of their families, not just themselves, right?

Everyone agreed. But Aline raised her hand and considered:

- Generally speaking, they used their money well. However, there are students who have thought more about the needs of the family than about them. I found this very important, teacher. With the exception of Gabriel who only thought of himself. He was delighted to make more money, not caring about anyone else. I think he deserved to lose. 

Embarrassed, Gabriel agreed with his classmate, and said:

- You’re right, Aline. After I learned how the others spent their money, I understood that they were much better than me, and I learned how much need there is out there that we do not know.

All the students clapped their hands and the teacher thanked everyone for their collaboration. 

- Do you understand what I wanted in the test? That you guys reflected on each other's situations and presented the best solution! 

 MEIMEI

(Psychographed by Célia X. de Camargo on 21/11/2016.)