Theme: Deserving, understanding, helping
A special class
Mrs. Valerie was a teacher at a humble school in a small
town in the countryside.
She was a strict educator who always demanded discipline
and dedication from her students. But she was also quite
thoughtful. She cared about each child, gave advice,
encouraged them to be good people.
One of Mrs. Valerie's best students was William, a
studious and hardworking boy. His family lived in a
ranch far from the school.
To go to school, William had to leave home early, and,
on his bicycle, he would ride a few kilometers to get
there.
On the way back, he rode again, sometimes under the hot
sun, sometimes in the rain. But he didn't care. He liked
to study and learn.
One day during class, while explaining the subject, Mrs.
Valerie noticed that William was not paying attention.
Leaning over the table, his head resting on his hand, he
had his eyes far away and his eyelids drooping.
- Guys let's pay attention! I'm explaining something
important - said the teacher.
William straightened in his chair and looked hard at
Mrs. Valerie, who spoke again. But it didn't take long
and the boy was in the same situation again.
Mrs. Valerie called him by name and asked him to improve
his posture and his attention, and William struggled for
a few minutes to get it. However, as soon as the teacher
turned to write on the board, William laid his head on
his arms resting on the table and fell asleep.
Mrs. Valerie, when she turned to the class, saw the boy
sleeping in her class and called again:
- William! Lift up your head! We are in the middle of
class!
The boy didn't even move. He didn't even hear that she
called him. He was sleeping deeply.
- What is going on, William? This is no place to sleep -
said the teacher firmly, willing to wake him up.
- Wait, Mrs. Vale! - Octavio said, suddenly, preventing
the teacher from continuing - William is very tired! He
can't take it!
Octavio was one of William's best friends and told the
teacher that the boy's father was sick and, therefore,
all week William was doing all the work on the farm
alone. William had been waking up at dawn to milk the
cows before going to school. When he returned home,
until evening, he worked a lot and still did his
homework, before going to sleep. That's why he was so
tired.
The teacher listened, thought for a moment, and then
told the students:
- The right time to help someone is when he is in need.
William is not sleeping because of laziness or
indiscipline, on the contrary, he is tired because he is
working a lot, helping his father. He never missed
classes. He is working hard and deserves our help. Let's
let our friend rest and continue the class. I'm going to
write today's story on the board. I want you to copy and
we'll get back to the explanation in the next class.
The teacher filled the whiteboard and the children, in
silence, copied it.
Mrs. Valerie took his notebook from his backpack and she
herself also copied the article from the blackboard.
When she rang the bell at the end of class, William woke
up in embarrassment and shifted in his chair. One of his
colleagues started to laugh and was about to make fun of
him, when he received a scolding look from Mrs. Valerie
and stopped talking.
The teacher didn't comment anything, neither did her
colleagues. Everyone pretended that they didn't notice
anything so as not to embarrass the boy.
Mrs. Valerie ended the class saying that the class was
to be congratulated, as they were great students and as
they were advanced with the subject, she would not give
homework for the weekend.
- Rest, play and enjoy the time with useful things! Good
weekend for all! See you Monday! - she said.
The happy children took their things and left.
William came last. He put his things away, got up and,
embarrassed, apologized to Mrs. Valerie, thinking he was
going to get an earful.
- Come here, my son - she said, hugging him. - Octavio
told me you're helping your father, who's sick. Whoever
helps deserves to be helped too! It's all right.
The two didn't notice, but the kids weren't gone. They
kept spying on the living room door and the window.
That day, the students learned more than the school
subject. They had had a special class, a practice on
earning, understanding, and helping.
Translation:
Larissa Martine - larissa_am@hotmail.com
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