His name escapes me, but my memory of him never will. Grade 5, A.V. Graham, circa 1986. He was a smart, inquisitive, child - some might call him a Poindexter - and he had a relish for science and experimentation. We had been using magnifying glasses in class for a science something-or-other and he embraced the tool wholeheartedly.
One bright and sunny Spring day I was on yard duty and just happened to catch a glimpse of him streak around the corner of the building, bolt to the door, and enter the school, without permission. I quickly followed him into the building and caught sight of him darting into our classroom.
As I swung into the room, I was so ready to bellow, "Just what do you think you're doing?" but I pulled up short. There, at the emergency exit door across the room in the corner, was my student smacking away with his hands at the construction paper, taped to the window - which was on fire! Just then the fiery window covering fell to the floor and he stamped it out.
"What the heck is going on?" I asked. He turned around, surprised to see me there.
"I accidentally set the paper on fire from outside. I, uh, wanted to see if a magnifying glass could burn through glass," he stammered. He added sheepishly, "I guess it can."
After determining that he hadn't burned himself, I proceeded to praise him; not for setting the school on fire, but for not panicking.
"Some other student might have gotten scared and run away into the school yard, but you did the right thing in trying to stop the fire." This seemed to settle him down a bit. "But if this ever happens again, and I'm sure it won't, but if it were to happen again, tell a teacher and don't put it out yourself. Ok?"
"Yes, Mr. Farrer."
"Now get outside. And let's just leave the magnifying glass inside your desk."
No comments:
Post a Comment