Thinking Outside the Lunchbox

Apparently fifty-six million students are expected to go to school across the country this fall. They may have spent seven-plus billion dollars in family clothing stores and more than two billion in bookstores to get ready for the day. They may carry an apple in their lunchbox, or, if anyone still does it, one for the teacher; those would be some of the nation’s nearly ten billion pounds of the shiny fruit produced annually in America.

But there’s no comfort in numbers for parents who can’t help shedding a tear as they turn away. Nor for a child who is unsure of her place or his potential. Parents can wash their anxieties in a plunge at the beach, or that novel they meant to read, or just buck up and be ready for pickup. For the child, there is a teacher.

There are more than seven million teachers in the country, but a child only needs one to change his or her life.

The teacher doesn’t care if you have new pants or a caseful of pens, doesn’t see you as overweight or shy or uncool. All the teacher needs is your imagination — and the teacher can help you find it.

The teacher will have to meet curriculum requirements. But the teacher doesn’t let the minimum required get in the way of the maximum possible.

Robert Fulgham, the Santa-like character who became famous by reminding us to share, play fair and wash our hands in his bestseller All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten, spent decades in a classroom. Rebecca Ransom recalled his teaching:

“‘All lies today!’ Fulghum announced on the first day of class, telling us to introduce ourselves with a fib. The other students could then ask questions, making each person defend his or her story. I wanted to crawl out the door. I was shy and dreaded this kind of attention. ‘I’m a pyromaniac, I said miserably when my turn arrived.

“‘Challenge her!’ Fulghum hollered, and I began to field questions about why, how, when and where I started fires. I was soon on a roll, listing top places to buy gasoline, when class ended. ‘Stellar,’ Fulghum whispered. Relieved, I headed to science class, where — nervous around matches — I regularly had other students light my Bunsen burner.”

Her simple conclusion? We need inspired teachers. On this Island, which can grow smaller as the summer fades, we are lucky to have many teachers who challenge their students to challenge them. When you find these teachers, there really aren’t enough apples in the world to repay them.