A Short Story…
Some teachers don’t care about their students. They, like some regular workers around the world, only care about getting paid and don’t really care about the students in their charge. Mr. Trilore, a local teacher, cared . . . and because he cared, he wanted to get through to his charges and somehow make them understand that they could be throwing away their lives if they aren’t learning, caring, preparing and understanding the world they are entering.
The main target for Mr. Trilore was Noah. Noah was lazy, overweight, and although he could read easily, he didn’t. Mr. Trilore came across Noah’s issue early on.
One late September Monday morning, Mr. Trilore said, “I just have issues with this Puyallup Valley berry box. Why do they have these little containers with holes in them? Are the holes really important? Does anyone know?” Now, Noah’s siblings worked picking berries on the weekends to make money for the family. When no one responded, Mr. Trilore said, “A candy bar for the first answer that makes sense!” Noah nearly knocked over his desk getting up with the answer “A berry box is made of a durable molded fiber so it absorbs excess moisture. Vents keep the produce fresh and food safe.”
Mr. Trilore’s jaw nearly dropped and he asked “How do you know that?” Noah simply added, “My older sister and I have been picking berries and she mentioned the boxes a few weeks ago.” Mr. Trilore continued as he walked to the back of the room where Noah sat. “Do you pick berries?” was Trilore’s next question. Noah simply said, “Not if I can help it.” Most of the kids in the class laughed. Trilore also laughed and then said, “There’s an empty seat in the front row. I would like you to take it . . . along with the candy bar.” In an instant Noah was sitting in the front row ready to eat the candy bar.
As Mr. Trilore asked similar questions from time to time, he recognized the attention span of his students had lengthened. He preferred using prizes of fruit, but after a while, the students didn’t seem to care. They just enjoyed winning. Noah was quick and active and even helped deliver the prizes to the winners when he lost.
As time went on, every student in Trilore’s classes was inducted into the Honor Society that school year. The top echelon of the public school system praised Mr. Trilore. He had raised this school to one of the top classes in all the district high schools. Following along was Noah. He was still a little hefty, but his mind was running on all cylinders.
Near the end of the school year, Mr. Trilore called Noah in to his office. Noah took the chair right by Mr. Trilore’s desk. Noah looked all around and asked “What, no candy bars?” They both laughed. Trilore said, “I’ve got something better for you.” Noah smirked and responded, “Something sweeter?” Mr. Trilore said, “It doesn’t get much sweeter. It seems that we have two universities wanting you to help other high schools get activated to become a stellar school, as ours has. One is in Seattle and one is in Los Angeles. Which would you choose?”
Noah, with tears in his eyes, said, “Seattle, of course.” They both nodded their heads up and down and laughing. Mr. Trilore said, “I think that would be a great choice for both you and our local schools,” as he handed over a one-pound candy bar. They both laughed with tears in their eyes. A four- year scholarship to one of Washington’s most prestigious colleges? Here comes the next Mr. Trilore!
Ouch! Educators that don’t care about students don’t last long in what is a very challenging and demanding job. Tacoma’s three “Gates” High Schools put hundreds of students into colleges and universities with the assistance of many dedicated Educators at MountTahoma, Lincoln, and Foss High Schools, building on the earlier efforts of caring and supportive Educators working in Tacoma’s Elementaryand Middle Schools. I guess you need to work side by side with them to appreciate what they do daily.
Cynthia,
Thank you for commenting. I’ve seen teachers who just go through the motions and others who bend over backwards to make sure their students learn, continue, and succeed. The teacher in the short story was based on a teacher I had in the sixth grade. Later in college I had both teachers who I can’t even remember their faces and others who encouraged me. I think Peg did well because she wanted to succeed regardless (her father was in the military and they moved back and forth from Tacoma to Europe (France and Germany). We met at UPS and talked about books and music. I have a number of movies I have watched numerous times because I liked both the actor and the teacher they portrayed . . . encouraging their students to learn and put forth the effort to learn and grow as an individual. By all means, please continue to read our short stories AND make suggestions and comment. If you have a storyline you think we might like to write about, please, let me know. (trainingmedia@yahoo.com). Thank you again for commenting. Don
I remember being a student in Mr. Trilore’s classroom. Unless mistaken it was in junior high health class, I believe, at Mann. He was a good man and a good teacher.
Yes, the real Mr Trilore. I spoke with him at Mann one afternoon and apologized. He set me straight at Navy Base. I was clowning around with two buddies. He pulled me aside and said you’ll pass the upcoming test no matter what, but your buddies won’t. What kind of friend are you? He left the three of us in the music room to clown around. I took the role of teacher and explained some of the questions on English that would be coming up on the test. They both got Ds, but otherwise would have gotten Fs. I got a B but was at least proud of the efforts of my buddies. I think Mr Trilore appreciated my “thank you”. This story was a “thank you” for him and his caring about his students. The world needs more teachers like Mr Trilore.