Lavo Standard (3) (6-18-09)

On Tuesday, Juno couldn’t resist showing off Libro to her classmates and was making use of a carrying tote for dogs. Some 20-minute-or-so walk to the school was the same distance. Although Daryl’s disappearance and Mathew’s attendance on top of Katz’s affected the mood along the route a little, it was too early for the 4th grader to consider the incident head-on.

The school was located in the midst of fields and greenery. As the summer was slowly however steadily creeping in, breezes inserted the cool into the atmosphere laden with hints of warmth.

Perry was the common (homeroom) teacher of her class of thirty-something. Aged in his middle thirties, though he was not tall, his thick arms were uncovered, free of a short-sleeved business shirt.

He with close-cropped hair was kind of a laid-back type. He was not talkative nor outspoken, often looking introverted. Instead, he preferred to let children act at their own discretion, practice high observation and apply optimum responses. His powers of observation were a talent, with his watch that covered the entire classroom, and he attentively listened to children’s opinions. He loved them. In turn, Juno and her friends liked his leniency and kindness.

The first class of the day was beginning.

“Good morning,” Perry said.

“Good morning!” students energetically responded.

Perry had set arrangements to reflect his policy and facilitate watching students: The desks of students shaped a “U” to encircle the teacher in the forward part of the classroom. In the situation students made an equaler distance to him. The idea had been introduced at a school elsewhere, did kindle his interest and lead to gaining the principal’s permission.

The public school was wide open for families from a range of social statuses, and the desk arrangements helped Perry ascertain students’ characteristics: Chris was acting a role model, focusing on both the textbook and Perry; Doc and Henry were in chit-chat, sitting next to each other; and Natz was wearing an uncanny smile, gratuitously.

Perry didn’t deny the significance of private schools--generally with more exam-minded students and higher tuition fees--and admitted that their graduates would shoulder social responsibilities as heavy as working as a doctor, a lawyer or a politician. Despite the acknowledgement, he opted to teach in a public school, wanting to help his students grow up to be each manifestation of respectable adults. This objective seemed harder as the parents of his students demanded that he play a role even as a mentor, being involved with their personal concerns in addition to just the results of written examinations.

Furthermore, with basic education taken for granted, in the event their children or teachers were underperforming these parents could raise complaints; Some parents might have believed that teachers were supposed to address all the problems of their children. Thus to be responsible in education might have appeared an unfair deal, but Perry loved the profession hoping that the future success of his students would compensate for his efforts.

This morning again, Perry’s oversight shed light on his students’ clothes representing various financial backgrounds: Some looked of wealthy families while some of the rest looked poor. The social-status gaps might have been more obvious in public schools.

Perry acknowledged that exam results of his students on the poorer side tended to be lower than those of the richer. Thanks to his experience he knew that many in the former group couldn’t concentrate on studying, lacking their own private rooms at home; and that their families couldn’t afford fees for cram schools whose teaching contents were more intensive than public schools’.

Nowadays, children could study in a library where plenty of books and the Internet were available for free. A private room at home, however, was still a great advantage for those trying to achieve high marks in examinations.

Being able to do well in written examinations must have been a prerequisite to enter a university that was largely taken as a direct path to a job. But if children were assessed only by numerical results--a convenient system for educators--and believed those were based on most credible standards they should rely on, discrimination or even bullying would more likely come about.

Perry took high communication skills important that would work for uniting people from different environments together. In addition, unless students’ motivation for studying was cancelled out, an individual pace of studying would last in their adult days. In the future, they with such diligence could walk side-by-side with their children at home or outside; A parent might be teaching their child or children.

Still, written examinations succeeded in indicating objectively how well students had bred basic understandings on the main subjects, and Perry would absolutely be pleased seeing his students’ good results. Yet if one of schools’ roles was to be a simulative society, communication skills weighed as important as academic performance. It had been a possible option for Perry to work in a private school with unique students, yet his instinct, at least for the time being, suggested a public school.

Now, as Perry at the focus of students’ attention was calling the roll, the U-aligned desks let him find something unusual.

“Good morning, Juno,” Perry said.

“Good morning, Perry.”

“Good morning, sir, ” Perry turned his head a little and said.

“And who are you?”

“(Good morning), ” Libro came forward from around Juno’s feet, showed a smile, and squeaked.