Mr. Merkle spotted a group of his students harassing a man
trying to drag a heavy bag of dog food from his car to his home. He stopped,
got out, glared at the boys and offered to help the man get the large bag into
the house. The man accepted gratefully. Ten minutes later he returned to his
car; the students were gone.
A few days later Mr. Merkle stood in front of his class with
permission forms for a field trip. “Take this to your parents to have them sign
off on a field trip. The class chatted excitedly at the prospect of leaving
school for a mystery field trip. Mr. Merkle told in a note to parents that he
would let them know the details, but they had to call the school to learn more.
Mr. Merkle sighed when the deadline came and a few students
didn’t attend the trip. Their parents expressed concern with the trip stating
their kids were fine. They were the students he wanted most to go. He invited
the parents along to supervise, but promised to chat later with them at
parent/teacher conferences if they declined.
The bus was loaded with students and some parents who were
chaperoning as Mr. Merkle stepped onboard. He greeted the group.
“Good morning,” he began. “Today we are going to take a trip
around the city and visit the senior center. I have worked out a tour speech
just like a tour guide, so I hope you will listen close and pay attention.
There will a discussion on this later.” He saw hands go up and addressed what
he knew was the main question. “No, there is no test. You won’t pass or fail
based on the discussion.” The hands went down. He smiled. “Today we are
learning the meaning of the Golden Rule- treat others as you wish to be
treated, and hopefully remind you that someday in the future, this will be you!
Mr. Merkle spotted some people sleeping in the park and
asked the driver to stop. As they disembarked the bus, the students pointed and
chatted, giggling, at a man asleep on a bench. Mr. Merkle raised his hand to
silence them as the parents stood red-faced at the behavior.
“I talked to him many times over the last few months, and his
man, students, deserves respect. You see, he is a veteran. He spent many tours
in the deserts of the Middle East fighting and sleeping out of doors. Being
inside could be dangerous to his unit; outside they stood a change of getting
away and their often was nowhere to even go indoors. As a result, he feels
unsafe sleeping in his home. He lost his family, his job, his life as he knew
it before going over there. He is an honorable man. Many of the homeless men
and women you see out here suffer from having been over there in battle.”
When the students looked around at the handful of
individuals resting under trees, on benches, or near culverts, they looked down
at their feet. Mr. Merkle directed them back to the bus.
At the senior center they saw older people, some in wheel
chairs, some with walkers, some running around chatting with everyone. One
smiling lady wearing a large flowered dress dashed over the group.
“Oh, there you are! Welcome! Welcome!” she said to them. She
shook Mr. Merkle’s hand. “I know the ladies and gentlemen will be so glad to
see a young face. All they get all day is to stare at these other old people,”
she said, winking at the kids. “I hope you will join us for lunch. I promise;
no mush or prunes.”
The kids looked wide-eyed at her and laughed.
As they splintered off into groups with a parent accompanying
each they joined groups of older people and talked with them. Mr. Merkle
stopped at a table with the man he had helped with the dog food. He shook his
hand. Sitting next to him was the man’s wife in a wheel chair and lying on the
floor was a huge Great Dane. “How’s Bruno?”
The man smiled. “Eating well, as you can see, and happy as a
clam,” the man answered. His wife sat there barely moving. “You’ll have to
excuse Betsy, children. She had a stroke some years ago and doesn’t say much.
Bruno is her companion animal, so please don’t pet him. He is here for her.” He
motioned for them to sit at the table.
After lunch, the students and parents loaded the bus and
went back to school. The students who did not attend were told to report back
to class to participate in the discussion.
“So, what did you learn?” Mr. Merkle asked one girl who had
been with his group.
“I learned that Mr. Decker used to be a brick mason, but the
years of heavy lifting took a toll on his back and joints and now he can’t lift
things very well. His wife used to be a school teacher and had a stroke shortly
after retiring. They had planned on traveling, but now they just stay home and
he does what he can. He really appreciated your helping with that dog food bag
the other day. That is some big dog! He helps let Mr. Decker know when his wife
needs something if he’s not in the room.”
Mr. Merkle smiled. “Well, that was some speech. Thank you.
Did anyone else want to contribute?”
One by one the students recounted what they learned from the
discussions with the senior citizens and a couple commented on the homeless
veterans in the park. One of them was a relative of one of the student’s. He
had no idea that was where his uncle was living.
The boys who had bullied Mr. Decker met with their teacher after
class.
“Did you learn anything from what the other kids were
saying?” Mr. Merkle asked.
“Yeah, I missed a really lame field trip,” one of them said.
Mr. Merkle shook his head. “Then I’m sorry for you. Don’t
you have any grandparents or know any elderly people?”
“No. I mean, I do, but they live far away and I don’t know
them. I haven’t seen them in years.”
Mr. Merkle sighed as he looked at the boys. “Do you all feel
the trip was a waste?” There were four of them. He got blank stares in return.
“One day, those old people will be you. Someone will treat you the way you
treated Mr. Decker. I hope you remember picking on that old man when it does
and then you will know how he felt. Now get out of here and go home,” he said
sadly.
A parent who had stayed behind to witness the discussion
patted the teacher on the shoulder. “You can’t win them all. I learned that a
long time ago. Hopefully they are blessed with good health until their last
days.”
“I heard that. Thanks for coming along. I’ll see you in a
couple weeks.”
The two parted as Mr. Merkle locked his classroom door.
