The Golden Rule

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.