DIFFERENT KIND OF SCHOOL
~Summary~
-by Edward Verrall Lucas
The narrator visits a school run by Miss Beam. The school is famous for its unique system. Miss Beam explains that the main aim of
the school is to teach thoughtfulness rather than thought. Hence, the curriculum is simple. They provide basic training in mathematics
and language. The students learn the rest through interesting lectures and by reading.
There is a set of five special days for every student in each term. They are blind day, dumb day, deaf day, lame day, and injured day.
During these days, students will live a life with their respective disability. The other students who are not on their special days will
have the duty to help the needy. They are called the helpers.
The narrator then meets a girl who was on her blind day. She had her eyes covered in bandages. They took a walk around the garden
conversing. The narrator became her helper, and also described the people around him to her. She, on the other hand, shared her
experiences and thoughts about the special days.
When the time had come for the narrator to leave, he told Miss Beam that he was feeling sad to leave the school. He thought that he
had become ten times more thoughtful than he thought he could become. Miss Beam becomes content in knowing that her system
has made an impact on him.
Miss Beam's school teaches the students to become thoughtful and kind.
~Conclusion~
Miss Beam’s school is truly a different kind of school. It teaches kindness and empathy. It makes the children more sympathetic
towards others. Her unconventional ways of teaching also teach the children to appreciate their fortunes.