A SLICE IN TIME Copyright Paul Audcent 2014
Prologue: Well I confess I had the same problem as Shelly, and I went right through early school until I reached the grand old age of ten when my teacher found my problem! Who said teachers don't only teach!
Sister Mary Magellan joined the teaching order when she was seventeen. She was Irish and from a large tribe of siblings. She was the youngest and as was common in most Irish families their mother liked to have at least one son train as a priest, and if possible, a daughter to join a nunnery. This of course saved the parents the cost of helping them in later life and gave them pride in their children's achievements.
Well Sister Mary had hoped to eventually marry, in fact she had already found the right boy but she submitted to her her parents request and instead joined the order as a novice. Her elder brother did likewise and went of to a seminary.
Some years later found Sister Mary installed at a church school where she became a form teacher for the ten and eleven year olds. It was a co-educational school and highly regarded in the township. Though the many years Sister Mary watched over her charges she would give her best in sorting out a myriad of problems, yet her natural flair was in actually teaching and always she was fair and tolerant to both girls and boys. She remembered what Ursula the eldest sibling told her when she started teaching.
Ursula told Mary, you will have a new set of children every year and with your constant love and instruction they will remember you for the rest of their lives. You borrow them from their parents Monday to Friday and you have them under your wing longer than anyone at that most important stage of their lives They will be a constant source of worry, surprise and pleasure so you are the most fortunate in our family.
In her second year as a teacher and on the first day of term, she had a new class and having taken their names down for the class role she noticed a little girl called Shelly Prouse. In fact Sister Mary had to take a second look before continuing with role taking. As the class progressed she found herself spending more of her attention on Shelly than the others. When school was finished she found herself walking to the window overlooking the road outside and checking that each child crossed safely, particularly Shelly Prouse. Sister Mary was careful not to be overly attendant on Shelly in class but one day she wrote some numerals on the board and asked various children to read and multiply them.
“Shelly Prouse” Sister Mary called out,”What is this multiplied by this,” She pointed to the figures on the board.
Shelly stood up from the rear of the class room and leaned forward, she stuttered and soon her cheeks were red with tears gently sliding down.
“Well maybe you cannot see clearly dear, so wipe your tears and come closer to the front. Michael Leary will change places with you for a moment.”
So Shelly made her way to Michael's now empty seat and she once more glanced up to the board, and hesitated.
“That's fine Shelly I think I will give you a note to take home to your parents, just stay at Michaels desk please until the end of the lesson.”
“May I then return to my seat later,” said a worried Shelly.
“Yes of course, its certainly not your fault, we always seem to have one or two children who have eye problems every year, and as a precaution I've asked your parents to have your eyes tested.” Sister Mary took off her own glasses, “As all of you children can see I need glasses, without them its just an empty classroom, none of you exist!” They all roared with laughter.
And so Shelly returned to class with her new glasses and sat in her old seat and her education proceeded at a fast pace for that year and for many years after.
Sister Mary read in the newspaper years later that a Miss Shelly Prouse had accomplished her Degree in medicine and was to be placed as a Registrar in the local hospital. Sister Mary wondered what particular branch of medicine she has chosen. It was many years later when Sister Mary contracted that awful disease of cancer. She was subsequently sent by her Order to the hospital for treatment, it was here she met her old pupil.
“I shall have to operate Sister Mary, but thanks to you I will see what I am doing.”
“But dear Shelly you don't have your glasses on your nose any more!”
“Well Sister I have. They are small and they fit securely onto my eyes under the lids.
They are called contact lenses, and nowadays you can even get a lazer operation to alter your own lens. I suppose you keep a check on all your new pupils but I am surprised you seem to have been the only teacher to recognise an eye problem.”
“Perhaps but we do have hearing problems to watch for as well Shelly.”
“Well they would be more difficult as some children refuse to hear!”
“Oh do tell me, in your class which ones were they.” exclaimed Sister Mary.
“Oh I think you already know and for what its worth most of us truly believed you had another set of eyes in the back of your head, now lets get you wheeled in for a scan, and for once I can tell my old teacher to stay quite!”
Authors note: Just a forethought about the title, A slice of time. Because each teacher only has that one year to connect with his or her pupils. Well yes I expect a 'passage of time' might have been more realistic, well what do you think!
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