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After A Student Falls Asleep In His Class, This Teacher Takes The Opportunity To Teach A Lesson To Everyone
Teacher Monte Syrie from Cheney, Washington is probably not the first teacher to have a student fell asleep in his class, but the way he handled it amazed everyone.Syrie, a sophomore English teacher at Cheney High School, shared a story on Twitter of a student who had fallen asleep in his class. Instead of waking her up the teacher decided not to take her behavior personally. The empathetic teacher knew that the girl had been very tired from chores at home and extracurricular activities, so he decided to give her the rest she needed. “I know firsthand how over-full and hectic their lives are,” Syre told Bored Panda.
The teacher didn’t expect for his act of compassion to pay off so soon. Later that day, the student made up for the time she missed, by turning in the essay she was supposed to write during class. “I was moved. I was moved by this kid who, despite all the things that she is juggling in her life, makes it work,” Syre said. “No, she does not do it in the most efficient or exemplary manner, but who does? I don’t. I can barely manage my life, and I, like Meg, can benefit from a little grace now and then” he added.
The Twitter thread went viral and gathered a lot of attention. “Can’t they fire me for that?” Syre wondered, after some people criticised him for the way he handled that situation. However, the vast majority of readers praised the teacher for showing compassion to his student. “Which gives me hope, because it tells me that many “get” and live the human side of education,” Syre told.
It’s not the first time the teacher shows compassion for his students. “Earlier this year, Jaden came to me, and said ‘Sy, I have to do my science.’ He was obviously distressed and was not going to be able to focus on my work, so I let him do what he felt he had to do. He promised he would get my work done that night. He did. Their needs are my primary consideration. I have found that trust and flexibility can take one far down the road, way farther than unbending compliance.”
Hopefully, this will inspire other teachers to be more understanding to their students!
More info: letschangeeducation.com | twitter.com
RELATED:
Meet Monte Syrie, an English teacher from Cheney, Washington
He tries to teach his students not only about grammar but also about compassion and empathy
His post about being kind to a girl who fell asleep in his class went viral
The vast majority of Twitter users praised the teacher for showing compassion for his student
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What do you think ?
Cyril Dieudonne 7 years ago
It's a good teacher obviously, and an even better human being. Only, I can't stop to wonder why it did had to be posted on twitter... I mean, compassion, altruism are human qualities, for sure. But is it still qualities when it serves self promotion? Why when someone does something right, it has to be published for everyone to see? Something is a little bit disturbing I think. I have been teaching as well but I would never even think to tweet: "Today I have been a great human being, an altruist teacher, I let my student sleep"...
rola 7 years ago
The teacher posted it to let other teachers lnow that they dont necessarily know what a student is going through and if they fall asleep in class, it's not a personal affront to the teacher. He posted as an education tool, you d***s. why tf did you guys immediately jump to the conclusion that if it's on twitter it MUST be because he's trying to become internet famous? ffs i wish twitter was around when i was in hs because some of the assy teachers there sure could have benefitted from reading these tweets. Not everything is about fame just because YOU have a hangup about it
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Misterscooter 7 years ago
For as long as he teaches, he will have kids fall asleep in his class. That's high school. Fortunately, he tries to understand the context before passing judgment.
Aaaa Bbbb 7 years ago
I had a troll of a teacher who played boring videos and then squirted us with water guns if we slept, and it still makes me smile to remember him. There are so many types of good teachers in the world, like guy in this article or old Mr. Squirtgun (name changed to protect the guilty).
Nora 7 years ago
This teacher is kind, but letting students sleep in the class may only work if the students are responsible. If so, the class will definitely understand that the sleeping student was ignored because he/she is sick or has a bad day. However, this definitely doesn't work with most teenage and even university students (believe me, I have 19 years olds in college falling asleep in the class). If the teacher lets one episode of sleeping in the class go unnoticed, the other students will take advantage by starting to sleep in the class. Also, they may accuse the teacher as 'unable to maintain order' in the end of term s**t called teacher evaluation. Yes, this is the trouble with teenagers today.
Will Smith 7 years ago
I have to ask, why are the parents making the kid get up at 5am to do chores instead of getting well rested for school? If the kid is falling asleep in class then she has too much going on in her life.
Daria B 7 years ago
My mom is a retired teacher, but I remember her having a similar stance on kids sleeping in class. Particularly the "she was not being rude" part, pretty much like my mother said "at least, they (sleeping students) are not interruping the lesson, or bothering other students). As someone who had difficulties staying awake in university, I admire teachers who understand sleepiness means being tired, not bored. Especially if the student's over all attitude towards the subject is a positive one, turning essays in, doing best on exams, participating in class when possible, etc.
Taryn Wallace 7 years ago
I slept through just about every one of my math classes. The class was at the end of the day I had a zero period, night school and a job. I still passed but I also wonder if maybe my teacher letting me do that was more of a hinderance. Obviously this teacher knew the context of what this little girl was going through but in my situation it kind of gave me a false idea of how things worked in the "real world" I had to learn really quick that my bosses didn't care that I had a hard day at school or that my home life sucked...to them I was there to work and if I nodded off I was not productive enough . I just hope that she understands people like that teacher aren't the norm and sometimes you have to just grin and bare it no matter how exhausting everything else in your life is
Cyril Dieudonne 7 years ago
It's a good teacher obviously, and an even better human being. Only, I can't stop to wonder why it did had to be posted on twitter... I mean, compassion, altruism are human qualities, for sure. But is it still qualities when it serves self promotion? Why when someone does something right, it has to be published for everyone to see? Something is a little bit disturbing I think. I have been teaching as well but I would never even think to tweet: "Today I have been a great human being, an altruist teacher, I let my student sleep"...
rola 7 years ago
The teacher posted it to let other teachers lnow that they dont necessarily know what a student is going through and if they fall asleep in class, it's not a personal affront to the teacher. He posted as an education tool, you d***s. why tf did you guys immediately jump to the conclusion that if it's on twitter it MUST be because he's trying to become internet famous? ffs i wish twitter was around when i was in hs because some of the assy teachers there sure could have benefitted from reading these tweets. Not everything is about fame just because YOU have a hangup about it
Load More Replies... Misterscooter 7 years ago
For as long as he teaches, he will have kids fall asleep in his class. That's high school. Fortunately, he tries to understand the context before passing judgment.
Aaaa Bbbb 7 years ago
I had a troll of a teacher who played boring videos and then squirted us with water guns if we slept, and it still makes me smile to remember him. There are so many types of good teachers in the world, like guy in this article or old Mr. Squirtgun (name changed to protect the guilty).
Nora 7 years ago
This teacher is kind, but letting students sleep in the class may only work if the students are responsible. If so, the class will definitely understand that the sleeping student was ignored because he/she is sick or has a bad day. However, this definitely doesn't work with most teenage and even university students (believe me, I have 19 years olds in college falling asleep in the class). If the teacher lets one episode of sleeping in the class go unnoticed, the other students will take advantage by starting to sleep in the class. Also, they may accuse the teacher as 'unable to maintain order' in the end of term s**t called teacher evaluation. Yes, this is the trouble with teenagers today.
Will Smith 7 years ago
I have to ask, why are the parents making the kid get up at 5am to do chores instead of getting well rested for school? If the kid is falling asleep in class then she has too much going on in her life.
Daria B 7 years ago
My mom is a retired teacher, but I remember her having a similar stance on kids sleeping in class. Particularly the "she was not being rude" part, pretty much like my mother said "at least, they (sleeping students) are not interruping the lesson, or bothering other students). As someone who had difficulties staying awake in university, I admire teachers who understand sleepiness means being tired, not bored. Especially if the student's over all attitude towards the subject is a positive one, turning essays in, doing best on exams, participating in class when possible, etc.
Taryn Wallace 7 years ago
I slept through just about every one of my math classes. The class was at the end of the day I had a zero period, night school and a job. I still passed but I also wonder if maybe my teacher letting me do that was more of a hinderance. Obviously this teacher knew the context of what this little girl was going through but in my situation it kind of gave me a false idea of how things worked in the "real world" I had to learn really quick that my bosses didn't care that I had a hard day at school or that my home life sucked...to them I was there to work and if I nodded off I was not productive enough . I just hope that she understands people like that teacher aren't the norm and sometimes you have to just grin and bare it no matter how exhausting everything else in your life is
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