A LESSON FOR LIFE

My kindergarten teacher died recently.

Her name was Mrs. Farrell. She was a wonderful woman and had lived a full life. A life in which she gave much to many young minds.

One of my most vivid memories of Mrs. Farrell was a lesson one day that was our introduction to the notion of fractions. (This probably sounds so strange since kindergarten kids these days are generally busy checking out the NASDAQ on the Internet, or something like that.)

Mrs. Farrell drew a big apple on the blackboard and then ran a line down the middle separating it into halves. We five-year-olds sat cross-legged on the green mats on the floor, quietly looking on.

"Who can tell me which half of this apple is bigger?" asked Mrs. Farrell.

Holy smokes. It was a toughie. Geez. "The one on the right?"

"No."

Someone else: "The one on the left!"

"No."

Hmmm. Could be a trick. Doesn't hurt to double check these things: "The one on the right?"

"No!"

I seem to recall that this went on for quite a while. I still marvel at how tiny and confused our brains were. Then, one girl, neat and shiny and whom I would immediately resent for being so clever, piped up: "They're both the same."

Bingo!!

It was a great moment in education.

And I didn't know it at the time, but it was my first lesson in politics.

Take care and keep smiling,
Adrian Zupp

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