Many people can attest that being a teenager isn't easy, and while there are some who try to test the limits of adult authority, others are just going through a hard time.
One English teacher decided to take an unconventional approach when dealing with a student who fell asleep during his class, and after sharing his story online with the world, he became an instant hero.
Most teachers would have punished their student for falling asleep during school hours and missing an in-class essay, but high school teacher Monte Syrie did no such thing.
He decided that not only would he opt out of waking the student, who he identified as "Meg", but he would also accept her late essay. His reasoning was based on the fact that teenagers have struggles outside of the classroom that they shouldn't be punished for.
He explained in his Twitter thread that the student "was not being rude or disrespectful yesterday when she nodded off. She was tired. So I gave her a break. I can do that."
He said he believes in being patient with students and trusting his instincts as an educator. He knew this wasn't a student with a history of behavior problems or slacking — she was just tired.
"She takes a zero-hour class before the normal school day and does farm chores before that," Mr. Syrie explained. "She runs track. And she's a teenager, with all of the social, academic, and life pressures that go along with it."
As he wrote,
"In a different room, Meg may have been written up for sleeping in class and given a zero for a missing essay, but she wasn't in a different room; she was in my room. My room."
Mr. Syrie understands that not all students have the same experiences, explaining "I firmly believe that one size fits all is madness, I adjust to each student, trusting my instincts, trusting what I know."
In fact, people pointed out that the teacher's actions weren't just kind, but are also necessary for helping students in need.
"People like you understand that life is not a book of rules," this user wrote. "You have the respect of everyone and you are an example to many of us."
As this person wrote,
"You remind me of a kind and caring teacher I had almost 40 years ago. On the day of my final exam I got terrible abdominal cramps and had to rush out every 15 minutes... When time was up, she let me work overtime since 'we women know what’s going on.'"
Let us know what you think of this story in the comments and if you're inspired by Mr. Syrie's actions!
