The School for Sympathy is an Essay written by English Humorist and Essayist, E.V Lucas. The Essay was originally published in 1911. The essay explores the theme of Sympathy, kindness and humankind.
The School for Sympathy By E.V Lucas Summary
Summary of The School for Sympathy By E.V Lucas
In essay, writer talks about a School where teachers teach students about Sympathy. The school motive is to teach sympathy to its students for people like handicapped and sightless.
The story begins with writer who had heard a lot about Miss Beam’s school. When writer went to Miss Beam’s school for the first time, he saw 12 years old girl whose eyes were covered by bandages, and a boy four years younger than her, taking her kindly from the park. She stops and ask that boy, is there a new guest in school ? The writer feels like that boy is talking about him to that girl. Thereafter, they moves forward.
When writer meets Miss Beam, he says she was same like which he thought about her. She was middle aged, commanding, kind and mature woman. Her hair has started to turn Grey.
According to writer, Miss Beam looks like that she treats every students with love, kindness and sympathy. She provide motherly nature to every students of her. We talk about their school for while, she tells me that they teach simple things to children like other schools like spelling, adding, subtraction, multiplication and writing.
Miss Beam says we teach students few things by reading it or by giving examples. On this writer replied, but I have heard a lot about your school system. Miss Beam says the real aim of opening my school was to teach students about humanity, citizenship and to teach them thoughtfulness. Miss Beam asked me to look out from the window and tell me what you are seeing.
The writer goes to the window and see there’s a big garden behind which there is a playground. The writer tells Miss Beam, that he is seeing a beautiful garden where lots of children are playing happily, but the thing which is troubling me is that all those children are not as healthy and active as I want them.
Then I saw a little girl who has some problem in her eyes. I saw more children who are dealing with same kind of problem. There was a girl who had crutches with her and she was watching others playing. It seem like she can’t walk.
Miss Beam laughs and tells me that she is not lame as it is just her lame day and neither other children are blind because it is just a blind day for them. The writer is shocked and when he again look at Miss Beam, she starts laughing again. Miss Beam tells writer that this is our school system which I wants to explain you in short.
To give children real understanding and information of misfortune, we have made them a part of misfortune, and to pass this whole term every children has to pass through lame day, blind day and deaf day. During blind day, we completely bandage children eyes and expect every children to do it properly without any cheating. We cover children eyes with bandage at night so that when they wake up at next day, they will wake up blind. We ask rest of the children to help them, and this process is educated for both blind and helpers.
Miss Beam told me that there is no suffering in this, children are very kind and they take it as fun. But by the evening, every single person no matter how non serious or casual he is, when reality hit them, they realizes how difficult it is to be specially abled. Blind day is the worst day but few students tells me that mute day, when we cannot speak is worst than blind day. Mute day is worst than blind day is because we can bandage our eyes but can’t our mouth.
Miss Beam takes writer to the bandaged girl who is very small and cute, Miss Beam tells that girl that there is a gentleman who wants to talk to you. Miss Beam leaves me with that little girl and goes away. The writer ask little girl, have you ever tried to uncover your bandage from eyes, that girl replied I never did it because it will be cheating.
She tells writer, I never thought that how awful is blind day because you can’t see anything, we always feel like that someone will hit us or we may fall. The writer ask her, are your guides good for you ? She replied, they are very good and kind, they are very careful.
Thereafter, little girl ask writer for a little walk with her, you start telling me about things around us, and she tells writer that she will be very happy when her blind day will end. According to little girl, being blind is very frightening than any other day like lame day, mute day and deaf day.
The little ask writer, where are we now ? The writer replied that we are in playground now and going toward house. Miss Beam is going at rooftop with tall girl, little girl ask writer what she is wearing, I told her that she is wearing Blue skirt and pink blouse.
The girl replied to writer, I think she is Millie, can you tell me which color her hair is ? The writer told her that her hair color is very light. The little girl tells writer that she is Millie, a head girl who is very good. Thereafter, writer tells girl that there is a old man who is tying Roses. That must be Peter who is gardener and he is hundreds of year old. There comes dark girl who is wearing red clothes, and she is on crutches. The girl replied, she must be Berryl.
The writer says, while telling all about this to little girl, I realized that when I came here and before meeting her, I was not as intelligent as I am now. When Miss Beam comes to me to say goodbye, I felt bad because I am leaving them. Miss Beam tells me that there is something special in my school system which makes people sad when they leave us.
The author came back to the city and he was thinking whether we can see the sorrows of others and share them, maybe not or maybe yes.
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