I Can Fix It

Poor Jimmy Walker. He'll never amount to much. He's always daydreaming in class, and the teacher has to practically shout to get his attention. Maybe writing I WILL NOT FORGET MY HOMEWORK AGAIN on the chalkboard 25 times will cure him of his dreaming ways. But then, Jimmy disappears! How dare he leave school in the middle of the day! Mrs. Brookens will just have to have a good, long talk with his parents. They'll surely find a suitable punishment to bring Jimmy back in line.

Beloved teacher, Miss Hunter, once let the kids bring an injured bird into the classroom, to learn how to care for his injuries as part of their science studies. (It wasnt in the Science book, but then, Miss Hunter often came up with great ideas that weren't in the textbooks.) But Miss Hunter wasn't here this year, and Mrs. Brookens didn't even like Science. There were a lot of things Mrs. Brookens didn't like or didn't understand, and she let you know what they were. Jimmy Walker forgot his homework, an essay about someone he admired, and Mrs. Brookens was mad. When Jimmy left school while the rest of the kids were enjoying recess (without getting dirty -- Mrs. Brookens didn't like that, either), the whole class knew Mrs. Brookens would be driving her beat-up old car to the Walker house after the school day to complain about Jimmy. Mrs. Walker was none too happy about the way Mrs. Brookens has disciplined Jimmy, by making him miss lunch, and she let Mrs. Brookens know that her son was not only a bright child, but a respectful and dutiful boy as well, if allowed to be. Mrs. Brookens laid off Jimmy after that, and she was rewarded by Jimmy's finishing an essay about a person he admired - turned out to be Mrs. Brookens - and by fixing that old beat-up hot rod of hers. Seems Jimmy Walker can fix just about anything, and if you think he's not paying attention but daydreaming, he's probably imagining ways he can enlarge his factory and hire more workers to create, build, and repair anything.

I am a former school teacher who has written short stories about children's unique concerns, disabilities, worries, and hang-ups, bringing to light all those things a child believes to be his problem alone, and showing children they are not alone. As I shared these solution-based stories with my classes, children realized that everyone has something on their mind that is terribly important to that individual. Through story-induced discussions, children came to understand that life hands us some obstacles, but all can be accomplished with a little help from friends.