The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond XXX

Evan Horton
Helen Sullivan, Teacher
Hurley K-8 School
Courage does not mean you have to take risks. Courage means you’re brave,
and not letting things or people bring you down. I was sitting on the couch,
waiting for my brother and sister so we could go to school. I was really excited
for my first day of kindergarten.
“C’mon boys,” said my foster dad. We raced downstairs and got into the
minivan. When we got to school, we said goodbye to my foster parents and
headed inside. We met the teachers and our classmates.
“Good morning kindergarteners!” said my teacher. “We have some new
students today! Do you want to introduce yourselves?” We both walked up
to the front of the classroom and said our names and one thing about us.
My brother had a hard time talking so I had to help him. Three kids in
front of us started laughing. Unfortunately, the teacher didn’t see them.
So I had to step up.
After class, I went to my teacher and told her what happened. She told their
parents and I felt very confident about the rest of the year. But I guess I got
too excited.
The next day, I came to school and we were taking turns reading. Again, my
brother was having a hard time. And this time, when I helped him read, one
of the boys said, “Dummy!” I got really upset so I asked the teacher if my
brother and I could sit down in the office.
At recess, the boys were laughing at us, so I came up to them and said, “Not
cool. If your sibling was autistic, you wouldn’t like it if I made fun of them
and laughed at them.” I told my foster mom what happened. She was really
frustrated and went to talk to the principal.
Later, my biological dad talked to me about what happened. He said, “Make
sure they don’t bring you down. Because that will only make you weaker.” I
took that advice and strapped it to my mind.
The next day, it was going better and I was still thinking about what my
dad said. At lunch, the boys were making sassy faces at us across the table.
I ignored them and finished my lunch. On the way back inside, one of the
boys pushed me with his shoulder, so I pushed him back. But I remembered,
violence is wrong. Stop. I went home furious because I would have to deal with
this all year long.
The Courage of Children: Boston and Beyond
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