E.V. Lucas’ “School for Sympathy” - Summary

I had heard a lot about Miss Beam’s School, but I did not get the chance to visit it till last week. When I arrived at the school, I saw a girl of about twelve with her eyes covered with a bandage being led carefully between the flowerbeds by a little boy of eight. She stopped and asked who it was that had come in and he seemed to be describing me to her. Then they passed on.

 Miss Beam was all that I had expected - middle-aged, authoritative, kind and understanding. Her hair was beginning to turn grey, and her round figure was likely to be comforting to a homesick child.

 We chatted for a while, and when I asked her some questions about her teaching methods, which I had heard were simple, she said: ‘…We teach only those things that are simple and useful to pupils- spelling, adding, subtracting, multiplying, writing, etc. The rest is done by reading to them and giving them interesting tasks. There are practically no other lessons.’

‘... I have heard so much,’ I said, ‘about the originality of your system.’

 Miss Beam smiled. ‘Ah, yes,’ she said. ‘I am coming to that.’

‘The real aim of this school is not to teach thought but thoughtfulness, humanity, kindness and citizenship. That is the ideal I have always had, and happily there are parents good enough to trust me to try and put it into practice. Look out of the window a minute, will you?’

 I went to the window, which looked out on a large garden and playground at the back ‘What do you see?’ Miss Beam asked.

 ‘I see some very beautiful grounds,’ I said, ‘and a lot of jolly children. But what surprises me, and pains me too, is that they are not at all healthy and active. As I came in I saw one poor little thing being led about because of some trouble with her eyes. And now I can see two more in the same condition, while there is a girl with a crutch just under the window watching the others at play. She seems to be a hopeless cripple.’

Miss Beam laughed.

 ‘Oh, no,’ she said, ‘She is not lame really; this is only her lame day. Nor are those others blind, it is only their blind day.’

 I must have looked very much astonished, for she laughed again.

 ‘There you have an essential part of our system in a nutshell. In order to get these young minds to appreciate and understand misfortune, we make them share in misfortune too. In the course of the term every child has one blind day, one lame day, one deaf day and one dumb day. During the blind day their eyes are bandaged, and it is a point of honour not to peep. The bandage is put on overnight, they wake up blind. This means that they need assistance in everything, and other children are told to help them and lead them about. It is educative to both of them - the blind and the helpers.’

 ‘Everyone is very kind,’ Miss Beam continued, ‘and it is really something of a joke, although, of course, before the day is over the reality of the disability becomes clear even to the least thoughtful. The blind day is, of course, really the worst, but some of the children tell me that the dumb day is the most frightening. There, of course, the child must use will-power only because the mouth is not bandaged... But come down into the garden and see for yourself how the children like it.’

 Miss Beam led me to one of the bandaged girls, a little merry thing.

‘Here’s a gentleman come to talk to you,’ said Miss Beam, and left us.

‘Don’t you ever peep?’ I asked, by way of an opening.

‘Oh, no,’ she exclaimed, ‘that would be cheating! But I had no idea it was so awful to be blind. You can’t see a thing. One feels one is going to be hit by something every moment. Sitting down is such a relief.’

 ‘Are your guides kind to you?’ I asked. ‘Pretty good. Not as careful as I shall be when it is my turn. Those that have been blind already are the best. It is terrible not to see. I wish you would try.’ ‘Shall I lead you anywhere?’ I asked.

 ‘Oh, yes,’ she said, ‘let’s go for a little walk. Only you must tell me about things. I shall be so glad when today’s over. The other bad days can’t be half as bad as this. Having a leg tied up and hopping about on a crutch is almost a fun, I guess. Having an arm tied up is a little more troublesome, because you have to get your food cut up for you, and so on, at least, not much. But being blind is so frightening. My head aches all the time, just from avoiding things that probably aren’t there. Where are we now?’

‘In the playground,’ I said, ‘going towards the house.’

 Miss Beam is walking up and down the terrace with a tall girl.

‘What has the girl got on?’ my companion asked me.

‘A blue skirt and a pink blouse.’

‘I think it’s Millie,’ she said. ‘What colour is her hair?’

‘Very light,’ I said.

‘Yes, that’s Millie. She is the head girl. She is very decent.’

‘There’s an old man tying up roses,’ I said.

‘Yes, that’s Peter. He is the gardener. He’s hundreds of years old!’

‘And here comes a dark girl in red, on crutches.’

 ‘Yes,’ she said, ‘that’s Berryl.’

 And so, we walked on, and in guiding this little girl about I discovered that I was many times more thoughtful already than usual. I also realised that having to describe the surroundings to another, makes them more interesting.

When Miss Beam came to release me, I was sorry to go. I walked back to the town murmuring (incorrectly as ever) the lines:

Can I see another’s woe, And not share their sorrow too? O no, never can it be, Never, never, can it be.

Answer in a sentence

1. How does Lucas describe Miss. Beam?

2. What is the essential part of the system followed in the school?

3. What change came over the author after his visit to Miss.Beam’s school?

Paragraph

1. Describe the role of Days observed in the school education system.

2. Narrate the experience of the narrator as a guide.

Essay

1. Analyse how different Miss. Beam’s School from other schools.

2. Examine the teaching methods of Miss,Beam.

E.V. Lucas’ “School for Sympathy” gives the idea of the role of school education in our life. Miss Beam is running a different school named ‘School for Sympathy’. The students are taught spelling, adding, subtracting, multiplying, and division. The teaching methodology is simple and interesting. But the real aim of her school is to make children kind and thoughtful. Miss. Beem inculcates a sense of responsibility by setting a five special days for the students.

Students have a blind day, a lame day, a deaf day, a dumb day, a maimed day, and a dumb day in the course. During the blind day, the students cover their eyes completely and experience the life of a blind person. The eyes are covered the previous night before the student goes to bed to understand the problems of a blind person. The boy who is helping her is on his helping duty. Helpers are responsible for assisting the students in need.

During the lame day, the students tie their legs up and walk using a crutch. During the deaf day, the students are made to spend their day without being able to hear anything. During the dumb day, the students are expected to be mute. They face the challenge of remaining quiet by exercising their willpower. Unlike the blind day, their mouth is not covered. They need mouth to eat food, drink water, and also to breathe. During the injured day, arms are tied up through an arm sling.

The narrator asks about the experience of a girl who was on her blind day. She says that she had realised the pain and discomfort faced by a blind person. The blind day gives her a headache because she is always in fear of getting hit by an object. She says that the inability to see anything scares her. In the girl's opinion, the blind day is the worst, followed by the injured day. However, she considers the lame day funny and interesting because she can hop around on crutches.

The narrator becomes her helper, and she asks him to describe the people around them to her. While walking, the narrator sees three people - Millie, the head girl, Peter, the gardener, and Anita, a girl on crutches. He finds that he has become more thoughtful than usual.

Through this unique method of education, the school teaches the students the importance of empathy and kindness. The students learned to understand the problems of the disabled. This developed feelings of sympathy in children. They learned to help the differently-abled people kindly. The story suggests that education should make children good human beings and kind citizens.