16. Summary of the lesson

The narrator visits a school run by Miss Beam. The school is famous for its unique system. Miss Beam explains that the main aim of the school is to teach thoughtfulness rather than thought. Hence, the curriculum is simple. They provide basic training in mathematics and language. The students learn the rest through interesting lectures and by reading.

 

There is a set of five special days for every student in each term. They are blind day, dumb day, deaf day, lame day, and injured day. During these days, students will live a life with their respective disability. The other students who are not on their special days will have the duty to help the needy. They are called the helpers.

 

The narrator then meets a girl who was on her blind day. She had her eyes covered in bandages. They took a walk around the garden conversing. The narrator became her helper, and also described the people around him to her. She, on the other hand, shared her experiences and thoughts about the special days.

 

When the time had come for the narrator to leave, he told Miss Beam that he was feeling sad to leave the school. He thought that he had become ten times more thoughtful than he thought he could become. Miss Beam becomes content in knowing that her system has made an impact on him.