Bob – Look ! My flowers have bloomed ! They are orange ! Waw ! So beautiful !
John – And mine are yellow !
Bob – Are they daffodils ?
John – Daffodils ? (giggles) Of course not !… Axelrod ! Axelrod !
Thirty seconds later…
Teacher – Yes ? What is going on ? (smile)
Bob – Our flowers have grown ! Are they daffodils ?
Teacher – Oh, I see… Well, they are nasturtiums. That’s great ! You can take them home in a pot, or we can eat them.
John and Bob – Eat them ? (goggled eyes)
Teacher – Yes ! We can prepare a beetroot and nasturtium salad with walnuts !
Bob (wailing) – I don’t want my flowers to be eaten !
John – I do !
Teacher – So, let’s use your flowers, John ! And I will put yours in a flower pot, Bob ! (sigh of relief)
Ten minutes later, in the classroom…
Rose – Axelrod, your salad is yummy !
Petunia – Scrumptious !
Myrtle – The flowers taste like pepper !
Florian – Like peppermint, I would say !
Daisy – It’s delicious !
Bob (in an undertone) – Weirdoes…
Teacher – Now children : do you remember what happened to the toboggan in the yard two months ago ?
Oliver – It was damaged because of hailstones !
Teacher – That’s right ! The Town Council promised to replace it… But we will have to wait until next year !
Pupils (disappointed and angry) – Oh !
Teacher – That’s why we have made some outdoor toys for you to play with. Follow me !
Pupils (casting astonished glances at each other) – We ?
One minute later…
Jeff – It’s a new toboggan !
Teacher (smiling) – Look at your new toys ! (moving a blue cloth that covered a big object)
Joachim – Waw ! A wooden house !
Begonia - Oh, look, Joachim ! Your last drawing ! The one with the UFO !
Wyatt – And here is yours, Begonia ! The one with the train on the moon !
Simon – The walls inside are upholstered with our drawings !
Wren – Look ! On the table !
Wilbur – Oh ! The doll’s tea set we made with clay !
Rufus – What is inside this box ?
Fern – The toys we made with salt dough !
Basil – That’s right ! Look at my orange elephant !
Lillian – Peony, here is your fireman !
Peony – Oh ! So cute ! I forgot about it !
Posey – Look at my unicorn !
Ivy – Outstanding !
The pupils were definitely enthusiastic thanks to their teacher’s fancy and imagination. Here was Axelrod’s superpower : he managed to create well-being in his class in a very simple way, for example by reusing the toys, craft and drawings his pupils had made last year. He was a hybrid of an alive time capsule and Father Christmas. Thanks to him, the pupils rediscovered their forgotten creations with enthralled eyes and remembered the merry time they had spent together for three years already.
Ding ! Ding ! Ding !
Teacher – So children,enjoy your meal ! Don’t forget your Maths exercise and your dictation this afternoon !
At the exit door…
Bob – Mum, here are my nasturtiums !
Bob’s mother – Great ! We’re going to replant them on the balcony !
Bob – No way ! We’re going to make a salad with beetroot and walnuts !
Bob’s mother cast a quizzical look towards Axelrod, who smiled at her.
Kalima BASSEY