Hero
Real life heroes don't wear capes, stand in the spotlight, or have movies made about them. Real life heroes make a difference in the world around them. Tali writes an essay about her real-life hero.
"A hero doesn't wear a fancy cape or costume. A hero is a person who is admired or idealized for courage, outstanding achievements, or noble qualities, according to the dictionary," ten-year-old Tali read from her essay in front of the fifth-grade class. She looked up at her classmates; most of them seem bored. She wished that they could have at least acted interested in her essay, as she did for theirs. Even though Tali was the penultimate student to read her work, she felt that the others had the obligation to try to pay attention.
"Hey, guys, I know we've been sharing essays for a while, and it can get boring, but please hear my story," she looked around at her classmates. "I promise you that my nomination for a hero is very different from the ones we've heard so far." Several of the others looked up at the young DiNozzo.
"Some of you shared about sports stars, or film stars. My hero is a real-life person," she grinned and continued reading her essay.
"The characteristics of a true hero are not always easy to define. When I researched them, this is what I found. A hero is brave and courageous. A hero is determined, helpful, and honest. A hero believes in what he or she is doing and has a strong conviction to helping others. A hero may sacrifice or risk personal loss to benefit others and expects no reward or recognition for his or her efforts.
"Many of the true heroes in our world often go overlooked as they quietly go about helping many others without calling attention to themselves. When someone does notice, they often downplay their role or shy away from the limelight." Tali looked up at her teacher, who was frowning. She glanced around at the other students; most were looking bored. She was determined to continue, her hero deserved the recognition.
"My parents have a friend who we call Mr. Jean. He helps refugees from all over come to his city to escape terrible conditions in their own countries, such as war. Mr. Jean helped women and children escape a war-torn Eastern European country. He travelled from his home, across several countries to bring needed supplies to refugees who left everything behind to escape. He helped sick children get to a hospital in his hometown when the hospital in their home country was damaged by war.
"Mr. Jean is a true hero. He does not wear a cape or a fancy costume. He is a person just like you and me who has made a commitment to help others," Tali finished reading from her paper and looked at the class. One girl raised her hand to ask a question. Tali nodded at her.
"So why did you write about this person? He's not famous," Lydia smirked as she looked at her pals in the class. "Not like Magic Johnson who Kevin wrote about, or Brittney Spears that I wrote about."
Tali took a breath in, she counted to ten before replying, "Because, unlike your famous people, who hog the spotlight, Mr. Jean really makes a difference and helps people without expecting any rewards, recognition, or attention. He makes people's lives better because he is a good human being, not a rich rock star or sports star."
Lydia huffed, "That's stupid, if you ask me."
"Whatever," Tali shrugged. "We have different opinions on what makes a hero."
The teacher spoke up, "Tali, you have missed the point of the assignment. Your grade is a D. You can rewrite your essay to raise it to a C, if you choose a well-known hero to write about."
"No. ma'am. The assignment directions said to write about a real or fictional person who represented the qualities of a hero to me. Mr. Jean IS a hero by many definitions. I chose him as my hero for the humanitarian work that he does and the many people he has helped. I did follow the assignment directions. I also believe that I should earn more than a D. I told about my hero and listed reasons that he is a hero, just as you asked in the assignment directions."
The teacher rose from the chair where she had been sitting while the class read their essays. "Well, you have now just lowered your grade to an F for arguing and talking back." Several of the clique girls in the class snickered.
Tali turned away from the class and strode to the teacher's desk with her essay in her hand, "My Abba says to pick your battles wisely. I am going to argue that my paper does not deserve an F or a D. I met all the requirements that you gave in the assignment directions. My essay has no spelling, grammar, or mechanics errors. Just because you have a different definition of a hero does not make my choice of a hero wrong. Mr. Jean IS a true hero."
"I have heard enough from you, Talia DiNozzo. You will report to the main office immediately for disciplinary action. Talking back, arguing, and being rude to an adult are just the beginning of the offenses. I will send the rest of your work for today to the ISS teacher." She turned her back to Tali and grabbed the handset for the internal communications system to call the assistant principal for disciplinary issues.
"FINE." Tali huffed and grabbed her bookbag from under her desk. "Happy to leave from where I am disrespected."
"WHAT. DID. YOU. SAY? Young lady, you have just doubled your punishment for being rude and disruptive as well as disrespectful. Leave for the office, now," the teacher pointed to the door. "I never…" she muttered to herself.
~Hero~
Ziva entered the main office at the elementary school; she signed in to the visitors' log and waited for her ID sticker to print. She retrieved the sticker from the thermal printer and peeled the backing off to affix the Visitor's badge to her top.
"Mrs. DiNozzo?" the administrative assistant called to Ziva. "Ms. Steffey will see you now."
Ziva followed the woman back through the short hallway to the assistant principal's office. The door was open and the admin motioned for Ziva to enter.
"Good afternoon, Sue" Ziva greeted the other woman. "Same teacher with Tali's latest run-in?"
"Yes, I'm afraid so. Seems that she and Mrs. Griffith are like two strange cats in the night," the assistant principal sighed. "This is the tenth incident in as many days."
Ziva shook her head, "I do not understand. Tali may be a prankster at times, but she is also a serious student. She is generally respectful of authority and adults."
"I agree. And until this year, she has very few major discipline issues on her record. In fact, only that fight when she was in second grade…" Sue scrolled through the youngster's records on the computer. "With this being offense number ten, we will have to do a week of in-school suspension for Tali."
"Have you asked for Tali's side of the issue?"
"Yes, and for the record, I agree with your daughter on this one. In my opinion, her only offense was her tone of voice. Tali admitted that she did raise her voice when directed to leave the classroom and report here."
"Oh? What happened?" Ziva was now curious more than anything.
"Tali read an essay that she wrote to the class as part of the assignment. One of the other students asked a question and Tali replied that her interpretation of the assignment was different from the other girl's take. Mrs. Griffith then told your daughter that she had misinterpreted the assignment and as it stood, the grade was a D. She then offered for Tali to bring the grade up to a C by redoing the work. Tali says that she argued that she did indeed follow the directions and that her essay should have a higher grade.
"I looked at the assignment instructions; Tali is correct that she did indeed do as assigned. When she argued her point, Mrs. Griffith took offense and lowered the grade to an F. Tali chose to argue further, and was ultimately asked to leave the room for being disrespectful and disruptive."
"Is this the hero assignment?" Ziva wondered aloud.
"Yes!"
"Tali was quite proud of her essay when she finished it the other night. Our friend is a hero to many, and he deserves to be recognized as such," Ziva reflected on the discussion she had with her eldest as the girl worked on the assignment.
Ms. Steffey nodded, "She did write an excellent essay; I have asked another fifth-grade teacher to review it and assign a grade. That can then be her officially recorded grade for the assignment. However, with charges of talking back and being disrespectful, I will have to take some action. As I noted earlier, after the tenth offense, a week of in-school suspension is the norm…"
"Have you told Tali yet?"
"No; I was waiting for you to arrive first," Sue hit the intercom button and asked for Tali to be brought into the office.
Tali came in and sat next to her Ima. She listened to Ms. Steffey explain that her tenth offense would require ISS. She nodded and shrugged her shoulders, accepting her punishment.
"I'm okay with that," she answered. "Beats sitting in the classroom with someone who hates me."
"Tali!" Ziva reprimanded her daughter. "You know Abba and I have taught you to be respectful of everyone…"
"I know Ima, but that teacher does not like me. I will try to stay off her radar, though. Is that good enough?"
Ziva pulled her eldest into a side hug, "Do your best to respect her and avoid any troubles. And I am proud of you for writing about Mr. Jean as your hero. Tonight, I would like to email him a copy of your essay. Is that okay?"
"Uh-huh. He is a true hero!"