Teachers influence kids more than people acknowledge. The short stories “Long Long After School” by Ernest Buckler and “A Teacher’s Reward” by Robert Philips show evidence of discriminated students and their relationships with their teachers. Both stories are different from each other however the theme of teachers influencing students remains. The first story is a positive example whereas the second is a negative example. In the next three paragraphs both stories and their differences will be explained.
Ernest Buckler wrote the short story “Long Long After School” where there is evidence of the teacher Miss Tretheway strongly having an influence on her student Wes Holman. The story takes place in a cemetery where Miss Tretheway is buried and Wes is the only one who visits her since “she has no relatives” (48). The narrator talks to Wes and is informed on a lot of new information. Wes explained that him and Miss Tretheway had a lot in common such as always being picked on and not having any friends. The teacher and her student became good friends and definitely had an influence on each other. After talking to Wes about her “somehow [the narrator] had never felt less beautiful or less of a gentleman” (52). This story’s theme is that beauty is truly defined on the inside and not the outside.
In Robert Phillips short story “A Teacher’s Rewards” the student Raybe Simpson is also strongly influenced by his teacher Miss Scofield. In this story the teacher is the one who discriminated her student because of his lack of wealth. In the beginning of the story there is evidence of her barely remembering the man when they meet “…Simpson. Yes I suppose so,” (380) is her attempting to jog her memory. Raybe visits his teacher for negative purposes, he recalls a time when she punishes him for something that is the fault of one of the popular kids. He blames his teacher for “pick[ing] on [Raybe] all the time… never [giving] the chance the others [have]” (386). Since having her as a teacher Raybe has gone to Jail and is disrespected by others. His future is changed by the incidents of Miss Scofield discriminating against him “[his aunt] [does] the best she could without any money” (386) yet she calls him dirty. This story shows an example of a teacher influencing a student in a negative way.
What these stories have in common is student-teacher relationships and how much influence authority figures have on young people. However, these stories have strong contrasting evidence. In the first story the teacher has a positive influence on Wes when they joked together “that was the first time I’d ever been able to say that, and laugh” (52) Wes explained when describing his interaction with Miss Tretheway. On the contrary, Raybe’s interaction with Miss Scofield is extremely different, “[she] hit[s] [him] so hard [his] knuckles ble[e]d. [his] hands [are] sore as boils for weeks” (387) after wrongfully punishing him.
To reflect, in “Long Long After School” the teacher influenced her student in a positive way and he remembers her happily. In contrast, in “A Teacher’s Rewards” the student resents his teacher for messing up his life for him. Yet both stories are examples of how teachers affect their students lives. The best teacher would treat their students fairly and with equity. The larger meaning behind both these stories is that anyone can influence anyone and always being respectful and fair is the best possible way to live.