Alabama teacher, grieving his father-in-law’s death, is moved as a sixth-grader comforts him with her 'ice-cream' money
'This is for your wife,' she said, showing the world how kindness makes a huge difference
A classroom is rarely a place of silence, yet a heavy stillness hung over the desks at Madison Elementary School on February 20th. This happened because eight years ago, the class teacher, Price Lawrence, who was quietly mourning the loss of his father-in-law, finally let his 'business as usual' mask slip. His students could tell something was wrong with their teacher, and so he had no choice but to tell them the truth. While other students comforted Lawrence by offering heartfelt condolences, a little girl stood out, going above and beyond with a small act of solidarity. The Alabama teacher's post received 1.3 million likes on Facebook.
The 'ice-cream money'
Lawrence, seemingly distressed by his father-in-law's demise, told his students that he was worried about his wife. Upon hearing this, all his students comforted him, except for a little girl who was quietly planning a heartfelt surprise. As soon as his class got over, and Lawrence stood near the door for the usual send-off routine, she handed him something unusual. Well, the little girl gave away the money she had gotten to buy herself an ice cream so Lawrence's wife could use it in her father's funeral. "This is for your wife. I know it was real expensive when my daddy died, and I don’t really want ice cream today anyways," the little girl said while handing over the most precious gift to her teacher. Overwhelmed by the gesture, Lawrence wrote, "I wish the world would pay more attention to children. We could learn a lot from them."
In the world of grand gestures, this sixth-grader showed everyone that it's not about being over the top; it's about intentions. Lawrence also shared a photo of the note the little girl attached to the coins she handed him. "Mr. Lawrence, I'm sorry," it read. Although this wholesome act might seem like a one-time thing, it's not.
Children lead adults in empathy
In an experiment conducted by Felix Warneken and Mike Tomasello, it was found that kids as young as 18 months old readily stepped in to help strangers. The researcher performed various everyday tasks, and one of them was hanging clothes. While doing so, Warneken deliberately dropped a clothespin to understand the kids' willingness to help someone in need. Interestingly, in 84% of the time, the kids offered help within the first 10 seconds, even though Warneken never asked for help. Shocked by the observation, he said, "The children didn't fetch the peg automatically because in another part of the test, I threw it on the ground deliberately, and they didn't pick it up. They only gave it to me if they inferred that I needed the peg to complete my goal, in this case, hanging up the clothes."
Meanwhile, reacting to Lawrence's story, Linda Claire commented, "Children show us the way all the time. Tears are rolling down my cheeks at the love and consideration for others. Similarly, Mary Taylor suggested, "I would frame those quarters for when it's hard to remember the good in humanity." At the same time, Robert Mandin Reed stated, "My cadets have been writing essays on 'emotional intelligence.' This young one must have a very high EQ."
You can follow Prince Lawrence on Facebook for more wholesome classroom content.
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