Adam Khan was quite upset and refused to have his breakfast.
“But you must goÔǪ” the mother was quite upset as Adam remained adamant not to go to school.
“They all make fun of meÔǪ.” Adam was almost in tears, “they laugh at my weight,” he moaned, “call me names like “fatso”, and “elephant”ÔǪ.”
“Oh please, BetaÔǪ”, the mother seemed desperate now, “I will talk to your teacher. I am sure she will find a solution.”
“No, Ami!” Adam was not ready to listen, “if she helps me, it will be equally bad, as my classmates will call me “teacher’s pet.”
The phone bell rang, “Assalam o Alaikum, who is this?” Adam’s mother picked up the phone.
“Wa Alaikum Assalam, Madam. This is Adam’s class teacher. I hope he’s coming to school today.”
“No teacher. He is upset and refuses to listen,” said Adam’s mother. “Please can I talk to him?” the teacher requested.
“Adam, your teacher wishes to talk to you” Mother handed the phone over to the reluctant Adam.
“Morning Teacher,” Adam was despondent.
“Really! Okay, teacher, I will come, but will they allow me in? I am late.” “Are you sure, teacher, you will be at the gate to receive me?”
Suddenly, Adam blossomed, and his eyes sparkled.
“Thank you, teacher. I am coming.” He rushed to his room, calling out to his mother to get his breakfast ready. “Okay, you get into your uniform, bachhay; I will get your breakfast ready,” the mother was as excited as the kid. “But what did your teacher say?” She was curious to know what had made Adam change his mind. “My teacher told me that I have received the award of the ‘Best student of the month, and I will be getting a gold star in the assembly today.” Adam was by now over the Moon. “Oh, Wow! That’s great, Adam; I am so proud of you!” The mother was super excited to hear of her son’s achievement.
“But how do they decide the ‘student of the month award?” the mother, now serving breakfast, asked. “Oh, Ami, that’s the thing,” Adam’s voice was trembling with excitement. “It is based on the grades and teachers’ and classmates’ recommendations. A student’s behaviour inside and outside the class participation in co-curricular activities are also some factors.” “I see, that’s super cool. Did you participate in sports too?” the mother was genuinely inquisitive. “NoÔǪ but my teacher told me to volunteer as a referee for some of the sports, which I had done. I guess they must have counted this, as well,” Adam said thoughtfully and shrugged his shoulders as if it didn’t really matter as long as he had earned such a prestigious award. “Oh and Ami, my teacher also told me my classmates have prepared a surprise for me. I am so excited about the surprise” The mother, her eyes filled with tears and her heart filled with gratitude, looked up and silently thanked God for her son’s happiness.
Moral
It is ability, not disability, that counts.
