Up The Down Staircase Page #8

They say a writer

should stick to what he knows.

What nonsense.

What did Dickens know

about French Revolutions?

What did Shakespeare know

about Moors in Venice?

lf he'd stuck to what he knew,

we'd have no Othello.

We'd have no Alice in Wonderland.

We'd have no Treasure lsland.

You brats think that l and Miss Barrett

stand up there, day after day,

talking about books and the writing

of books just for the hell of it?

You think it's got nothing to do with you.

A writer creates a book.

An individual creates a life.

For a writer to create a masterpiece,

he's got to think beyond what he knows.

For an individual to create a life,

even a halfway-decent one,

he's gotta go beyond what he knows.

Go beyond the poverty, the disease,

the dope, the degeneracy.

Go beyond the oceans to the Alps,

a magnificent replica of which

the Board of Education

has generously donated.

Stick with what you think

and that's what you're gonna

be stuck with.

You may as well get out. Now.

Miss Barrett's class dismissed.

All of you dismissed

for the rest of your crummy lives.

Some of you may prefer to leave by

the window. l prefer to leave by the door.

Punch me out, will you, Teach?

Browning wrote, ''A man's reach must

exceed his grasp, or what's a heaven for?''

But there's something to be said for first,

or finally, or sometime knowing what

your grasp is without giving up courage,

or heart, or whatever you want to call it.

lf you deny what you know

or what you are, or where you are,

you deny the simplest part of being alive,

and you die,

like Dr. Manette

who was imprisoned for 18 years

in A Tale of Two Cities.

Can he be recalled to life?

l think some can.

At least, they come back to where life is

of their own accord.

And that's a beginning.

Do not turn the papers over

until the bell has rung.

Examination papers must not be touched

until the bell rings.

All books, notebooks,

pocket books and other personal

possessions must be placed

on the floor in front of the room.

Doctor says to take a pill at 9:30.

Can l keep a pill if it's not written on?

When the bell rings,

you are to turn your papers over in unison.

No student is to leave his seat.

lf you have a question, raise your hand,

and l will be in the back of the room.

lf you stand back there,

how can we tell who you're watching?

-Whom, whom l'm watching.

-Whom.

-Teach, hey, Teach. We gotta...

-Teach.

All right, class. Let's settle down.

Class, let's settle down

and wait for the bell.

lt isn't fair. We never had this.

They always ask what l don't know

and never ask what l know.

Silence. Let's get to work. Time is passing.

Toilet.

Come with me.

You have to wait for the hall proctor.

You mean you don't trust me?

Proctor has to escort you.

All right, l'll make a deal with you.

l'll let you go alone.

But it's to be understood you are

honor-bound not to use the lavatory

for any but legitimate purposes,

not for a reference room,

not even for a quick smoke.

Now, is that understood?

Sure, Teach.

You let him out of the room unescorted.

There was no hall proctor.

You realize, of course,

his exam paper's now invalidated.

-There's no point in his continuing.

-He wasn't looking up any answers.

-How do you know that?

-He told me he wouldn't.

-Do you believe him?

-l believe him and l think

he should be allowed to finish.

Very well, Miss Barrett, but l want

that exam paper corrected immediately

at the end of the day and then l want

to see you and the boy in my office.

Second girl in third row,

eyes on your paper.

Joe, please return to your seat.

Eighty-six percent, Joe.

Wait. Wait.

Well, the boy has obviously cheated.

The 86 percent he earned

was for essay questions

requiring the personal interpretation

of the student.

Evaluations, comparisons and judgment.

And certainly not the kind of material

you could look up in a lavatory.

Well, the examination will be gone over

with a fine-toothed comb

by an unbiased party.

l think the boy should be

accused of cheating now

and allowed to defend himself,

or exonerated with an apology.

And as for your conduct,

Miss Barrett, in the...

-McHabe speaking.

-l think the boy has a right to know

where he stands.

Yes, Sergeant, she is one of our students.

Just a minute. We'll finish this later.

Well, there's nothing we can do

about it personally, Sergeant.

No, it's...

lt's a matter for one of the youth boards.

Got you in trouble, didn't l, Teach?

Just think, if l'd gotten

my usual 20 percent,

the whole thing

would have probably blown over.

Listen, Joe, if you're saying to me you got

let me tell you something.

l don't care.

You got it. l was hard on you, Joe.

l was tough.

l didn't let you get away

with one single misplaced comma.

You, Joe, 86 percent.

To all parents. Welcome.

Your son or daughter has given you

a copy of his or her program

with the name of each

of his or her teachers

and the room

where the teacher may be found.

lf you are unable to locate

these designated rooms,

please come to room 1 12,

the main entrance, for information.

ln order to see as many...

-Come in, Roy.

-...parents as possible,

teachers have been instructed

to allot no more than five minutes...

-How do you do, Mrs. Atkins?

-...to each parent.

lt's Lewes. Mrs. Lewes.

-We got different names.

-Mrs. Lewes.

Do my five minutes start now

or when we start talking?

No, no, please,

you can have as much time as you like.

There seems to be a small turnout tonight.

l've got to go.

Yeah, you'd better go.

-Good night, Miss Barrett.

-Good night, Roy.

Won't you sit down please, Mrs. Lewes?

l'm very pleased to meet Roy's mother.

-He seems very cooperative in class...

-What if l'm not his mother?

But Roy said that you were his mother.

But what if l told him to say so?

Just in case only mothers

were allowed here tonight.

And fathers.

Oh, l'm a mother,

but l've got four of my own.

-But l'm not his mother.

-Oh, if you're related, then it's...

He lives with us on the sofa.

l think he knows who his real mother is,

but l don't know.

l never told him. Nobody did.

Nobody would do that to him.

l think he just picked her out on his own.

l've seen him looking at her.

She works that block, pretty much.

He's had about 10 mothers

between her and me.

Neighbors.

He'd stay with a neighbor

until they moved out

and then he'd just sit on the stoop

and wait for another neighbor to say,

''Come on in, Roy.''

Can l stay, even though l'm not a parent?

Of course... Of course you can.

l've come about that D you gave Roy

at midterms.

The trouble is, Mrs. Lewes,

he doesn't pay attention during class.

His mind wanders, you know.

Go on, say it.

He goes to sleep.

He goes to sleep.

And that's why you gave him a D?

That's why he gave himself a D.

Oh, you're pretty. You're very pretty.

You know, he didn't want me

to come here tonight.

And when he saw l was really going

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