Teacher's Assistance

by Zexoguy

The Problem

Monday morning. Time to start another week of school. The classroom came alive as young first graders filled it up one by one. And sitting behind her desk on the far end of the room was the teacher, Miss Goldenrod.

Goldenrod loved being a teacher. Watching kids grow and learn. Helping them become the best they could be. It was what she lived for. Sure, it was tough sometimes, but she loved her students and they loved her. Most of her students said she was the best teacher they ever had.

Once the clock struck nine and every student was present, Goldenrod got up from her desk to begin the day, greeting the children with a smile. She started role call and then moved on to today's lesson.

"Okay. On Friday, we started talking about the different types of animals," she reminded them. "Now, animals fall into several different groups known as classes. Who can give me the name of an animal class?"

Four students raised their hands. Goldenrod called on a little pegasus colt. "Birds!" he said.

"Right! Birds are a class." She pulled out a black marker and wrote the word Birds on the whiteboard. "Anyone else?"

She pointed to a little earth pony filly. "Mammals?"

"Very good, Toola Roola." She added the word Mammals to the board. "Mammals are warm-blooded creatures who give birth to their young. Ponies are mammals. Who else has one?" She looked around the room, but nopony was raising their hand. "Anyone?"

Then Goldenrod saw one of her students, Coconut Cream, sitting in the back of the room and decided to give her a chance. "How about you, Coconut Cream? Can you name a class of animals?"

The filly seemed to be caught by surprise. She thought hard to come up with an answer. "I don't know. Reptiles?"

"Yes! Reptiles are a class." Goldenrod turned around and wrote Reptiles on the board. "They're cold-blooded, they lay eggs and they usually have scales."

While she was happy that Coconut Cream was able to give her an answer, Goldenrod was also a little worried. Coconut was usually one of her brightest and friendliest students, but it seemed like she'd been having a bit of a hard time lately. She was struggling to answer questions, taking longer to finish tests, and she appeared to be developing a bit of an attitude. Every class she'd ever taught had at least one troublemaker, but she never thought it would be Coconut Cream. She decided she had to do something about it.

-----

The recess bell rang and Goldenrod lead her students outside to the playground. Most of them were released to run off and play, but she asked Coconut Cream to stay behind so she could talk to her.

"What is it, Miss Goldenrod?" the filly asked.

"I couldn't help but notice that you've been acting a little moody lately. And you're kind of starting to fall behind on your school work. I was just wondering, is everything okay?"

"Uh, yeah. Everything's fine," she insisted.

"Are you sure? You know that if there's anything wrong, you can tell me."

"I said everything's fine!"

Goldenrod recoiled. There was definitely some attitude in that statement. "Okay, okay. I believe you. Just calm down," she said.

Coconut softened her expression. "Sorry, Miss Goldenrod, but don't worry. I promise I'm fine and I'll try to do better in school."

"Alright. If you say so. But remember, my door is always open if you ever wanna talk. Okay?"

"Okay."

"Good. Now go play with your friends."

The little filly ran off to join the other kids on the playground. Her teacher, however, was now more sure than ever that something was definitely going on with her. She wanted to help, but if Coconut wouldn't tell her what was bothering her, then there wasn't much she could do.

Goldenrod kept a close eye on Coconut Cream during recess. She watched her play with Toola Roola, who she knew was her best friend. The two of them decided to see who could jump rope the longest. They were jumping almost perfectly in sync with each other until Coconut tripped on the eleventh jump. Toola Roola cheered at her victory and kept going, but then Coconut Cream shouted "Shut up, Toola!" and pushed her down onto the grass.

"Hey!" Goldenrod yelled as she stood up in anger and marched toward the girls. "I saw that, young filly! You know better than to push ponies!" She bent over and helped the crying Toola Roola stand up, then asked her if she was okay.

"Yeah. I think I'm okay," she answered.

"Good. Now, what do you say, Coconut?"

"I'm sorry, Toola Roola."

Goldenrod believed her, but she was still upset. "I don't know what's gotten into you, but I think I need to have a serious talk with your parents."

"No! Please! I'm sorry! I won't do it again! I swear!" the filly begged.

"I'm sorry, Coconut, but you know the rules. You're gonna sit next to me for the rest of recess and as soon as we get back inside, you're going straight to time-out. Understand?"

Coconut hung her head in defeat. "Yes ma'am," she said.

Goldenrod returned to her vantage point on the picnic bench, where she was joined by Coconut Cream. The teacher made sure that her young student stayed put the entire time. She could only sit and watch as her classmates got to run around and play all they wanted. Until the bell rang, signaling that it was time to return to class.

-----

The rest of the day went by pretty normally. Goldenrod avoided calling on Coconut Cream to answer anymore questions, which she didn't seem to mind. Plus, she managed not to have anymore incidents like the one with Toola Roola. In fact, she didn't really talk to Toola Roola much at all.

Goldenrod hated to see one her students so miserable. If Coconut wouldn't tell her what the problem was herself, then maybe her parents could.

Comments

[Leviarex]

I'm flattered that I could inspire you, and it's nice to finally show (in manner of speaking) rather than tell about Goldenrod's teaching job. I'm assuming that CC's issues are stemming from her parents getting divorced.

[Zexoguy]

8933058
I hope you'll keep reading to find out.