There are a few students who never take shortcuts on homework, lose attention during tests, or doze off during lectures. Most of us, on the other hand, are frequently so exhausted by the hundreds of tasks we must juggle on a daily basis that we lack the energy to give education—or any other aspect of our lives, for that matter—our total, undivided attention.

Monte Syrie, a long-time high school English teacher, took to Twitter earlier this month to explain why he let a tired student sleep through one of his lessons. His story of remarkable empathy and kindness will truly inspire you.

His narrative struck a chord with those who had been through similar experiences in high school.

And if you thought Monte was an outlier, don’t worry. There appear to be many excellent instructors out there who make a point of looking out for their pupils’ best interests. The amount of interest his story received surprised Monte, who posted a response on Project 180’s blog.

“I did not expect the staggering outpouring of support from around the country as educators, parents, and others lit up my feed all day long with likes, retweets, and comments,” he said. “I don’t think it even comes close to trending or going viral, but this thread has made over 40,000 impressions in the last twenty-four hours, and the number is still rising.”

“I’m not sharing that out of arrogance,” he said. “I’m speaking from a place of hope.”
“It tells me that there are many out there who come from a place of compassion and empathy in education,” Monte continued. It informs me that there are many people out there who recognize that we are not manufacturing things in our classrooms; rather, we are assisting beings in their development. It informs me that many people agree that trusting our intuition and going against the grain when it helps our children is acceptable. It tells me I’m not alone. I’m relieved that I’m not alone. That is something I am more aware of today than ever before.

“And it’s all because Meg slept.”