1 Unnamed

A good teacher

John sighed as he walked into his empty home, shutting the door behind him with a barely audible click. Another long day of teaching was over, but the strain of it seemed to follow him even here. As the sole English teacher at the underfunded high school, his class sizes were enormous - sometimes pushing 40 students or more. It was nearly impossible to give each eager mind the attention they deserved.

On top of that, the budget cuts meant outdated textbooks and dilapidated classrooms. Just yesterday one of the ceiling tiles had collapsed, sprinkling debris over the seated teenagers. No one was hurt, luckily, but it seemed a foreboding symbol of the crumbling infrastructure they were all trapped within.

John trudged into the tiny kitchen, grabbing a sad looking TV dinner from the freezer. As the plastic tray spun in the microwave, he let his head fall into his hands. The teaching had always been his passion, ever since he was a student himself. But after 10 years in this struggling school, he could feel that passion beginning to fade under the overwhelming pressure.