The Terror of the Classroom — Miracle Prodigy

Darius walks into the classroom visibly angry over an argument he has just had with his mother on the way to school. He wanted chocolate for breakfast, and his mother refused. He enters the class using profanity at every child he encounters. He urinates in the classroom and rubs feces on the walls. He had been exhibiting this behavior since age five. Darius was never diagnosed during his early years, but he displayed symptoms of autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. His mother struggled working full time at a grocery store while managing his full-throttle episodes at home, leaving her exhausted daily. His teachers dreaded each day.

Despite rarely having good days, the school did not give up on him. Despite struggling with his behavior, his fearless use of swear words, and intimidating attitude toward other children, the school supported him and his mother in every way possible. Slowly but surely, he started to calm down. It took about four years of compassion from the terrified staff and dedicated leadership on a daily basis before he managed to learn how to regulate his emotions.

Then came Covid-19. With social distancing, masks, and hand sanitizing becoming the norm in schools, the virus spread rapidly through microdroplets suspended in the air. Darius started spitting at other children, licking them, and rubbing his snot on them. This clearly put other children at greater risk during peak virus spread. The school tried its best. The behavior mentor and leadership wrote a contract with Darius stating that spitting or breaching Covid-19 protective measures would result in suspension from school for a week. Although Darius loved coming to school, this approach did not work. He got suspended twice.

During a third incident, when Darius was becoming agitated, the author decided to keep calm. While Darius was eating his after-school snack, the author walked over to the piano in the hall and started playing a melody. Darius heard it while fighting his urge to yell and throw his food. He sheepishly walked toward the piano and asked if he could try. The author asked him to sit nearby. After trying a few keys and banging on them in excitement, the author politely asked him to play softly. As Darius explored the piano further, the author stepped away to a distance.

The next day, Darius was unusually excited. He was waiting to get another chance at the piano. At the end of the day, the author played for a few minutes and gestured for him to come and play. As Darius sat at the piano, the author walked away to a distance. After a few minutes of experimenting, they were gobsmacked at what they heard. Darius started playing the first verse of 'Fur Elise' by Mozart without making a mistake. The boy had been hearing this piece somewhere, and the melody had stayed in his mind.

The headteacher was shocked. He approached Darius's mother when she arrived and said, “I wanted to come and see you personally because every day I have only negative news for you but today I want to tell you that I heard your son play the piano and it was beautiful.” He encouraged Darius to play it for his mother. As the mother heard the melody, her eyes filled with tears. The boy people had dreaded, who had made her life unbearably difficult, she realized was more than what he was on the outside.

Darius still has tough days ahead. Secondary school will be challenging. But there is hope for him because there is a school that fights every day to protect him, love him, and support him and his family. Miracles like these happen all the time in schools. The author encourages taking a moment to appreciate these places, despite their flaws or ours.