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5 10 15 20 25 30 35 11 that this isn’t right, but it’s also not right that my teacher has of- fended me and the country where I was born.” “And also women…” Mimmo added. “It’s true, teachers should be here to teach us what is right and what is wrong,” Mariella said. “Why do you say that,” Mimmo asked her. “I was thinking that teachers should teach us only subjects, like math, science, and history.” “But no,” Rahma intervened, “Mariella is right. Teachers should be like parents, helping us grow up and giving us examples with their behaviour. And, their behaviour should be right. Otherwise why would they reprimand us every time we do something wrong, like when Gaetano started running around school with the attendance sheet in hand, threatening to throw it out the window?” “I wasn’t doing anything wrong in that case,” Gaetano objected. “The teacher gave me a demerit I didn’t deserve. You see? Also, in this case the teacher wasn’t acting in the right way. And how did this end? She gave me two demerits!” “Well, I don’t know if you or the teacher was right in that case,” Mimmo said, “but in my opinion, we shouldn’t think that teachers or parents are infallible and therefore always teach us what is right.” “What do you mean?” Jensika asked, and Mimmo responded, “Just that I don’t agree with Mariella and Rahma. Teachers are people, and people make mistakes. Just because you are old doesn’t automatically mean you know what is right and wrong. We don’t have to look to adults in this sense.” “But no Mimmo,” Jensika said, “I think that because of their type of work, teachers should always do the right thing.” “Yea,” Gaetano interjected sceptically. “They only think about ordering us around. They don’t care about education at all, or about what is right or wrong. If they wanted, they could send you to the principal, give you a demerit, or give you a low grade, without any other consequence. They have all the authority to do that.” “Not all teachers are like that,” Jensika said. “But the maths teacher is,” Rahma insisted.