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Olympus Elementary, an all-boys school, sat at the edge of the small town known as Thebes. The school shined like a bright beacon over the horizon with its large sun mural taking up almost the entire front of the school. Kids of all ages ran around the front courtyard and up through the gate, their parents trailing behind them with forgotten backpacks. It is here that the new teacher got a true glimpse of the school and all those who inhabit it. Ms. Pandora, a young woman new to the teaching world, was both excited and anxious to begin the school year. Her employment came as a surprise some weeks earlier, but by no means unwelcome. Anesidora “Annie” Pandora was notified by the secretary of the district office, Mr. Hermes Gossiper, of an interview with the superintendent, Mr. Zeus Thunderman. After a very intensive interview with the district office, Annie was sent to Olympus Elementary for a final interview with Principal Hephaestus and Vice-Principal Epimetheus. They took an immediate liking to Annie and enjoyed her curious nature and passion for learning. As Annie liked to say, the only true way to learn is through trial and error. Little did she know that her first year teaching would be full of it.
Pandora brought a jar of candy with her on the first day of school. Through her teachings and experiences in life, she learned that if there was one way to make sure children behave, its candy. Sure, it may not be the most ethical approach to teaching, but a reward never hurt anyone.
The first couple weeks of the school year flew by quickly. The children took an immediate liking to Ms. Pandora and her jar of colorful candies. She had trouble with a small group of boys the first few days, but they seemed to mellow out during the second week and had no more problems with them when they realized good behavior equaled candy. However, while the boys began to openly behave in front of the teacher, they secretly complained and misbehaved on the playground when the teacher wasn’t around. The small group of boys lead by Agamemnon, or “Gary” as his friends called him, could not understand why Ms. Pandora only gave everyone one piece of candy at the end of the day and only a few times a week. There was a full jar of lollipops and taffy just sitting in that classroom, meant to be eaten, but she wouldn’t let them eat it! It was absurd if you asked them. Gary, being the wise leader that he is, took it upon himself to ask Ms. Pandora for more candy after school one day, but was not happy with the answer he received.
“Ms. Dora, why can’t we have more than one piece of candy?” Gary asked, putting on his best puppy eyes while his friends gathered around him doing the same.
“Because, boys. Too much candy can give you tummy aches and cavities. Your parents wouldn’t approve of all the candy either. Besides, this candy would no longer be a reward if I gave it to you all the time,” Ms. Pandora smiled and ushered the boys out the door.
“But-,” Gary started to complain.
“No ‘buts,’ mister. Only one piece of candy for every student. It’s fair. Now run along and go play on the playground until your parents arrive, boys.”
“Yes, Ms. Dora,” the boys all chanted and ran out the door. While the other four boys all found the teacher’s reasoning to be fair, Gary still wanted candy and he was going to get it one way or another. And so, Gary complained to his four best friends: Andy, Patrick, Harry and Alex, and together they came up with a plan to sneak the candy jar. The boys didn’t want to get in trouble but were reluctant to go up against Gary, so they went along with it.
The start of the school week brought with it the start of the fool proof candy jar plan. Unbeknownst to the boys, Pandora also had a little plan of her own, fuelled by her curious nature. Usually, Pandora kept the candy jar on a tall shelf by her desk during the school day, but when Monday rolled around, it was not so. In the center of the room, on the long teaching table Pandora used during her lessons, sat the jar of candy with the lid nowhere to be found. The boys immediately caught onto this development and believed their plan to steal candy would be a lot easier than they originally thought. However, Pandora had purposefully placed the jar there herself to see what the small group of boys would do, knowing they had an unhealthy obsession with the candy jar. Her curious nature by default made her wonder if they would break the rules and take the candy or be able to control their little urge and leave it alone.
It was during recess that both parties began their plan. When the classroom was empty, students at lunch, Pandora stepped out of the classroom to “go to the bathroom,” and left the classroom door unlocked. The boys watched her from across the black top and put their plan into action. Gary told his friends to get moving, yelling at Andy to stop pushing Patrick on the swing when he noticed they weren’t listening.
The boys quickly filed into the classroom, immediately noticing the candy jar still on the desk. With Gary taking the lead, the boys ran to the jar to see what candy Ms. Dora had put in the jar that week. Tiny lollipops were the candy of choice it seemed, a sweet all the boys loved. Each child took a large handful of the candy and stuffed it into their pockets, filling them as much as they could. With big grins on their faces, the boys ran out of the classroom and back to the playground, not noticing Pandora watching from a few classrooms down. As she made her way back into the classroom, she couldn’t help herself from smiling when she noticed the almost empty candy jar. Why they thought she wouldn’t notice was beyond her, but she grabbed the bag of candy locked in her desk, and refilled the jar anyway.
As her class filed back into the classroom, she paid special close attention to the little group of friends that liked to cause mischief. Their pockets were shockingly empty, but looking at their faces alerted her to where the candy was: their stomachs. If her fears came true, she would be seeing that candy again soon. Pandora hadn’t expected them to eat all the candy at once, but looking back on that, she wasn’t sure why she thought it in the first place. Children didn’t know how to pace themselves, a mistake she made many times growing up herself. The lessons continued on into the afternoon, Pandora continuously keeping an eye on the five little boys. It was during classwork time that Patrick and Andy came up to her.
“Ms. Dora!” Patrick groaned, clutching his stomach. Andy stood a few steps back, doing the same.
“Yes, Patrick?”
“We’re dum-dums.” Andy whined, bending over, still holding onto his stomach.
“Dum-dums? Like the candy?” Dora paused when she got a good look at the boys. “What’s wrong with your tummy, dear?” As if she didn’t already know, but continued to play along.
“We ate all the candy-,” Patrick promptly keeled over and threw up on the carpet. Pandora gasped and leaned over to rub his back. She looked around the room and spotted Gary, Alex and Harry not looking very good either, with the empty candy jar sitting there mockingly on the table behind them. Pandora quickly grabbed the garbage pail and put it in front of Patrick while she grabbed the phone to ask for the school nurse and janitor. This was not her wisest decision and the little phrase “curiosity killed the cat” echoed through her head.
They next day, after a long day of cleaning and bringing the boys to the nurses office to send them home, Pandora made her way into the classroom, which smelt strongly of cleaner and disinfectant. After opening the two windows her classroom had, Pandora sat at her desk to read her emails. Noticing an email that was forwarded from Principal Hephaestus, Pandora quickly opened the email.
Principal Hephaestus and to whom else it may concern,
My son Andy has come home feeling ill and has thrown up candy several times. He tells me that Ms. Pandora has a candy jar that she lets the children pick from a few times a week. My son has informed me that he snuck into the candy jar with his friends without her knowing, but I refuse to let this slide. She needs to have better control of her class. I now have to worry about my son getting cavities or diabetes if this keeps up. I demand you to put a stop to this or I will complain to the district office.
Sincerely,
Mrs. Thetis Aquaris
Pandora, realizing what a huge mess she made, quickly sent an email back to the principal, alerting him to her decision to get rid of the candy jar and to keep a better watch of her classroom and students. After sending the email, Pandora quickly went about preparing the lesson and made a mental note to talk to Gary and his friends at recess.
As the students filed out of the classroom for their midday recess, Pandora quietly asked the little group of friends to stay. The boys obediently stayed behind and went to go sit on the carpet by her desk.
“I warned you all about the candy jar. I told you you’d get a tummy ache if you eat too much candy at once. Look what happened. You all got sick and your parents were very unhappy. I’m taking away the candy rewards.” Her announcement was met with ‘buts,’ the loudest belonging to Gary, who apparently still had room for more candy.
“Your parents have asked that I don’t give you anymore and I am going to listen because I agree.” Pandora was firm with her words, and the boys acquiesced. With glum faces on their faces, Gary’s more intense than those of his friends, Pandora ushered them outside to enjoy what remained of recess. Walking back to her desk, Pandora absent mindedly grabbed the last lollipop from the jar and sat down.
As Anesidora Pandora liked to say: “The only way to truly learn is through trial and error,” and she didn’t just mean for her.