Our teacher once made fun of a student for checking her phone many times in class. He took it away and joked that nothing important could happen during that period. Everyone laughed. But when he gave the phone back, the laughter stopped. There were 17 missed calls from a number we didn’t recognize. The girl turned pale. Without saying much, she raised her hand and calmly asked to go outside. The teacher paused, then let her go. The room became quiet.
A few minutes later, the vice principal came and spoke softly with the teacher outside the room. We couldn’t hear what they said, but we could tell something was wrong. When the teacher came back, he was serious and quiet. He told us to work on our own. The girl never returned to class that day. Later, we found out the missed calls were from a hospital. A close family member had suddenly been taken there, and she had been checking her phone, worried and waiting for news.
The next day, the teacher spoke to the class. He didn’t give details, but he said sorry. He didn’t make excuses—he simply admitted that making assumptions can hurt people. He told us that rules are important, but being kind is just as important. For many of us, it was the first time we saw an adult admit a mistake.
That moment stayed with us even after the semester ended. It taught us that people often carry hidden problems with them. What looks like being distracted might really be fear or responsibility. Even years later, I still think about it whenever I feel like judging too fast—a quiet reminder that empathy should always come first.