Class President (3 page)

He looked at all the people at the back of the room. They were all watching him. The three television cameras were pointed at him.

He looked back at the problem.

“You add it up just like smaller numbers,” Mrs. North gently reminded him. “Start at the ones column.”

He stared blankly at the board.

“Seven plus seven,” said Mrs. North.

His brain had turned off.

“Don’t think about the cameras,” said Mrs. North. “Seven plus seven, Marvin.”

Marvin looked around helplessly. Casey Happleton was making funny faces at him.
She stretched her mouth in different directions.

He thought she was making fun of him. Then he realized her mouth was forming the word “fourteen” over and over again.

“Fourteen,” he said.

“Good,” said Mrs. North.

He wrote the number four and carried the one.

His brain started working again.

“Two plus four is six, plus one is seven.” He put seven in the next column.

He carefully went through the problem, one step at a time.

He was almost finished when there was a knock at the door.

Mr. McCabe, the principal, opened the
door and said, “Excuse us. Do you mind if we come in?”

Another man was with him.

Marvin was pretty sure the other man was the president.

Mrs. North said, “W-w-w-welcome.” She wiggled her hand behind her back, signaling the class to stand.

Marvin was already standing, but he stood straighter.

Everyone clapped as the other man walked into the classroom.

“Thank you,” he said. “Please sit down.”

Marvin didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want to disobey the president. But he had been standing before the president came.

“This is Mrs. North,” said Mr. McCabe. Mr. McCabe wore a long-sleeve shirt.
He had a hole over his pink and bony elbow.

“I’ve heard wonderful things about you,” the president said. He shook Mrs. North’s hand.

Marvin couldn’t believe that his teacher was really shaking the president’s hand.

“Thank you,” said Mrs. North. “I’ve heard—I mean—we are all delighted you are here.”

The president turned and looked at Marvin. “Those are big numbers,” he said.

Marvin didn’t know what to say.

“Did you add those by yourself?”

“It’s not finished,” said Marvin.

The president smiled. “Well, go ahead, finish.”

Marvin took a breath and exhaled. He
looked back at the problem on the board. He’d lost his place. He had to start back at the beginning and add the numbers in his head.

He finished the problem.

The president looked it over. “What’s your name?” he asked.

“Um …” Marvin’s brain had turned off again, but then it came back on. “Marvin. Marvin Redpost.”

“Good job, Marvin,” said the president. He held out his hand.

Marvin shook hands with the president.

Marvin returned to his desk.

“Thank you for letting me come and interrupt your class,” the president said. “I won’t stay too long. I don’t want you to miss recess.” He smiled.

“We don’t care!” shouted Stuart. “Stay as long as you want.”

Mrs. North gave The Look to Stuart.

“Mrs. North said we’ll get recess after you go away,” said Nick.

Mrs. North gave The Look to Nick, too.
Then she said, “We understand you are very busy, Mr. President. We appreciate any—”

There was a jar filled with marbles on Mrs. North’s desk. As Mrs. North spoke, her hand swept across her desk and knocked the marble jar over. The marbles spilled out, rolled off the desk, and bounced onto the floor.

The children in the front row scrambled to pick up the rolling marbles.

The president helped, too.

Mrs. North’s face was as red as the post in front of Marvin’s house.

The children put the marbles back in the jar.

“I am
so sorry
,” said Mrs. North.

The president dropped two marbles into the jar,
plop, plop
, and said, “No problem.”

Everyone settled back into their seats.

“You are probably wondering why I’ve come here today,” the president said.

Marvin had been wondering that.

“Well, I want to talk about what it means to be a good citizen. Who knows what a citizen is?”

Lots of hands went up in the air.

Marvin didn’t raise his hand. He thought he knew what a citizen was, but he didn’t know how to say it.

“Yes?” said the president, looking at Melanie.

“A person,” said Melanie.

“Very good answer,” said the president. “A citizen is a person. But is there a difference between a person and a citizen?”

Melanie shrugged.

“Anyone know?” asked the president.

Some hands started to go up, but then came back down.

Clarence raised his hand.

“Yes,” said the president.

“Do you have a dog?” asked Clarence.

“Yes, I do,” said the president, “but that’s not what we’re talking about now.”

Mrs. North gave The Look to Clarence.

“Who can tell me the difference between a person and a citizen?” the president asked. “How about you, Marvin?”

Marvin couldn’t believe it. The president had remembered his name!

He tried to come up with an answer. He didn’t want to let the president down. “Um, well, if you’re a person, it’s like you’re alone. A citizen is part of something bigger, like a country?”

He didn’t know if that made sense or not.

“Exactly right!” said the president. “We are not alone. We are all part of a big group. That group is called the United States of America.”

Marvin smiled. He wasn’t sure if that was what he had meant when he said it, but it made sense when the president said it.

“America is not just a place on a map,” the president said. “America is made up of all of its citizens. If we want America to be a great country, it is up to every single one of us—me, you, Mr. McCabe, Mrs. North, Marvin—to be good citizens.”

The president asked the students if they could think of ways to be good citizens.

Casey Happleton raised her hand.

“Yes, ma’am,” said the president.

Casey smiled, then got serious again.

“Help people who need help,” she said.

“Very good.”

Nick raised his hand.

“Yes, sir,” said the president.

“Don’t fight,” said Nick.

“Excellent,” said the president.

Lots of hands went up in the air.

“Clean up after yourself,” said Travis.

“Recycle,” said Patsy.

“Brush your teeth,” said Gina.

The president had to think about that one. “It’s important for citizens to try to be clean and healthy,” he agreed.

Marvin thought of some good ideas, too, but he didn’t raise his hand. He’d already gotten to shake the president’s hand. He wanted to let others have a chance. That was part of being a good citizen.

Nearly everybody in the class came up with something: Listen to your teacher and parents. Don’t make fun of people. Put out fires. Don’t cheat. Don’t lie. Smile.

The president said he was very impressed with all the ideas the children had. “This is why I wanted to come to a third-grade class,” he said. “I knew third graders would know how to be good citizens. Sometimes, when people get older, they forget. I hope a lot of people will see and hear you on television this evening. They may learn something.”