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The Schwartz School was in
Ramanathapuran, a bustling
town, that was near Rameswaram.
Kalam’s brother took him to the
school and he was admitted. It was
a very good school. When it was
hot and humid, the students were
made to sit under trees. In those
days there were no fans in the
classrooms. They would run from
one tree to another for every class.
One day, Abdul was late to school.
He was in a hurry so he entered the
wrong class.
His maths teacher was taking the class. He glared at Kalam through his glasses and said,
“What are you doing in this school if you can’t even find your way to the right class? The
teacher then caught Kalam by his collar and necked him out.
Kalam was very upset that day. But then he thought, “My family has made great sacrifices
to send me to this school. I cannot let them down. I must do my best.” Kalam felt terribly
homesick at times, but he was determined to make his family proud.
From that day on, Kalam made up his mind, not just to be a good student, but to be the best.
He studied day and night. Many months later, his dream of scoring full marks in maths exam
finally came true. And he was also the school topper!
Kalam was thrilled. The next morning, during the assembly, the same teacher who had
scolded him earlier, stood up, smiled and said, “Whoever I scold or cane becomes the school
topper!” Everyone burst out laughing. He then recounted what had happened.
He pointed to Kalam and added, “Mark my words; this boy is going to bring glory to his
school and teachers.”
The earlier humiliation by the teacher was too much to bear for Kalam. But now he felt good
when the same teacher praised him.
Kalam went home after the first semester. His family rejoiced on hearing that he was the
school topper. His mother made sweets and his father distributed them all over Rameswaram!
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