Manama: A teacher who showed up one hour late for school avoided disciplinary action by composing a short, funny poem addressed to the principal, blaming his tardiness on his cheap watch.
Murih Al Shammari was asked, as per the education ministry’s instructions, to fill in a form to explain why he turned up late for school, which is in Al Jouf region, in the north of the vast Saudi kingdom, bordering Jordan.
However, instead of writing the reasons in the regular prose form, he composed four verses explaining that he was late “because of a malfunction in his ‘Made in China’ watch that made him believe that he was still on time for class.”
Al Shammari said that he should not be blamed because his watch was not of the same quality as that of the principal. He pledged that if he had the principal’s watch, he would not be late for class.
Upon reading the poem, the principal Nasser Al Radini, took off his watch and offered it to the teacher, asking him to be true to his word and make sure he is in the school on time.
“I was surprised when I saw the four verses,” the principal told local news site Sabq on Wednesday. “I had requested him to fill in the form to explain why he was late, as per the regulations. I accepted his excuse and I commented on the form that I gave the teacher my watch and asked him to make sure he is always on time,” Al Radini said.
The teacher said that he thought about writing the lines when he looked at the tardiness form.
“I am really pleased with the reaction of our principal,” he said. “His attitude was truly compassionate and I am truly grateful to him. He impressed all of us by combining his high morals and gracious generosity with a positive educational attitude. This is a clear indication of the healthy atmosphere that prevails in the school and of the outstanding relations between the teachers and the principal,” he said.
Online comments were generally favourable towards the teacher whose sense of humour won him support. However, the main praise was for the principal whose management and generosity were highly applauded.
Teacher Away From Home, a blogger, said that she was “pleased” with the principal’s reaction.
“I work in a school where if I am one minute late, I get bombarded with unforgiving questions and harsh criticism. I feel so miserable.”
Another blogger, tried to widen the scope of possible situations at the school.
“Thank God, the teacher blamed his watch for being late for school,” Borderless posted. “I wonder would have happened if he had mentioned his car as the culprit for his late arrival.”
