Brian's Choice Read Online Free Page A

before.
    He’d had it cut traditionally, what the Englischers called a bowl cut, and he wore Amish clothing, but was he Amish? What had caused him to seek out their way of life? What about the family and friends he’d left behind? And why did he avoid looking at her? The questions tumbled through her mind until she realized she should be helping, not sitting in a corner staring at the poor man.
    After introducing himself, Brian picked up the Bible off the teacher’s desk. Tom had found it tucked in a bottom drawer.
    â€œKatie tells me I’m to read to you from the Scripture each morning, but because I didn’t know that—” he waited for the giggles to subside. “I didn’t pick anything out ahead of time.”
    A young boy on the second row raised his hand. “We could start at the beginning.”
    â€œA fine idea.” Brian opened the Bible, which fortunately was a German- Englisch parallel text, and began to read from the first chapter of Genesis, verse one.
    Whatever his shortcomings were as a teacher, he was certainly a fine reader. His voice resonated with each word—deep and full and almost musical. Katie had never heard Scripture read like that before. In their church services she barely paid attention, and at home they always read their Bibles silently. She rested her chin on her palm and listened as Brian read about the beginning and the creation.
    After that the morning passed so quickly that Katie barely had time to worry she would do something wrong. She led the students in the morning songs, which was easy enough. Though she didn’t have a wonderful voice, it was clear and strong, and the children had no trouble following her.
    Brian had written arithmetic assignments on the board for each grade. After the singing, he briefly went over the school rules, and then textbooks were pulled out and students began to work on the math problems. Katie worked with the youngest students, which included her nephews. Brian walked up and down the rows, occasionally pausing to comment on a child’s work or help when one seemed perplexed by a problem. If they ever ended up on the same row, he promptly turned and walked off in the other direction. His behavior seemed a bit odd, but who was she to say? She’d never been a teacher’s helper before.
    Math was followed by reading. Katie taught the four lower grades, and Brian worked with grades five through eight. She’d warned him to only spend ten to fifteen minutes per grade, and he’d answered with, “What can I teach in ten minutes?”
    â€œYou’re not teaching so much as explaining the assignment and then helping the ones who are a bit lost.”
    â€œSo they know how to read?”
    â€œThe older students certainly do. The younger ones will need more help, but I taught my little bruder to read, so I can handle that.”
    â€œWhat about my students?” He frowned at her and then quickly looked away. “What if they have trouble with the text? How much doI help? Do I pull them into a smaller group away from the others? I’ve never taught reading before, only…only theory and composition.”
    â€œWe’ll help one another.” She reached out and put a hand on his arm to assure him that all would be fine, but he quickly stepped away. “The students are used to this way of learning, Brian. You’ll see.”
    He glanced at her skeptically, and then he nodded once and walked away. He actually did better than expected moving between the grades. She kept her eye on him in case he needed help, but he seemed to slip into the role of teacher well. The morning passed quickly, and Katie was surprised and relieved when Brian called for recess.
    She longed to stay inside to ask him about his previous life and why he was spending his time in a one-room Amish schoolhouse. She didn’t, though. He’d turned his back to her as soon as the children began traipsing