“Okay, we only have a few minutes before the bell goes,” Mr. Spence said, “so there’s just enough time for a review.”
We’d spent a big chunk of the afternoon studying the United Nations.
“Who can tell me when the UN was founded?”
Two dozen hands went up, including mine. He nodded to Mohammad.
“Nineteen forty-five,” Mohammad said.
“Correct. And now, which city, so nice it was named twice, is the home to the United Nations?”
Every hand went up again.
“Rupinder?”
“New York, New York, in the United States,” Rupinder answered.
“Correct again. It’s a great city. How many people have been to New York?”
This time only two hands were raised. I thought it would be incredibly cool to go to New York. I could hardly imagine a place bigger and busier than Toronto, but I knew New York was way bigger.
“When you get older, you should all try to see that city. Remember, travel is a great education,” Mr. Spence said. “How many member states are there in the UN?”
Almost every hand went up.
“Simon?”
“One hundred and ninety-two countries have official status,” Simon said.
“Another correct answer, although some people have difficulty believing there are that many countries in the world. But I invite them to visit Toronto, where you can find people from every one of those countries living here.”
“And maybe all in the same class,” Simon said, and everybody laughed.
“That would be one incredibly big class,” Mr. Spence added. “But one I’d love to teach. Now back to the review. How many of those one hundred and ninety-two countries make up the Security Council?”
Several hands shot up. I knew the Security Council was made up of the biggest or most powerful countries. The permanent members had the power to “veto” any vote, which meant if all the other countries wanted something and one of those countries didn’t, then it didn’t happen.
“Alexander, can you answer that, please,” Mr. Spence said.
I turned around. Alexander had his head buried in a book, no surprise. He read more than anybody I’d ever met.
“There are five permanent members of the Security Council,” Alexander said without raising his eyes. “They are the United States, Russia, England, France and China. There are also ten other members, who are elected to a two-year term on a rotating basis by the other member states.”
“Very good. Not only did Alexander answer that question correctly, but he also answered my next two questions, and all without losing his place in the book he’s reading.” Mr. Spence paused. “Alexander, have you been peeking at my notes?”
Alexander looked up from his book in surprise. “No, sir, I would never ever look at your—”
“Alexander, I’m just joking. Great answers. Next question. What functions does the United Nations perform?”
A series of short answers were given, including signing treaties, deciding on international laws, settling disputes, dealing with emergencies like earthquakes and floods, planning for the future and taking action on global issues like pollution, the oceans and the Antarctic.
“Those are all great answers. Now my final question. What is the purpose of the United Nations? Why does it exist? And please, I don’t want anybody to repeat its function.”
For the first time, there weren’t any volunteers to answer the question. Lots of kids liked to answer questions that had a right or wrong answer, especially if they knew they had the right answer. Me, I liked when an answer couldn’t be right or wrong. I raised my hand.
“Taylor.”
Now I had to think through my answer.
“I think the world is like this classroom,” I said. “We have people from all over the world, from different countries and cultures, who speak different languages.”
“We do have a world within these walls,” Mr. Spence agreed.
“And the same way we’ve been learning about our differences and how to say hello in each other’s languages, we’ve also been learning about how we’re all the same, and we all have the same rights. We have our classroom rules,” I said, gesturing to the big chart hanging on the wall that we made up that first day of school. “The United Nations is just a big way of helping us all get along together, peacefully and respectfully, and happily solving whatever problems we might have.”
Mr. Spence didn’t answer right away. He had a thoughtful look on his face. “And that, class, is not a good answer.”
My heart dropped.
“That,” he said, “was a great answer.”
He started clapping and the rest of the class joined in. I felt myself start to blush.
“I’m starting to wonder if both you and Alexander have been looking at my notes,” he said.
“Mr. Spence,” Simon said, “we all talked about where we’re from, but you didn’t tell us where your family is from.”
“I was born in England.”
“But you don’t talk with an accent,” Simon noted.
“Of course I do. Everybody talks with an accent. I just happen to talk with a Canadian accent because I moved here when I was young.”
“So you’re Canadian,” Rupinder said.
“I’m a proud Canadian, born in England, whose parents were from Jamaica, just like Sally and Devon’s families are from Jamaica.”
The bell rang, and people started to rustle.
“Please remember to read tonight and do your journal entries,” Mr. Spence said. “Class dismissed!”
Everybody got to their feet. I was anxious to get moving. Not only was I going to be feeding the cats the KFC my mother had gotten, but I wasn’t going alone. Simon and I had been talking so much about the cats that a few of the other kids had asked if they could come along. So Mohammad, Alexander, Rupinder, Devon and Jaime were going to come with us. Initially I wondered if Jaime, being the only girl, would be uncomfortable. But then I remembered she played soccer with us at recess and handled herself well around the guys. She didn’t take any “guff ” from people, whether they were male or female.
Mr. Spence wandered over to where Simon and I were getting our stuff together at the back.
“I think I’m going a bit crazy,” Mr. Spence said. “I couldn’t stop thinking about chicken all day.”
“I guess that’s my fault,” I admitted reluctantly. I unzipped my backpack, and before I removed the box, the smell wafted out. I pulled the carton partway out.
“You had KFC for lunch?” he said.
“It wasn’t for me, and it’s not really a lunch. It’s just bits and pieces. It’s for the cats.” I quickly explained about the cat colony.
“That’s very nice, but are you sure you should be going in the junkyard?” Mr. Spence asked.
“My mother knows about it,” I said. “She was the one who got me the scraps from KFC.”
“And we go in with Mr. Singh,” Simon added. “He runs the place, and he says he likes us there.”
“Well, as long as your parents know,” he said. Mr. Spence took a deep breath. “I’m definitely having KFC tonight.”
“We have KFC every night at my place,” Simon said.
“You do?” Mr. Spence and I said in unison.
“Sure. KFC, Korean food and chow.”