Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
Available On Air Stations

Why does a classroom in New Jersey always have 1 empty chair?

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Leila Fadel. Dan Gill's classroom at Glenfield Middle School in New Jersey always has one empty chair. Gill tells The Washington Post it goes back to a childhood memory, when a Black classmate was turned away from another kid's birthday party because, as someone said at the time, there weren't enough chairs. The empty chair in his social studies class now, he says, symbolizes acceptance, a lesson he's shared often over a teaching career that started 52 years ago. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

You Might Also Like

Support Local News and Stories: How You Help Sustain VPM

Community members – like you – sustain VPM so we can deliver local news coverage, educational programming and inspiring stories. Your donations make it possible.

Support Now
CTA Image