When Aris Scourtis is hired to teach 6th grade in an Athens elementary school, he discovers that among his pupils there is one - Lefteris Mouratidis by name - who is almost illiterate (he has rudimentary reading and writing skills and only knows addition) and - as a result of which - is a social outcast.
He decides to help the child find a way out of its predicament only to find his efforts thwarted by all sorts of obstacles not the least of which is the distrust of Lefteris himself. Scourtis must also face the hostility of his fellow teachers at the school, the apathy of the child's parents and the negative attitude of the other children towards their classmate... Due to his faith and persistence, however, he manages to overcome the difficulties and at one crucial moment when Lefteris "regresses" to his old condition, Aris finds a way of getting the kid on his feet again...
As in real life the story does not end with some "victory". Lefteris does not become the star student in his class. He does not even become a good student. Yet by the time the school year ends he has become a person who has found himself and his place in the world. With the self knowledge he has gained and the self respect he has won he can now make his way in the world with assurance, relying on his own strengths. Along with the others. |