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Lawrence Stevenson High School Case Study

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The sun was hidden behind the dark clouds hovering over the mountain tops of the Sierra Nevada. Lawrence Nicholas was making his usual commute into the small town of Aberdeen, California, where he worked as a history teacher in the local high school.
As a child, Lawrence had always been fascinated by the truculent (#1 Adj) battles fought across the world. When he was seven years old, he had even stolen a complete cassette collection about the two World Wars from the library. His mother forced him to return the cassette collection, however, Lawrence’s passion for history had been settled. Now, he was fifty-eight years old and Lawrence did not have a spouse, children, or any immediate family that lived close to him. Although he had two sisters, …show more content…

Harry Anderson had hired Lawrence Nicholas because he could tell that under his diffident (#2 Adj) demeanor was a chivalrous (#3 Adj) and altruistic (#4 Adj) man, who really had a passion for teaching. Mr. Anderson became aware of Lawrence's attributes when he read the paper attached to his application. The application process to become a teacher at Aberdeen High was admittedly facile (#5 Adj) because of the low pay and even lower population in Aberdeen. Nonetheless, Lawrence's application blew Mr. Anderson away. He had never before read such an eloquently written and infallible (#6 Adj) work of art.
As he looked into the deep black sky, Lawrence remembered that the umbrella he had recently bought was still reposing (#7 Verb) inside its packaging on top of his kitchen counter. Lawrence sighed and continued to drive. He was only ten minutes away from home, but he decided against embarking (#8 Verb) on another trip back just for the umbrella. Lawrence thought to himself, There is no use in going back. I might not even be raining in …show more content…

Nice to meet you. What is your name?” Lawrence asked.
“My name is TJ, short for Thomas Johnson, but most people know me by the name ‘hollow head’. I served in Vietnam. That is, where I got the name. Anyway, I’m just on my way to the city….. to look for work,” Thomas said.
Thomas struggled with the completing the last sentence because it was a lie. Out of nowhere, tears began to roll across Thomas’ face.
“I have been homeless for three years now,” Thomas cried, “ My parents died in 1983 and….and I have been lost ever since. This is the first good thing that has happened to me in a long time. Thank You.”
Thomas’ emotional outbreak had taken Lawrence by surprise. He felt clemency (#16 Noun) toward Thomas. Something about the name, “hollow head”, seemed very familiar to Lawrence and he wanted to find out. Lawrence's experience both as a benefactor (#17 Noun) and former soldier helped him make the right decision. Lawrence decided to call into work and report he was not going to show up. Mr. Anderson thanked him for calling and told him there was no problem if he missed just one day. Mr. Anderson knew Lawrence would not remiss (#18 Adj) in doing his job if it was not something

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