The Lesson

The class settled down as Gisella wrote the website URL on the smartboard. As a group, they logged into the site on their computer tablets, then looked up with questioning eyes. Gisella smiled.

“I knew that would get your attention. We’re learning about marine biology today.” She walked down the aisles. “Any questions?”

The first hand to shoot up was from Patrick. Outspoken Patrick. “Ms. Gisella, is this a prank?”

She shook her head. “Why would you say that?”

Olivia, with her perfectly styled blonde curls framing her face, spoke up, “Because this site is about mermaids.”

A general chorus of chuckles echoed in the room.

Gisella continued, “And?”

Patrick shook his head. “Mermaids aren’t real. Whales, dolphins, sharks, those are real. You said marine biology, not myths and fantasy.”

“All right, but just because you haven’t seen a mermaid in the downtown aquarium doesn’t mean they’re not real. You haven’t seen a dinosaur, but those were real.” Gisella went back to the front of the classroom.

“Wait.” Patrick squirmed in his seat. “Is this philosophy or paleontology? No, you said marine biology. I want to learn about the ocean. Isn’t that your lesson plan or whatever?”

Gisella nodded. “Yes, it is. And I’m here to teach you marine biology. Go to the About page on the site.”

Nimble fingers tapped their tablets.

“Good.” Gisella showed the page on the smartboard. “Follow along.”

She read the first paragraph:

“Mermaids, Aquahominus marinae, are a mammalian species from the Quaternary Period believed to be extinct, mostly found in the Atlantic Ocean near shorelines or islands. Some subspecies had the ability to emit the fabled siren song to lure men, but most were a peaceful sea-going species.”

The class erupted in laughter, but Gisella remained calm and waited for the noise to dissipate. Her students were the brightest at Oceanside High and she loved teaching such eager minds, but this lesson was challenging, and she knew it. Getting kids to think for themselves was probably one of the most important things she could teach.

“All right, guys, why do you think people consider mermaids myths?” She waited for Patrick’s hand to go up.

Sure enough, he practically jumped out of his seat. “We don’t have any mermaid skeletons or fossil evidence. And the ridiculous stories about them can’t ever be proven.”

Gisella nodded. “True. But before the first dinosaur fossil was discovered, nobody thought they existed. Right?”

With his hand half up, Patrick sighed. “Sure, you’ve got a point, Ms. Gisella, but we need hard evidence. Without proof, you can’t say for sure anything exists.”

This was fun. Gisella was in her element. “So what about a supreme deity?”

Silence.

She raised an eyebrow, but the silence continued.

The girl way in the back, Elizabeth, slowly raised her hand. “Ms. Gisella, I thought we were learning about marine biology, not theology.”

“Oh, we are. I’m showing you that there could be hundreds or thousands of marine lifeforms out there that we’ve never seen. Or found evidence of.” Gisella glanced at Patrick. “The lack of evidence is not evidence. I want you to learn to seek out answers, not rely on what you’ve been told. Learn to think and weigh the options before taking anyone’s word for something.”

Elizabeth continued, “I’m confused. How is this a lesson in marine biology?”

What a great class! Gisella loved the banter. “What if mermaids were real? There haven’t been any fantastical stories lately about sailors witnessing these creatures swimming around. So what happened? Did they die off or learn to avoid people? How do you think they went extinct and why? Or did they go extinct? I want a thoughtful, two-page essay on this topic, with at least two references to articles about sightings.”

Patrick wriggled in his seat and launched his hand in the air. “Seriously? I want to be a marine biologist and this essay is stupid. I’m here to learn about marine life.”

“Mermaids are marine life, Patrick. Just because we don’t see them lounging on the beach doesn’t mean they aren’t there. One day sharks and whales will go extinct, too. You need to understand the correlation between a species and its environment, and what can happen when there’s a breakdown caused by other forces.”

“Oh.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes. “You mean how humans have polluted the oceans and caused them to warm. Okay, I get it. Consequences for our actions.”

“Good.” Gisella smiled. “We must understand how important and intertwined everything is, especially in the ocean.” She paused. “Your essay is due tomorrow.”

Groans and objections rose.

Gisella checked the clock. Still thirty minutes of class left. “You can start now and work for the rest of class.”

“Yay!” Elizabeth scrolled on her tablet and never looked up.

Patrick sighed, obviously still not convinced of the assignment or lesson, but began working on his tablet anyway.

When class was dismissed, Gisella packed up her things and headed home, excited for tomorrow to see what the kids wrote for their essays. This was their last semester before graduation, and she wanted to make it as interesting and fun as possible.

Once home, she kicked off her shoes and strolled to the backyard, her favorite place, besides the beach. After rolling the cover off the hot tub, she checked the temperature. A nice seventy-five degrees. She wasn’t one for heated tubs.

She stripped down and sat on the edge, dangling her feet into the calming water, and closed her eyes. Finally, she felt like herself. Tail, scales, and fins. She laughed out loud at what Patrick said about mermaids being myths and fantasy but stopped a moment later. With all the environmental damage caused by humans, she and her kind truly would become nothing more than a tall tale.

Sliding down into the water, she flopped her tail and used her gills behind her ears to breathe. With only a few thousand mermaids left, she wanted to be part of teaching young people to be responsible and realize that changes had to be made. Her goal was to reach someone like Patrick and get him to see that even if he didn’t see damage being done, it was there. She’d been tasked by the elders to nudge the humans into being more responsible and teaching was her idea. It was a good mission, but perhaps too late.

The next day, she collected the essays and piled them on her desk to read at home. The class was unusually quiet until Patrick raised his hand.

“Ms. Gisella, we were all on chat last night working on the essays and…well…we decided to do a beach cleanup this weekend with a bunch of our friends and parents. I had a talk with my parents about being more sustainable, too. Maybe if we all do a little, we can make a difference.”

Gisella beamed inside. “Exactly, Patrick. It takes one person to make little changes, and a lot to make big changes. Thank you for understanding what I’m trying to teach.”

Elizabeth chimed in, “Oh, we get it. I always wanted to be a mermaid when I was little, but what you said yesterday got me thinking. What if mermaids were real and we killed them off? We missed the chance to learn about them.” Her face darkened with sadness. “Maybe they ate fish and we took away their food supply by overfishing. Could that happen?”

“Definitely.” Gisella sighed. “But maybe it’s not too late. If mermaids were real, there could still be some around. It’s not like they get placed on the endangered species list, so people have to act now to help save them, and all wildlife.”

Patrick waved his hand. “I like this exercise. And mermaids or not, I’m going to make a difference and when I’m a marine biologist, I’ll make sure the oceans are clean.”

“I’ll hold you to that, Patrick.” Gisella nodded thoughtfully.

“Us, too, Ms. Gisella!” Elizabeth motioned to her friends. “We’re all going to do what we can, and make sure our parents stop messing up the environment.”

“What a wonderful class I have.” Gisella grinned.

She had to keep teaching for as long as it took, but if all the students were as bright as this class, perhaps extinction would be off the table, and she could return to her home under the water. But time would tell.