Short Stories for Teachers
Apostol Stoyanov, 78, starts first grade in Bulgaria
Better late than never.
Last Thursday, 78-year-old Apostol Stoyanov celebrated his first day of school — ever.
The Bulgarian man joined other first-grade students at a Bulgarian school, eager to become literate in his old age.
He told state news agency BTA that distance and cost were insurmountable obstacles to education when he was young. A lifelong labourer and bachelor in the central village or Popovsti, Stoyanov said, "his biggest dream is to be literate."
Stoyanov enrolled alongside 430 Gabrovo first-graders, but will study primarily on his own. He'll attend school to take quizzes and tests, and to submit his first-ever homework assignments.
Like many of his pint-sized peers, his biggest fear is math class. The determined student already anticipates seeking additional help in that subject.
