Level Three. News.
Level Three – News.
By Michelle Lloyd.
Little Herbert had a bed time. It was a routine that he had to adhere to, without fail. Always before the night time news would start Little Herbert would be sent off to bed. Slowly, over time, Little Herbert had started to think about what the news would be like to watch…he had never been keen on the idea of watching it before but he had to admit that there was an allure to being able to feel and look like all those grown-ups who did watch the news.
The news was a mature means of finding out what was happening, or so his dad had tried to explain, and Little Herbert thought it quite unfair that he was not allowed to become informed about worldly matters.
When asked further about being able to watch the news, Little Herbert’s Dad had told him that it was not age appropriate for him. Little Herbert could not understand why, he knew of a lot of watchers of the news at school and so he tried again to ask his Dad about it. In the latest response his Dad elaborated on the news being full of grown-up issues, political campaigns and difficult dilemmas. The more he talked about it, the more intrigued Little Herbert became.
The subject of the news and Little Herbert being allowed to watch it became an issue in the household. Little Herbert’s Dad found that his son was not one to leave his an aim alone and he reluctantly gave in to him watching the local edition of the news.
Far from unappealing the news started with a broadcast about a campaign to help someone in their locality. Little Herbert listened in and looked on as he found out that only a few streets away from him was someone who was a similar age to him and who needed urgent help. There were many similarities between who he saw on the news and him, they loved the same sports, had been to similar local events and soon Little Herbert found himself feeling extremely sad for someone who he thought he would like very much but who he knew was unwell. He watched as the news reader informed about what the illness was, what treatment he needed and how much needed to be raised to get him where he needed to be. Little Herbert switched off the news that night and instead of feeling sad decided that he would do as he had learnt in school and try to turn something he would otherwise be sad about into something maybe both he and the subject on the news could be glad about.
Little Herbert got to thinking and his Dad was not at all reassured that his watching the news had been the right thing to do. He asked his Dad about what he had seen and hearing more facts about it made him even more sure. When Little Herbert’s Dad heard about his desire to help, he smiled and said that it was very compassionate of him but the actuality of something could be far different to the thinking about it. Little Herbert listened to his Dad’s concerns but as with the idea of watching the news, he knew this was something that he was ready to do, besides he knew that if he went ahead with his idea then he would not be on his own.
New One, R V and Little Herbert sounded out their school about the idea they had and all too soon a notion became an actuality. Little Herbert could not be more happy about his two friends’ responses to his telling them about his first watch of the news, both had liked the sound of what he had thought of and more than that that they had a contribution of ideas themselves.
They had to speak to three teachers and the head of their school, there was a lot to do but Little Herbert kept thinking about what he had seen on the news and what he could do about it. Before too long the three ideas came into the school by a means of a collective effort and the local news was notified about what they had done.
Watching the news had meant to Little Herbert that he had been able to do something for someone else and be a positive part of what he had seen. A school supported fund raiser had been held in honour of the subject that he had seen on the news and a certain favourite shared sporting event was the basis for the final push towards life saving treatment. It was on that same day that Little Herbert did something his Dad had never thought about when he had first asked to watch the news and that was he met with the same similar minded, fun loving chap of a similar age and at the school they shared in their achievement of winning their match. The actuality of what Little Herbert did because of what he had seen was hard and it was far more difficult than simply thinking a thought but what could not be disputed was that it was the news that had brought him into getting to know someone similar to himself and being able to do something for him.