This very short story describes the feelings of a teacher on the last day of a school year. It is clear from the story that the teacher cares greatly for his students. Grades have been sent home and the long holiday is about to begin. For the teacher, it is an especially memorable day. As well as being the end of the school year, he is leaving teaching and moving on to a different career. Last Day at School was written by Italian teacher-turned-journalist Giovanni Mosca, and presumably talks about his own feelings on leaving teaching in 1936.
The story is from Mosca’a book Ricordi di Scuola (Memories of School), published in 1939. Mosca was imprisoned for his political journalism in 1943. It is said that an officer with fond memories of the book deleted his name from a transport list, thus saving him from a concentration camp in Germany.
Original Text / PDF (876 words)
We are always happy to receive requests for stories. Last Day at School was requested by Solamalai Ramesh, who teaches Engineering at a college in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu. Solamalai wrote:
“It’s a story I read when I was in college as an undergraduate in 1987. I love to read it again and again. I lost the copy of the textbook and my old professor found it for me after spending a week in the English department library.”
Thank you for requesting and supplying a copy of “Last Day at School”, Solamalai. If any other reader would like us to cover a particular story, simply send a request through the “Contact Us” tab above.