What This Professor Did For His Student During Class Is All Kinds Of Awesome!

It hasn't been a good week for institutions of higher learning, but this story makes me feel like hope is not completely lost.

This amazing picture was taken during a class at Hebrew University in Jerusalem –

According to this, Professor Sydney Engelberg was in the middle of a lecture when a student's child started crying. According to the Facebook caption posted by Engelberg's daughter, Sarit Fishbaine (who was the one who snapped the picture), the mother stood up to leave and was embarrassed to have caused such an interruption. Without missing a beat, Professor Engelberg picked up the child and calmed him down and then proceeded to continue his lecture holding the child so his mother could stay for the rest of the class. The linked article has more from Fishbaine about the situation and her father in general –

“Show me another professor who does that,” Fishbaine says in the caption. “Because my dad is simply the best in the world.” Her Facebook post has almost 50,000 likes and 5,000 shares. An Imgur post with the photo has over 1 million views.

 

Engelberg's daughter also wrote that her father encourages his students with children to bring their babies to lectures and breastfeed them in class as well. “The way he sees the concept of getting education is not only learning the dry facts that you need to learn in class but also learning values. And that’s the very important message that my dad wants to endow to the world,”

The photo has also gotten praise from commenters on Imgur – notes of appreciation for a professor who supports students with children and doesn't want them to have to choose between taking care of their families and getting an education.

It's a small story and a simple gesture, but there is a need to highlight the good things in the world as well as the problems. There is enough negativity – let's talk about small acts of kindness and praise them where we see them.