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The reason this teacher let his teenage student sleep in class is heart-warming

Remember when you would get detention for falling asleep in class? Well it looks like you won't get in trouble for it anymore- at least not in this teacher's classroom. 

Monte Syrie, a high school English teacher in Washington, shared a Twitter thread that has restored our faith in humanity. 

A student called Meg fell asleep in his class, so he let her sleep. 

"She had zero-hour math, farm-girls chores, state-qualifying 4X4 fatigue, adolescent angst, and various other things to deal with," he wrote. "My class is only part fo her life, not her life." 

While he is being praised to his empathy, he made a point of explaining that Meg turned in her essay later that day. His attitude towards sleeping students may "go against the grain", he trusted his instinct.

"In a different room, Meg may have been written up for sleeping in class and given a zero for a missing essay, but she wasn't in a different room; she was in my room. My room." 

Syrie knew that while she has a fully-packed schedule, she would still manage to get her work done- and she did. 

“She, like all my kids, has shown signs of exhaustion/fatigue, but she had never fallen asleep before,” Syrie told Yahoo Lifestyle.

“I think any of my kids could nod off. It just happened to be Meg on that day. Have I had kids fall asleep in class before? Yes. Will I again? Yes. Am I suggesting that we just simply let kids, then, sleep in class? No. But I am suggesting that we practice compassion.”

Despite Mag's classmates being aware of her nodding off, they didn't appear to mind.

 “And I think they didn't say anything because they get it. They did not cry foul. They live her same existence every day. They understand.”

Inspired by Syrie's kindness, others have been sharing their stories of times that teachers gave them a much-needed break. 

As for Syrie, he will continue to allow a few cheeky naps.

“I will let kids sleep when the need requires. I would risk my career for it. Maybe I already have.”

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