Teacher holds teen pupils’ baby during class so she’s able to follow the lesson

Teacher Julio Cruz volunteered to look after the tot so mom-of-one Moira Hinojosa could pay attention to the lesson he was giving at a school in the Argentinian province of Tucuman.

He held the little boy, Santino Benjamin, in his arms while writing on the blackboard and explaining the “theory and management of organisations”.

Moira, whose mom and stepfather help her with the baby at home, is in her last year of secondary school and hopes to eventually go on to study law.

"The teachers here have no problem with me bringing my son to class. I’m the first one who’s done this,” says Moira.

"Santino is very well behaved and doesn’t bother anyone. When I have to feed him, they give me privacy in a corner of the classroom."

Julio says it’s important to keep teenage moms in education and adds, "We must encourage inclusion.

"I did it totally naturally. It was 20 minutes before the class finished and my student needed to finish her work. I asked for the baby, I picked it up, it fell asleep in my arms and I continued with my work.

"I’m a tutor for Moira and as a teacher it’s important to teach but also to provide support and help students who need it.

“I didn’t do anything extraordinary. Many teachers from other schools do the same."

Moira wrote on Facebook: "Our teachers make me proud of Argentinian education. They’re people who don’t care what other people say and who help a person who needs it without asking for anything in return.

"From the start of my pregnancy I carried on going to lessons and everyone in the school has been by my side supporting and helping me all the time.

“When I started to take Santino to school, nobody tried to stop me bringing him to class. In fact, they didn’t want me to skip any lessons so they could keep seeing him.”

Ariel Bahiano Figueroa, one of Moira's classmates, also praised Julio on Facebook, saying: “We know him for his humility and his generosity.

"I wish there were more like you, Teacher. You make students learn values, apart from teaching. He’s a friend of the students and we need one."

The identity of the father of Moira's baby isn’t known and it isn’t clear whether he’s involved in raising the little boy.

Source: Magazine Features