Asked by Goated

It was the day everyone at Milford Junior High School dreaded: speech day. One by one, each student would get up in front of the class and deliver a five-minute autobiographical speech. For Joel, giving a speech was extra difficult, and he wanted to vanish into thin air when the teacher called his name first.

His footsteps felt like iron as he slowly made his way to the front of the room. His forehead moist with sweat, Joel could hardly breathe as he stuttered, “G-g-good morning.”

Laughter erupted in the audience as Joel fell silent. Ms. Strauss, the speech teacher, swiftly put an end to that mocking laughter. “Anyone who makes a sound during the speeches this morning will be sent to the principal’s office immediately,” she warned as the class quieted down.

More nervous than before, Joel resumed his speech, stuttering from time to time as he shared his autobiography. “I’ve been stuttering since the time I could talk when I was two years old. I’ve had a speech therapist all my life, and my stuttering has improved, but s-s-sometimes I still stutter.”

He looked out at the audience, expecting to see amused smiles or rolling eyes. But Joel didn’t see anything like that, so he continued, “I want you to know that it’s not easy to have a speech ch-challenge. But like other challenges, you can work hard to overcome it as best as possible.”

At the end of Joel’s speech, the class burst into enthusiastic applause, and several students raised their hands to ask questions. “How do you feel when people laugh at your stuttering?” one boy asked.

“I feel awful,” Joel answered bluntly.

Each student was lost in a world of private thoughts, but they all knew one thing: they would not laugh at Joel again, and they would think twice before mocking anyone who appeared different.

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Questions
Which detail conveys the theme that people should better understand others?

Speech day was important for everyone in the class, especially Joel.

Joel wrote a moving autobiography about his life.

Joel was able to finish giving his speech after the speech teacher quieted the class down.

After learning more about Joel, the students felt bad about laughing at him.
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All Answers 1

Answered by GPT-5 mini AI
After learning more about Joel, the students felt bad about laughing at him.

This detail shows that learning about someone's struggles leads to understanding and empathy.