In one of the mountainous and beautiful villages of Diyarbakir, where clouds cast their gentle shadows over the fields, and the scent of fresh earth fills the air, there lived a young teacher named Ahmad. A passionate and dedicated educator, Ahmad always sought to bring something beyond reading and writing to his students. One spring day, he decided to draw his students’ attention to the topic of addition and multiplication with a simple example during math class.
“Children, suppose you have ten strawberries in one bowl. Now, if you have five bowls, how many strawberries will you have in total?”
But as soon as he asked this question, he noticed that the innocent, curious faces of his students were filled with question marks. One of the children raised his hand and asked, “Sir, what is a strawberry?”
This simple question made the teacher think deeply. He realized that in this village, where children interacted with soil and fields every day, none of them had ever tasted the sweet, delicious flavor of a strawberry. He couldn’t overlook this fact, so he decided to do something about it. Ahmad collected some of the beautiful village soil and sent it to an agricultural institute in Bursa, a city known for strawberry cultivation in Turkey, to ask if this soil was suitable for growing strawberries.
A few weeks later, he received a response from the institute: “This soil and the climate of Diyarbakir are very suitable for strawberry cultivation.” Along with the letter, they sent a few strawberry plants and instructions on how to plant and care for them.
Excitedly, Ahmad shared the good news with the children and took them to the school yard. Carefully, he taught them how to plant the strawberry plants and said, “Children, this year, I won’t be giving a math exam. Instead, I will give each of you four strawberry plants. Take them home, plant them with your parents, and when the fruits are ready, bring them in a dish to school. For every ten strawberries, you will receive one grade.”
The excitement in the children’s eyes was clear. They eagerly took the plants home and, following their teacher’s guidance, planted them. Their parents, initially a bit surprised, soon became enthusiastic and helped their children in planting and caring for the plants.
Months passed, and the harvest season arrived. The children, now proud owners of green plants full of red fruit in their home gardens, filled their plates with strawberries and brought them to school. Ahmad, with a kind smile, asked them, “So, how did they taste?”
With a little embarrassment, the students replied, “Sir, we didn’t taste them at all, because we were supposed to bring them for our grade.”
Ahmad laughed and said, “You all get full marks. Now, you can eat your strawberries!”
With an indescribable eagerness, the children tasted the strawberries, and their laughter and joy filled the school yard. Several years passed, and Ahmad continued to teach his students. But now, in the local markets of the village, where no one had ever known the taste of strawberries, fresh and fragrant strawberries were sold. The people of this village, who once only knew their native crops, now had a new product, thanks to the love and dedication of a teacher toward his students, which had found its way to their land.
