The first day of school was a very big event in Dry Gables for not only the seven children who attended and their parents, but to the schoolteacher Seamus O'Conner as well. He was fully prepared, excited, and felt like his life had fully aligned for that moment. That is, until the school day began ... and things did not go very well at all. By the day's end, Seamus was ready to quit. "I am not the man for the job" he told Wilhelm, the town planner. But Wilhelm had a very different picture of what happened — and how to handle it.