On a sunny afternoon, students in Governor Dummer Middle School were silently reading their books in their classrooms when they heard the intercom turn on.
“Good morning students!” the principal said enthusiastically.
“I am happy to announce that our upcoming school elections are approaching. The power is in the students, you all will vote for a school secretary, treasurer, vice president and of course president. I hope many of you will consider running! Good luck!”
Joe the Bear was filled with excitement when he heard the news, all he could think about was the chance of him being elected as class president. As Joe was daydreaming of all he would do for the school he suddenly overheard Don the Green Meanie say with the most utter confidence anyone could have “Oh dude I’m definitely running for class president since I already know I am going to win” to his friend. All of Joe the Bear’s hopes came crashing down, Don the Green Meanie was the most popular guy in the school, how would he ever compete with him and his followers?
Joe the Bear was upset for the rest of the day, all he wanted to be was class president but he knew his chances were low. He went to lunch but didn't speak with any of his friends. It wasn’t until his friend Kamila the Octopus came and asked “what’s wrong Joe?”
“My dreams are crushed! I wanted to run for class president but Don the Green Meanie is going too and I already know he’s going to win with all this popularity so there’s no point!”
“Don’t give up on your dreams Joe! You have as much of a chance of winning as Don does, if you work hard and campaign for yourself I know you will win!”
Kamila the Octopus’s words hit hard, Joe realized he had to try before he gave up.
“You're right Kamila! Thank you, will you help with my campaign?”
“Of course Joe!”
Joe and Kamila started working on posters and ways to advertise Joe’s campaign together. They handed out refreshments and pins to students, hosted Q&As sessions to talk about future plans and made speeches to the entire school.
One day, Joe and Kamila were working on the designs for a poster when Don the Green Meanie walked in and approached them. He started to laugh once he saw their computer screens.
“You seriously don’t think you stand a chance against me do you? I have more than half the school on my back, you’re wasting your time campaigning when you already know you’re going to lose. I’m not even campaigning myself because it’s such a waste of time if I already have the position secured.” Don the Green Meanie walked away with a smirk.
Joe the Bear felt discouraged by his words, but he knew he had to keep persevering if he wanted a chance at class president. So, Kamila and Joe worked tirelessly for the next few weeks to boost Joe’s campaign while Don the Green Meanie kept making remarks about not having to do any of “the extra work” to win. However, as time went by lots of students became more interested in what Joe had to say and he quickly gained encouragement from others.
Finally, the election day came. Joe the Bear was nervous, all of the time and dedication he had put into winning class president was going to be determined if it was worth it or not. As students casted their votes, Joe the Bear grew increasingly anxious while Don the Meanie felt anything but worried.
The school day passed and more students continued voting, the day was almost over when the principal came on the intercom and said “Wow! Thank you all so much for participating in this year’s election! For class president, it was by far the closest one I have seen! However, I am proud to announce that our next class president is Joe the Bear! Congratulations, I have seen all the hard work he has done and I can confidently say he deserves this!......”
When Joe the Bear heard this he jumped up and down, he couldn’t believe he had just won. People were coming up to him to congratulate him and all Joe the Bear could think of was what he was going to do with his new position and how everything paid off in the long run. Don the Green Meanie caught Joe’s attention once he realized he was sitting by himself, Joe decided to go up to Don the Green Meanie because the last thing he wanted anyone to feel was like they failed. Before he could say anything Don the Green Meanie said “Joe congratulations, I’m sorry I should’ve never underestimated you. I can see now that I was in the wrong and became too cocky that I was going to win only because I was popular.” Joe smiled and responded “It’s okay, I hope you can use what you learned for your future, thank you Donald”
Joe the Bear was looking forward to the rest of the school year, but most importantly Joe and Donald learned one big lesson together: be humble.
“Good morning students!” the principal said enthusiastically.
“I am happy to announce that our upcoming school elections are approaching. The power is in the students, you all will vote for a school secretary, treasurer, vice president and of course president. I hope many of you will consider running! Good luck!”
Joe the Bear was filled with excitement when he heard the news, all he could think about was the chance of him being elected as class president. As Joe was daydreaming of all he would do for the school he suddenly overheard Don the Green Meanie say with the most utter confidence anyone could have “Oh dude I’m definitely running for class president since I already know I am going to win” to his friend. All of Joe the Bear’s hopes came crashing down, Don the Green Meanie was the most popular guy in the school, how would he ever compete with him and his followers?
Joe the Bear was upset for the rest of the day, all he wanted to be was class president but he knew his chances were low. He went to lunch but didn't speak with any of his friends. It wasn’t until his friend Kamila the Octopus came and asked “what’s wrong Joe?”
“My dreams are crushed! I wanted to run for class president but Don the Green Meanie is going too and I already know he’s going to win with all this popularity so there’s no point!”
“Don’t give up on your dreams Joe! You have as much of a chance of winning as Don does, if you work hard and campaign for yourself I know you will win!”
Kamila the Octopus’s words hit hard, Joe realized he had to try before he gave up.
“You're right Kamila! Thank you, will you help with my campaign?”
“Of course Joe!”
Joe and Kamila started working on posters and ways to advertise Joe’s campaign together. They handed out refreshments and pins to students, hosted Q&As sessions to talk about future plans and made speeches to the entire school.
One day, Joe and Kamila were working on the designs for a poster when Don the Green Meanie walked in and approached them. He started to laugh once he saw their computer screens.
“You seriously don’t think you stand a chance against me do you? I have more than half the school on my back, you’re wasting your time campaigning when you already know you’re going to lose. I’m not even campaigning myself because it’s such a waste of time if I already have the position secured.” Don the Green Meanie walked away with a smirk.
Joe the Bear felt discouraged by his words, but he knew he had to keep persevering if he wanted a chance at class president. So, Kamila and Joe worked tirelessly for the next few weeks to boost Joe’s campaign while Don the Green Meanie kept making remarks about not having to do any of “the extra work” to win. However, as time went by lots of students became more interested in what Joe had to say and he quickly gained encouragement from others.
Finally, the election day came. Joe the Bear was nervous, all of the time and dedication he had put into winning class president was going to be determined if it was worth it or not. As students casted their votes, Joe the Bear grew increasingly anxious while Don the Meanie felt anything but worried.
The school day passed and more students continued voting, the day was almost over when the principal came on the intercom and said “Wow! Thank you all so much for participating in this year’s election! For class president, it was by far the closest one I have seen! However, I am proud to announce that our next class president is Joe the Bear! Congratulations, I have seen all the hard work he has done and I can confidently say he deserves this!......”
When Joe the Bear heard this he jumped up and down, he couldn’t believe he had just won. People were coming up to him to congratulate him and all Joe the Bear could think of was what he was going to do with his new position and how everything paid off in the long run. Don the Green Meanie caught Joe’s attention once he realized he was sitting by himself, Joe decided to go up to Don the Green Meanie because the last thing he wanted anyone to feel was like they failed. Before he could say anything Don the Green Meanie said “Joe congratulations, I’m sorry I should’ve never underestimated you. I can see now that I was in the wrong and became too cocky that I was going to win only because I was popular.” Joe smiled and responded “It’s okay, I hope you can use what you learned for your future, thank you Donald”
Joe the Bear was looking forward to the rest of the school year, but most importantly Joe and Donald learned one big lesson together: be humble.