Muriel's teaching style is completely opposite to Hetty's; the first thing she does is troop all of the students outside for some lessons. The children love it, though Gus is at first suspicious and closed off from any teacher who is not Hetty. He's also exhausted and falls asleep during class. When the other students explain how hard he has to work to attend school, Miss Stacey is filled with admiration for his dedication to learning. She asks him if he will play his fiddle in the school presentation to the Lieutenant Governor, which she's changed to be a tribute to Hetty by the children. Gus, though yearning to play, is mindful of Hetty's words and refuses to do so. Later at the cannery, another worker who has been relentlessly mocking Gus for going to school starts in at him again and Gus, tired and depressed, looses his temper. The two get into a fight; they knock over a kerosene lamp during the tussle and a shed is burned down. Gus has to pay for the damages, so quits school to work fulltime at the cannery. He asks Miss Stacey for his violin- which has been in a cupboard at the school-back, convinced that he's like his father and that there's no use trying to improve himself. Just then Hetty hobbles into the school and, seeing Muriel giving Gus his fiddle, misunderstands what's going on and flies off the handle, accusing Muriel of undermining her authority. Gus bolts, and a furious Miss Stacey and equally angry Hetty have it out in the school yard as the students peer avidly out the windows. Muriel tells Hetty a few plain truths about her behaviour and what her implacable attitude has done to Gus. Hetty is shocked out of her rage, as she truly does care about Gus getting an education. She gets herself to the cannery and tells Gus that her words had been hasty and unthinking, and she never thought that there was any possibility of him becoming like his father. She asks him to consider coming back to school.
The next episode of Road To Avonlea is Aunt Hetty-centric, though it involves a lot of other characters as well. In it, Hetty receives word that the Provincial Superintendent of Schools is coming to Avonlea. Further, this superintendent is Hetty's old rival from teachers' college, Miss Muriel Stacey who used to teach in Avonlea (obviously in the days of Anne and Gilbert). Hetty is sure that Muriel is coming to find fault with her teaching and the school's attendance. She immediately goes into overdrive, attempting to drum up new recruits to attend school. She travels to the cannery where a lot of unschooled minors work and attempts to convince some of them to come to school. None of them are very interested... they want- and need- to earn money, which they won't do sitting in a classroom. The one exception is Gus Pike, who truly wants to better himself and get ahead. He agrees to give school a try though he can't not work, so he gets up really early and works a shift, then runs all the way to Avonlea school, then works another shift at the cannery after school. Hetty is happy to have him there, and she's very impressed with his ability to pick things up quickly. She is currently getting the children to learn a poem- the "Breathes There The Man" portion of Walter Scott's The Lay of the Last Minstrel- for a presentation during the visit of the Lieutenant Governor to Avonlea and Gus, after listening to them practicing, can recite the whole thing. Hetty's prim and proper soul is more than a little horrified by his uncouth ways and his history: Gus' mother is dead and his father is in prison for killing a man. Stressed out by the upcoming event as well as Muriel Stacey's impending arrival, Hetty has even less patience than usual for the children slacking off. When she observes the students being distracted by Gus' fiddle playing, she tells Gus that he should give up his fiddling and concentrate on studying unless he wants to end up like his father (who originally owned the violin). Gus, to whom Hetty's word is law, takes her far more seriously than she meant to be and stops playing entirely, though the loss of his music makes him miserable. Meanwhile, Miss Stacey arrives in town and Hetty feels duty bound to invite her to Rose Cottage for dinner. Unfortunately, while Olivia and Sarah go to meet Muriel, Hetty falls while having a bath and throws her back out. The others arrive to find her in terrible pain and unable to get up, the dinner burnt to a crisp. Hetty is infuriated and humiliated as Muriel takes charge of the situation. And, when Dr Blair tells her she must rest her back and not teach for a while, Hetty is beside herself as Muriel cheerfully volunteers to take over the school until she's back on her feet. Muriel's teaching style is completely opposite to Hetty's; the first thing she does is troop all of the students outside for some lessons. The children love it, though Gus is at first suspicious and closed off from any teacher who is not Hetty. He's also exhausted and falls asleep during class. When the other students explain how hard he has to work to attend school, Miss Stacey is filled with admiration for his dedication to learning. She asks him if he will play his fiddle in the school presentation to the Lieutenant Governor, which she's changed to be a tribute to Hetty by the children. Gus, though yearning to play, is mindful of Hetty's words and refuses to do so. Later at the cannery, another worker who has been relentlessly mocking Gus for going to school starts in at him again and Gus, tired and depressed, looses his temper. The two get into a fight; they knock over a kerosene lamp during the tussle and a shed is burned down. Gus has to pay for the damages, so quits school to work fulltime at the cannery. He asks Miss Stacey for his violin- which has been in a cupboard at the school-back, convinced that he's like his father and that there's no use trying to improve himself. Just then Hetty hobbles into the school and, seeing Muriel giving Gus his fiddle, misunderstands what's going on and flies off the handle, accusing Muriel of undermining her authority. Gus bolts, and a furious Miss Stacey and equally angry Hetty have it out in the school yard as the students peer avidly out the windows. Muriel tells Hetty a few plain truths about her behaviour and what her implacable attitude has done to Gus. Hetty is shocked out of her rage, as she truly does care about Gus getting an education. She gets herself to the cannery and tells Gus that her words had been hasty and unthinking, and she never thought that there was any possibility of him becoming like his father. She asks him to consider coming back to school. At the Lieutenant Governor's presentation, Hetty is surprised and touched when the children dedicate their performance to her. As they finish, there is a stir at the back as a very cleaned up Gus comes through the door and makes his way to the front. With a few heartfelt if not eloquent words, Gus expresses his gratitude to Hetty for his opportunity to get an education, and then performs a beautiful piece on his violin, much different from the usual jigs and reels he plays.
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