The kindness of the Souls has helped Mrs. Olinski regain the confidence to be an effective teacher. After having suffered a terrible accident which left her a paraplegic, Mrs. Olinski, with the help of the Souls, has found the strength and courage to pick up the pieces of her life and find her place in the world again.
When Mrs. Olinski first returned to teaching, she was hesitant and uncertain. Certain insolent students took full advantage of her situation, and, since Mrs. Olinski at that point lacked the confidence to respond with adequate authority, her class was beset by numerous disruptions. The Souls, seeing her predicament, decided to give her some help. They were aware that "it is scary trying to stand on your own two feet especially when you don't have a leg to stand on, so to speak". They resolved to counteract those students "who try to get her off balance" by "giv(ing) her some support...giv(ing) her a lift" (Chapter 4).
The Souls befriended Mrs. Olinski, and stood behind her as their teacher and team moderator. They invited her to Sillington House, where she witnessed their loving kindness towards each other and experienced the peace of being among people who were sensitive to the feelings of others. With the support of the Souls, Mrs. Olinski did indeed develop the confidence to take charge of her class and move boldly in her world. When she effectively put Hamilton Knapp and Jared Lord in their places after they tried to disrupt the class with rude burps, the Souls knew that their teacher was on her way to success, having achieved "quite a balancing act" (Chapter 6).
The Souls manage to do for Mrs. Olinski what "all the king's horses and all the king's men" metaphorically could not. Like Humpty Dumpty, she had "had a great fall", but the Souls helped her get back to her "place" again (Chapter 11).
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