An A in Integrity

By Sara V. Olds

(Based on a true story)

The just man walketh in his integrity (Prov. 20:7).

Daniel burrowed deeper into his jacket and wished he were somewhere else—anywhere else. He hated parent-teacher conferences. For some children they were a quick pat on the back, but for Daniel they were a time of dread. They were where Mom learned all about his shortcomings as a student. They were where he heard the sadness in her voice and saw the disappointment in her eyes.

“Now about English.” Mr. Harding’s long finger tapped a fat C- on the grade sheet, then ran slowly down a row of numbers. “These are the scores that added up to Daniel’s grade.”

Daniel cringed and stared at the dark grain of the tabletop.

Mom studied the numbers. “Well,” she said with a sigh, “at least you don’t have any zeros this time.”

Mr. Harding pointed out several low quiz scores. “The problem here is that Daniel didn’t read the assignment. On every quiz I ask the students if they’ve read the story. If they haven’t, I take away half their points even if they get all the answers right.” He glanced at Daniel. “Reading the assignment is just as important as knowing the answers.”

The talk went on, but Daniel stopped listening. Would the conference never end?

At last they were on their way home. Mom didn’t say anything for a long time. Daniel knew that she was disappointed, perhaps even angry. When they stopped at a light, Mom turned to him. “I’m proud of you,” she said.

Daniel stared at her, too astonished to speak. Had he heard right?

“I’m not saying I’m proud of your grade,” she explained. “We both know you should have read those stories.”

He looked away and nodded.

“But you showed me something that’s more important than a grade.”

“I did?” He felt completely confused.

The light turned green, and they drove on. “You could easily have marked that you read the stories,” Mom continued. “Your grade would have been higher, and no one would have known for sure whether you answered truthfully.”

Daniel shifted in his seat to get a better look at Mom. She was smiling, and for once there was no disappointment in her eyes. “You told the truth knowing that it would hurt your score and that I might be really angry about your grade. Sweetie, that’s called integrity.”

Integrity. Daniel had heard the word, but wasn’t sure he knew what it meant. Even so, he felt a warm spot growing inside as they drove on home.

When they pulled into their driveway, Mom turned off the engine and took Daniel’s hands in hers. “Integrity is doing the right thing at the right time even when it’s hard,” she said. “You got a C- in English today, and that has to change. But you earned an A in integrity. I hope that never changes.”

[Integrity]

“The bedrock of character is integrity.”
Elder Richard G. Scott of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, “The Sustaining Power of Faith in Times of Uncertainty and Testing,” Ensign, May 2003, 77.

Illustrated by Val Chadwick Bagley