When the world gets closer.

We help you see farther.

Sign up to our expressly international daily newsletter.

Society

Teacher A Viral Hit In Argentina After Holding Student's Baby During Class

A high school history teacher has won hearts and minds after carrying a young mother's baby in class so she could do her work.

Teacher A Viral Hit In Argentina After Holding Student's Baby During Class

Federico Tenreyro went viral for taking care of his student's baby

Rocío Magnani

BRANDSEN, ARGENTINA — It was a small act of kindness: A schoolteacher in the Coronel Brandsen district outside of Buenos Aires held a baby in class so her teenage mother could study in peace. Federico Tenreyro said he offered to hold the infant while teaching in order to help dissuade his pupil, Ludmila Disante, from any thought of dropping out of school to raise a child.


Tenreyro didn't just hold the baby, Pilar, but also sang and cradled her to sleep, allowing Disante to write about her political economy course work. It evidently meant the world to her; Disante published a Facebook post about it, making her teacher an instant celebrity.

The teacher said the attention and calls from reporters has left him "surprised and emotional," tellingClarín: "I keep a low profile and initially I was a little frightened by so many calls, but I'd like the viral incident to encourage students to finish [secondary] school."

Tenreyro is also no stranger to caring for infants, as he has five children of his own.

70,000 teenage moms in Argentina

Besides teaching history at Brandsen's private Santa Rita de Cascia high school, Tenreyro is also a volunteer firefighter on weekends.

To her Facebook friends, Disante had written, "all schools should have teachers like this, so girls who are moms and want to finish school can do it. Really, I don't know what to say to thank this teacher."

The Argentine Health Ministry estimates some 70,000 teenagers give birth each year, in 70% of cases unplanned, which often leads the young mothers to interrupting their education.

Tenreyro is not the first teacher to go viral for a similar thoughtful act for a young mother-student, though the others were at university level with math professor in Atlanta, Georgia and a professor of geomatics in Senegal.

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

U.S. Strikes In Syria, Netanyahu Doubles Down, King Charles’ France Trip Canceled

Demonstrators have draped the national flag of Israel and copies of the Israeli Declaration of Independence on the walls of Jerusalem’s Old City, to protest Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial reforms.

Ginevra Falciani and Renate Mattar

👋 Alò!*

Welcome to Friday, where the U.S. military carried out multiple airstrikes in Syria, King Charles III’s first trip abroad is called off because of anti-government unrest in France, and Israel’s Netanyahu presses on with legal reforms despite protests. Meanwhile, independent Russian media Vazhnyye Istorii/Important Stories gets exclusive access to a Kremlin data leak that shows the scale of anti-war sentiment across Russia.

[*Haitian Creole]

Keep reading...Show less

You've reached your limit of free articles.

To read the full story, start your free trial today.

Get unlimited access. Cancel anytime.

Exclusive coverage from the world's top sources, in English for the first time.

Insights from the widest range of perspectives, languages and countries.

The latest