There are many different disciplines that teachers can teach their pupils, like arithmetic, history, and English, but it takes a particularly special sort to teach kids about life.

However, one middle school teacher has made it his personal mission to use nothing more than an empty chair in his classroom to teach his kids about tolerance.

Dan Gill has been a teacher for 53 years. In his social studies class at Glenfield Middle School in Montclair, New Jersey, there is an oddity: there is always one chair in the middle of the room that is empty and unoccupied by any pupils.

In 1956, when Gill was nine years old and residing in the South Bronx, he and his friend Archie were traveling to a friend’s birthday celebration. The boys’ delight quickly turned into a painful lesson, though.

‘We had on our best attire. We were anticipating a terrific night because back then, a birthday celebration required a suit jacket and tie, according to Gill, who spoke to NJ.com. And lo, it turned out to not be such a fantastic time.

Gill still remembers the moment the birthday boy’s mother let him in by opening the door. but turned away from his friend Archie.

Not ‘enough chairs,’ the woman complained. But it was obvious why she was rejecting the other boy: Archie had dark skin.

Even as a little boy, Gill could see through the woman’s “chairs” justification (he claims to have visited to their home and is aware that there were “enough of chairs” there) and realized she was being prejudiced because of the boy’s skin tone. Both of them were devastated: “We cried. the two of us

He had been humiliated, and I felt so awful for him, Gill told the Washington Post. I said, ‘We’re heading to my house, where there are plenty of chairs,’ after giving her the gifts.

Despite the fact that Mr. Gill lost contact with Archie about 1960, he never forgot that day and the negative effects that prejudice may have. He made a commitment to ensure that his students understood when he started teaching.

Gill stated to Today that ‘we need to be a class of opportunity.’ ‘Due to the woman’s bias, Archie was not allowed to attend the birthday party.’

He has a chair in his room that is constantly empty because of this. It is the chair that Archie was so cruelly denied, and it serves as a reminder to all of us to work toward acceptance of others.

Additionally, it serves as a reminder to Mr. Gill that his classroom will always be inclusive.

According to him, he added a chair to his classroom so that everybody who enters it eagerly, as if for a party, would feel welcome.

Gill teaches his social studies students about topics like the civil rights movement. However, the ‘empty chair’s’ symbolism and intimacy have an impact that no textbook has ever been able to match.

Children are good at using symbols, said Gill to Today. It serves as a reminder that they can improve their academic, social, and emotional performance as well as their ability to welcome visitors and make their community a better place to live.

According to his colleagues professors, Gill has had a significant influence on generations of students as a result of this crucial lesson.

His devotion is amazing, according to teaching assistant Tiffany Kiley, who spoke to NJ.com. ‘Every day is just like the first.’

Every day he puts his mark on these kids. Working close to him allows him to instruct me as well. Mr. Gill is always able to bring us back because he ‘keeps us anchored,’ according to principal Erika Pierce, who spoke to CBS.

At the conclusion of this academic year, Mr. Gill will retire after 53 years in the workforce.

However, even after Gill stops teaching, the tale will continue because, upon retiring, he intends to pen a book titled No More Chairs in which he tells the tale of Archie and the infamous ‘empty chair’ to the world.

‘It keeps us focused, so sometimes when we get distracted and politics get in the way or you hyper-focus on something that’s not as important.’