My First Grade Teacher

[Mrs. Edith Roberts]

They say that almost everyone hates their First Grade teacher. I have to say that although I was not particulary fond of her, I don't harbor any major resentments against the woman, at least not from the days I spent in her classroom. I was pathetically eager to please and had a compunction to learn, or to at least excel my classmates. I think I can say she wasn't particularly fond of me, either; she had her pets and favorites among the "richies" of the lakeside resort area. We were firmly poor, but not exactly of the redneck community, and so rather hard to pigeonhole. I was fairly intelligent but emotionally more immature than my classmates. I'm sure most educators of the day weren't happy with hard to categorize cases like myself. 

I did have several run-ins with her later when I was in other classes and she was taking her shifts as schoolyard monitor. One time one of her favorites accused me of knocking her off of the monkey bars (a charge I deny to this day, and still feel the injustice). Another time, just for fun, I closed my eyes and started walking towards the train tracks at the end of the schoolyard. I was peacefully lost in my mind when suddenly Mrs. Roberts grabbed me from behind and hauled me back in. What with the wind I had not heard her calling and blowing her whistle. It seemed to me that what she thought of as my ignoring her was what made her more upset than any danger I might have been in. She thought I was flouting her authority instead of just being lost in my stupid-ass dreams.

Well, as I say, I don't really bear any hard resentment to Mrs. Roberts. Now if you ask my brother John, he can tell you the tale of their epic conflicts and confrontations. But that is not my story.