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The Rules:
- Put this challenge statement at the beginning or end of your submission so readers will know what you’re supposed to do.
Challenge: Using prose or poetry, write a story, true or fictional, about something that happened in your childhood that might have had some influence on what you do or how you think today.
- There is a limit of three submissions from each member per day. If you’re extremely prolific, spread out your work and post only three submissions per day.
- Post to Gather Writing Essential.
- Tag your submission with SatWE.
- Include (Saturday Writing Essential) as part of your title.
- I ask that you make your submission(s) by next Friday afternoon.
Good Writing!
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The entire class was noisy, and the teacher gave several stern warnings, which I heeded~actually, I hadn't even been talking as I was extremely shy back then. Her anger rising (it was that evident, even to a 7 year old), she singled me out, the only child not talking, the only "black" child in the class (I was born of mixed parentage), and told me to come to her desk. I stood there obediently, yet feeling the eyes of the class burning on my back. The teacher rose from her desk, put a chair in a far corner, and told me to sit. Again, being the obedient child I was (I was raised that way), I did as I was told.
As I sat there, still feeling the burn from my classmates, the teacher proceeded to put a dunce hat on my head. I have no memory of how long I was sitting there, but I do remember the deep humiliation, and going home crying after school. I'm sure there was some intervention, as this teacher, who had always been mean to me, suddenly turned nice. That didn't make me like her any better, the damage had already been done! And, I'm still haunted by the memory a half-century later...
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A dunce cap, also variously known as a dunce hat, dunce's cap, or dunce's hat, is a pointed hat. In popular culture, it is typically made of paper and often marked with a D or the word "dunce", and given to schoolchildren to wear as punishment by public humiliation for misbehavior and, as the name implies, stupidity.
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Note: I realize I'm late with this submission, as I just read Patricia J.'s story~putting it out there for what it's worth...
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Comments: 30
Don't worry about being late. I want everyone to feel comfortable writing to any of my challenges. Go back two years and write to one of them and I'll be happy to list it in my column.
Because it's your first time and because I like the story, I'm featuring this on Gather Writing Essential.
There was a problem with this picture: this was back then when my son's teachers' only complaint about him was that they never heard his voice. He needs to speak up more, they said. He needs to speak audibly. When I asked, the instructor admitted that others were also talking, but insisted that my son was especially disruptive. So as we were walking home, I asked him what happened and he said "everyone was talking" and that one kid kept asking him a question, which he finally said "I don't know" to, and that was when the instructor exploded and yelled at the class but especially him.
It could have been a simple coincidence, I guess--perhaps he spoke just at the wrong time. But when I looked at the list of kids in the class--some of whom were very extroverted and talkative--my son turned out to be the only "black" child there.
I've of course encountered some of that opposition to "race-mixing", and yes, some of it was from black people--and that is of course a whole different story. But it is becoming less acceptable to express such views in decent company, I think.
It's good to get these things out--thank you for sharing your story, AL.
You've brought back a bad school memory for me about which I might need to write. Because if it, my 4th grade teacher is the only elementary school teacher whose name I don't remember. She had been my favorite teacher until the "incident" and now I just remember her as "horse face."
Until I read your story, I never thought about how that one incident I experienced might have influenced my future decisions. I think it did.
People don't realize how one incident can influence our futures. Dr. Phil is someone about whom many poke fun fun, especially for his generalizations. But I remember reading in one of his books about how we write on people's life slates without even realizing it, even as we participate in mundane life events, like going to the bank or grocery store. How true that is, and how much more influence a teacher has on our lives as someone we see day in and day out.
Tho' I'm not a fan of Dr. Phil's, I can relate to his message on influence. When my son started having problems in school, I became his staunchest supporter to the point where his teachers would rather avoid me. But. I was hellbent what I experienced in school (this was one of many), was not going to befall my son.
Again, thank you so much for your generous comment, and I hope you find solace in relaying your own experience.