My dad brought me a box of memorabilia that included my grade school \u201cmemory book.\u201d Tucked into its pages was an assessment letter from my Kindergarten teacher:<\/p>\n
July 1, 1969<\/p>\n
Dear Mr. and Mrs. F______:<\/p>\n
Holly has been a dignified, rather inflexible, and self-centered kindergartener. It is very difficult for her to project beyond herself. She moves from one close friendship to another but her inability to let herself go makes real sharing impossible. She never really gets involved in doing and other children resent this. She still needs to be reminded about every routine responsibility in the room and she seldom takes one on her own. Practical problems are very difficult for her and she often says,\u201d But I have never done that\u201d. She stands by helplessly while some other child solves a problem as simple as unfolding a newspaper to make it flat. She often uses the term \u201cIk\u201d or a similar word when asked if she doesn\u2019t want to do papier mache, use clay, paint, etc.Holly is capable of doing good academic work but here again she has difficulty in solving practical problems, in discovering on her own. She waits for adult direction and decisions, and is quick to blame others when things go wrong. She understands math processes, groups and counts easily and memorizes details. She shows much interest in learning to read and is much less mechanical about it than she was at first. She has a good visual memory. Holly performs in dance and general physical activity but she does this studied, mechanical thing and has difficulty losing self-consciousness and relaxing. She has good coordination but is stiff and sometimes fearful. In free outdoor play she is the most relaxed and childlike. She seems to play with a wide variety of friends then and has a good attitude. She seems so afraid she will not \u201cmeasure up\u201d, or is so dependent upon adult praise in the more specific skills, and she wants to show what she can do rather than to be a part of the whole group experience. She can be a happy, spontaneous contributor with a good sense of humor and an interest in others when she lets down her guard. She is being more free and creative in story writing, in dramatizations, and is trying to do less stereotyped work in art. She needs much contact with children outside of school in order to sense some practical give and take. She needs to get more involved in other children\u2019s interests. She should have no difficulty academically but her success there will be somewhat influenced by her success socially and her attitude toward work.<\/p>\n
E_____ C______<\/p>\n
Fair enough; my husband read this and laughed. \u201cNot too far off.\u201d He ducked; after twenty-three years of marriage, the man ducked. He has earned the right to know me that well. But is it any wonder we moved, when this woman got promoted to First Grade and my parents were told she\u2019d be my teacher another year?<\/p>\n
This, by the way, is the woman who called my parents to the school to inform them that I was a pathological liar. She had asked each of her students to tell the class what our plans were for Christmas break. Mine happened to be traveling to Africa aboard the S.S. United States. \u201cNo one takes a five-year-old child to Africa!\u201d E.C. declared. My parents set her straight, and she proceeded to describe to me \u2013 in painful detail \u2013 the shots I would have to have in order to visit Africa. My parents were less than thrilled with her when they had to drag me to the doctor, kicking and screaming\u2026<\/p>\n
This teacher also decided that a class full of kindergartners needed to learn how to use public transportation. So she took us all out of school, loaded us on a city bus, and took us out for donuts. Not that we didn\u2019t enjoy the treat, mind you \u2013 she just forgot about little things like permission slips and letting the school principal know where we were. My parents came to pick me up, after school, and the whole class was missing!<\/p>\n
Oh, as for She shows much interest in learning to read and is much less mechanical about it than she was at first\u2026 I could read by the time I was three. E.C. wasn\u2019t happy because she couldn\u2019t hold my attention with \u201cSee Spot run. See Spot pee on the rug.\u201d She had the nerve to lecture my parents about teaching me to read. \u201cThat\u2019s the school\u2019s job!\u201d she supposedly said. Incidentally, I failed my first I.Q. test, and the next year, flunked my “Reading Readiness Test.” Take these things with a grain of salt, when it comes to your own kids.<\/p>\n
\u201cWell, what were we supposed to do?\u201d my parents asked E.C. \u201cKeep the books under lock and key?\u201d<\/p>\n
Just one of the fun things I dug out of a cardboard box my dad left here on his last visit. \u201cHolly An\u2019s School Years.\u201d You should see the dorky picture from Seventh Grade. Or not.<\/p>\n
irony
\n<\/strong>\/\u02c8a\u026a\u0259n\u026a<\/span>\/
\nn.
\nc.1500,<\/span> from<\/span> Latin<\/span> ironia<\/span><\/span>, from<\/span> Greek<\/span> eironeia<\/span> <\/span>“dissimulation,<\/span> assumed<\/span>ignorance,”<\/span> from<\/span> eiron<\/span> <\/span>“dissembler,”<\/span> perhaps<\/span> related<\/span> to<\/span> eirein<\/span> <\/span>“to<\/span> speak”<\/span><\/p>\n