Trouble in School: part 5

Dring my many years in the classroom, I got in trouble many times, but some trouble had a long-lasting good outcome. There is no need to make this opening a repeated, redundant, restating of the prior four, but I feel obligated to fill the space with something.

Ah – junior high school. Remember I wrote about the teacher who said I cheated on a spelling test – twice? And I mentioned a positive reward to come later.

She was still in the hallway chastising a student for running when an eraser whizzed across the room. The target picked it out of the air as if catching a baseball. Even in junior high, he and the first thrower were known for their sports ability. The first thrower caught the return, changed hands, and fired it at me. I ducked and the eraser bounced off the wall onto the floor next to me.

I should have left it on the floor, but what junior high boy could have done that? I picked it up just as the teacher entered the room. My arm wasn’t cocked to throw it, and I don’t remember my intent, but she said, “Benson! To the office!” She scanned the room as if looking for a thrower. The room was as silent as it would be during a spelling test.

The original target raised his hand, as I was leaving, saying, “I threw it back to …”

I learned later that she said something like I saw you catch it and it was probably instinct to do what you did. And the original thrower didn’t nor did anyone else say it wasn’t me who threw the first one. Parents of both boys were far higher up on the community social scale. ¹Don’t consider this a woe is me comment – that’s just the way it was.
Nuff said!

I assumed then and now I was assigned yea gifted to a different teacher at Mrs. now I gocha’s request. But my new teacher taught me about gerunds and graded my papers more on content than poor handwriting and misspelled words.

The one who missed me with his throw told me later that he wished he’d been transferred also.

Other than transfer me to the different teacher, I don’t remember what the principal did, but I had a visit or two later.