The Important Things Learned Come from Experience

Second Grade…Again

It turns out that there was quite a bit of adult scheming going on my initial second-grade year. Mom was meeting with the teachers and principal while insisting that I repeat second grade. This was not a regular practice in the 1960s, but her logic was that I had a late birthday, July 29th, and was among the youngest in my class. She was convinced I was smarter than my schoolwork indicated, and she later told me Mr. Reece, the principal, acknowledged that he and I had very insightful conversations.

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I became aware of the chapter books my friends were reading.

I’m Back!

When held back, the arrangement was for me to be put back in the top class. That meant I was to have Mrs. Painter again. This was the first time I befriended peers with academic prowess. Many of my friends had a keener intellect, and my competitive nature fueled my desire to be successful in school. I became aware of the chapter books my friends were reading. The All About books were a particular favorite, especially the ones covering Dinosaurs.

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This was the first time I befriended peers with academic prowess.

My friends could read fast, so I pretended to read just as fast and check out new books at the same rate as they did. I was particularly enamored with the book Born Free about a lioness cub raised by a ranger in a preserve in Africa. I understood the basic plot when I read and got the rest from the movie when shown on TV. Academic growth was not an instant process. As I matured, I began to pursue learning. Second grade, the second time, set the stage.

An Introduction to Global Thinking

The world was becoming bigger for me. My family was having dinner at the mayor’s house. Two of my siblings and I were playing in the den while adults talked in the dining room. Suddenly a bulletin came on the TV. Martin Luther King had been shot. I didn’t know who he was, but Hannah, five years older, jumped up and burst into the dining room to tell the adults. Dad went downtown to help develop strategies to keep the peace the next day.

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I don’t think I got two dribbles in when Mom leaned her head out of her

bedroom window and told me to come in that instant.

The next morning, we all went to school but immediately returned home. When home, I did what I often would do and went out back to shoot basketball. I don’t think I got two dribbles in when Mom leaned her head out of her bedroom window and told me to come in that instant.

I didn’t understand at the time that my father was deeply involved in civil rights negotiations in Chattanooga. He was given tremendous credit for keeping the peace in the city in the 1960s. This created some tension at home between him and mom that I noticed but didn’t yet understand.

New Friends

My first year in organized little league baseball was between second and third grade. It was my first encounter with African American peers. Some of them were stellar athletes who hit and threw the ball far better than I. It didn’t bother me that they were on my team or getting more playing time. They were fun to watch.

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This experience also inspired my vocational choices.

My only interaction with African Americans prior to little league was Arlee, our maid, and other servants. Four more years with black teammates provided a meaningful transition from an all-white elementary school to an integrated junior high school. This experience also inspired my vocational choices.

Social Degradation

As my time as an elementary principal progressed, I encountered a disturbing trend. Anti-social behaviors such as bullying and defiance became more prevalent in the early grade levels. Working in middle school I became familiar with “mean girl” behavior where girls went to great lengths to exert power and intimidation over others. I later encountered this with second graders. We began implementing behavioral and counseling strategies to help girls relieve territorial stressors.

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The classroom became an insular environment although more class work

was done in group settings.

The learning environment had become so controlled through time on task priorities that students had limited social opportunities with peers. The classroom became an insular environment although more class work was done in group settings. The hyper focus on reading in the early grades made school more stressful, and it was showing in daily student behavior.

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School was more stressful, and it was showing in daily student behavior.

I like to make fun of my encounters with my principal during my time in elementary school, but those behavioral struggles were due to risk taking not power or manipulation. We dealt with students who sought peer dominance. Seven year old’s don’t have the coping skills to navigate such personal interplay.

The Bigger Picture

Second Grade was another step in the rung of social and intellectual complexity. I was fortunate to be exposed to serious students early as this moved me toward later success in the classroom. My experience as a principal showed me that our focus on task over social experience was making student success beyond the classroom a greater challenge.

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Intellectual capacity is not just dependent on exposure to academic

content but to social interaction.

The decrease of activities like recess and tightly organized after school planning has reduced the cognitive benefits of free play. Intellectual capacity is not just dependent on exposure to academic content but to social interaction. Healthy intellectual development requires opportunities for children to see the value of academic pursuit through community.