Why I hated and loved my First-Grade Teacher

Ms. Slattery took no prisoners and held all her students accountable for their actions. She made sure that zero daylight between good and bad behavior ever existed in her class.

Having grown up with parents who barely spoke English, I began school at a disadvantage. To overcome this handicap at an early age, I had to ask my fellow students to translate many of the words my first-grade teacher said throughout the day. In most classes, this would not be a problem, except that Ms. Slattery had many of the attributes of a Barn Owl.

Like a barn owl capable of hearing the faintest sound of mammals traveling across the grass even when flying at high altitudes, she could detect my whispers anytime I asked a student to translate any of her words.

While the barn owl has long legs and toes used to catch its prey, Ms. Slattery would often pop up behind me whenever I asked any of my fellow students to translate anything she said. But even as she reprimanded me for talking with other students, she could spring around as quickly as a barn owl who has a flexible neck capable of turning 180 degrees in either direction to discipline other students. That caused me to hate her for everything she put me through!

Not surprisingly, during the first 30 days of my first year in school (since I never attended kindergarten or pre-school), I felt that I was attending school in Alcatraz.

The good news is that I overcame my language barrier issues within the first 30 to 45 days of the school year. Once I felt comfortable with the language, I explained to Ms. Slattery that the reason for my previous gregarious personality was due to my language handicap.

She immediately said, “I knew from day one that you were incapable of speaking English. I kept the pressure on so that you could learn the language quicker. If I looked the other way, you would have delayed learning the language and would have been at a disadvantage relative to the other students for longer. It is important to note that 55 years ago, there were no bilingual classes available.

After learning English, I worked extremely hard to catch up. My hard work paid off as I ended the first grade with most subjects sporting a B-plus or A-minus average in all my classes. Although my exam scores rose late in the year, my poor performance earlier in the year (including my first exam grade of 55 out of a possible 100 points) hurt my year-end averages.

Although my dad taught me many basic math skills before starting the first grade, I scored poorly in my first exam because I had no idea what the words subtract, multiply, and divide meant!

However, after I mastered the English language, my teacher continued to dial up the pressure. One day out of vast frustration, I broke down and told Ms. Slattery that school was probably not a good idea for me because my performance always felt short of her expectations. She smiled and said, “the reason I push you so hard is that I believe you have the potential to do much better. Until you convince me that you are incapable of improving your current performance, I will keep the pressure on, and someday you will thank me for doing so.”

That conversation took place more than 55 years ago, and there has not been a single day in my life that I have forgotten those words. I have allowed Ms. Slattery to push me subliminally throughout my life.

For this reason, I will always love the teacher I first learned to hate. I also tell anyone willing to listen that my barn owl teacher made me the person I am today!