Ever since I can remember, I have loved being outside doing something active. Sports were my childhood, so it was no surprise that on my last day of summer I was outside with the neighborhood kids playing basketball. The sun was glaring off the cement, and oh how I enjoyed being out on a steamy summer day. I had been up since six, the usual time I would rise to get an early start. Then I would get up eat some breakfast, watch some cartoons, and put on a pair of gym shorts. I was ready to start my day by between 7 and 8. Sometimes, I would go outside and start with shooting some hoops, on others it would be practicing pitching against a net, or I would kick around the football until I could get some others together to join me.
As my day was coming to an end and the sun beginning to set overhead my mom hollered for supper, so my little brother and I went inside to eat and recharge our batteries. Dad had grilled burgers and hotdogs; mom had fixed fries and had apple sauce with cinnamon. I sat down, grabbed myself two burgers and a hotdog, filled the rest of my plate with fries and had a bowl of apple sauce on the side, and then I began to dig in. As I was scarfing down my food my mom said “tomorrow is your first day of third grade Kyle”. My heart sank oh how I dreaded school; it was like torture to me. There were 12 hours of sunshine and I would be spending over half of that cooped up in a room just sitting there at a desk reading and writing. Like any other 10 yr old, the sound of school wasn’t near as good, as the sound of summer, free to go outside, free to get a little dirty, and have fun doing something active.
After dinner I showered and prepared for bed. As I laid down and drifted off to sleep I began to dream of what tomorrow had to bring. I imagined that when I got to the school, it wasn’t even really a school, but rather a dark and gloomy dungeon. A Dungeon where there were guards and cells, to punish and keep kids from seeing the light of day. When I got to the dungeon I was escorted to a cell, where I was then chained to a desk. Then the warden came in and he was a sight. He had to be 7 ft. tall and as wide as doorway. His face was weathered and he had a constant frown. His voice was even more frightening it sounded like thunder booming loud and cracking and his eyes gave off an evil twinkle whenever he looked at you.
“Quiet”, he shouted. “We will begin with me asking you some questions, and then you answering them. If you’re lucky enough to get one right, you will be ok. Let's go with you, you right there” he said pointing in my general direction.
“Oh no. Is he pointing at me?” I thought. I point to my chest with a puzzled look on my face. “Yes you, you’re up. Tell me the capital of Wyoming.” At this point I was like a deer in head lights, frozen solid with not a clue. I wasn’t even sure where Wyoming was let alone its capital. I scoured my brain, hoping that magically the answer would appear. I swallowed hard and after a deep breath I squeaked out “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know, well I’ve got just the answer for you, let’s go you’re coming with me!” He started pacing towards me; he got to me and reached out, my heart stopped. “NNNOOO!” I shouted, and out of nowhere I begin to shake. Then I hear a comforting voice say “Kyle wake up. Wake up. You must have been having a bad dream, but it’s time to get up for school.”
I pleaded with my mom, not to make me go to school. At first I tried being sick. After that didn’t work, I tried to bribe her by doing chores and other things around the house. All my efforts were futile. So I got out of bed and got ready for school, knowing that I was doomed. I got dressed, tried to eat something, and gathered my school bag. “You’re running behind, hurry up or you’ll be late” my mom hollered, as I sat there in my room writing my last will and testament. So I wrapped it up splitting everything I had amongst my father, mother, and brother. I grabbed backpacked and headed outside, to begin my 3 block walk to the dungeon.
It was a nice walk; the morning air was warm, and the sun shining brightly. I could see my school from 2 blocks away. The school sat tall atop hill. With each approaching step, it seemed harder and harder to make the next; my feet were growing heavier as I got to the steps of the school. I went in the entrance where the 1st and 2nd grade classes were. I knew that hallway and it felt more comfortable. As I got to the end of the hall and peered down the next, it looked dark and desolate. My room was the last on the left. I get to the doorway and glance in. It didn’t appear to be a dungeon, the other kids weren’t chained to they’re desks. That’s a good sign, I thought. So I went in and tried to find a seat. The only seat available was the one right next to the kid from my dream! “Oh no” I said to myself. Reluctantly I took it and waited for class to begin.
“Good morning class” I hear coming from the doorway in a pleasant voice. “I am Mrs. Franklin and I will be your third grade teacher.”
She was nothing like the warden, not even close. She for one was a woman, but she was somewhat tall and slender, had long blonde hair, captivating blue eyes, and the softest and sweetest voice I had ever heard.
“Let’s begin with getting our books, shall we?” She said as she walked to the front of the class. We all got a reading, math, science, social studies, and spelling books.
“Now I am going to pass around this basket, and inside is a strip of paper with a sentence on it. Take one and pass it along. After you get one try to correct the grammatical errors, and we will go over it when you’re done,” she said in her soft voice.
So we got our books and corrected a sentence, then it was time for lunch, which I couldn’t wait for because I was starving. I didn’t eat much before I left with running behind, with writing a will, and just being too nervous to eat. So far the day had been nothing like what I had expected, but I wasn’t ruling anything out. After lunch we all got back to the classroom and took our seats. Mrs. Franklin came in with a book in hand and said, “Class come join me over hear in corner. I am going to read to you a book a chapter or two a day after lunch, to get ready for the second half of the day. The book I will be reading is called the Indian in the Cupboard, so here goes.” She began reading in that soft voice of hers and I couldn’t do anything but fall completely in love with the book. The way she read made the story so real and I drifted away being caught up in the story.
The rest of the day was a breeze and when I got back home all I could think about was that book the Indian in the Cupboard, not about going out playing, or having fun but what was going to happen next in the book. The night went slow and I found it hard to sleep, in anticipation of the next day. The next morning I awoke and jumped out of bed, brushed my teeth, got dressed, and was at school with 15 minutes to spare. She read to us again, and the story got even more captivating. I pleaded for her to read more, but she wouldn’t. So that night I asked my mom to take me to the library, where I found the Indian in Cupboard and checked it out. It was a class 5 reading level. At first some parts were hard to understand, but by the end of it, I was reading fluently and even after it was finished I had a sense of wanting more. So I went back to the library and checked out book after book. I just enjoyed reading enjoyed getting caught up in the story. With my new found love for reading, writing came just as natural as if I were on the basketball court. I excelled in school because of Mrs. Franklin and how she taught. It was the first time I had a teacher that made me want to learn. It wasn’t for the grade but to gain knowledge. I don’t know if I ever would have been drawn to reading if weren’t for Mrs. Franklin, but I do think she sparked my yearning to learn, and want to go to school. It was at that time that I first set my goals of going to college and earning a degree.
