"Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better." Maya Angelou
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H/W - Read and be thinking about our writing topic for tomorrow
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My Second Grade Story
By Caroline Meredith E/F
The classroom was quiet. All you could hear were second graders scribbling down words onto a clean sheet of white paper. I was one of those second grade students, determined to spell every single word correct because if I did, I wouldn’t have to take the real test next week. I was used to spelling every single word correct. I was proud of my great reputation as a speller, and I didn’t want that taken away from me. “That was the last word. Please bring your paper to the front,” my teacher announced, breaking the silence in the room. I pushed my seat back, walking to the front with confidence. My teacher looked at my paper, and then quickly wrote something down and held it in front of me.
When I saw what was written, I panicked. There was a big “-1” circled in ink in the top right corner of my test. “Oh no!” I thought. I scrambled back to my desk to find my pencil. I hesitated but then decided in my head, “It’s only one letter.” I was glad that I realised my classmate’s paper was right beside me, so I looked to see how the word was spelled. I quickly erased the wrong letter and wrote down the right one. I ran up to the front and waved the paper in front of my teacher. “I looked back at my paper and I didn’t actually get this wrong,” I said as naturally as I could. I think she was rightfully questioning me in her head. “So isn’t this a one hundred, and I won’t have to take the test next week?” I asked. “Alright,” she said as she crossed out the big “-1” in the top right corner that I was so ashamed of. She handed it back to me. Who knew that that moment would be one that I would remember for the rest of my life? That moment built my character so much more than I could have imagined. “That was close!” I thought to myself as I walked back to my desk.
Later that day a classmate walked up to me. “Did you get a one hundred on the pre-spelling test?” “Yes,” I said proudly and with a smile. “Did you?” I asked. “No.”
As the days turned into nights and the nights turned into days, guilt washed over me. A dispute went on between my head and my heart, and both wanted control over the other. “What do I do?” I had a moment alone with my mom to discuss what had happened days earlier. “Mom, I have something to tell you,” I said as my face blushed red with embarrassment. “You know how we do pre-spelling tests at school?” My mom said, “Yes,” and I went on. “Well,” I paused. “I cheated on it because I didn’t want to take the test next week and I wanted everyone to think I was a good speller and now I feel really bad,” I said quickly as I could. “Have you talked to your teacher about it?” my mom asked in a comforting voice. “No. Can you? I’m scared to.” We discussed it and decided to email her.
“Caroline, can you come here please?” my teacher asked in class later that week. My face turned red as a tomato again as I got out of my seat and headed toward the desk. “I got the email your mom sent.” The conversation continued. “I wish this day would be over. I’m so embarrassed,” I thought. “Just don’t do it again,” my teacher said as I stood up. I hurried to my desk, relieved that it was over. All the guilt, gone.
As I look back to that day, I am glad that I had that experience. It made me better. I was able to learn when I was young that when we make mistakes, we can always find a way to fix them. When I do fix them, I feel so much better! Honesty is so important in our daily lives. By being honest we build trust, friendships, character, and relationships. Imagine what would the world be like without honest people. After all, mistakes may hold or tear us down in the beginning of the story, but in the end, they just build us up and let us fly.
Imagery Inner Thinking Reflection Figurative Language
