In first grade, we were sitting at long tables, not individual desks. When i went in grade 2, i changed school and we had each a desk. One of those desks where the seat is attached, and at a fixed height. We needed to wait for the janitor, early in the year, to adjust the height of our seat and desk.
Rows and rows
I remember that we had a classroom that was quite typical of what is often seen in movies, where desks were all lined up, in separate rows. We didn’t work in pairs. We didn’t have desks side by side. There was an aisle between each desk.
Who sits where?
Usually, the placement of the students in the classroom depended on various factors. The students who had a hard time reading on the blackboard obviously were sitting in the front. The tallest would sit in the back. The most distracted students would be away from the window and so on.
Let’s change
Over the year, we usually changed place a few times. Some kids would grow. Others, previously sitting by the window had to be moved away. The seat by the door, who had the responsibility to open it when someone knocked was a privileged spot and was awarded to a deserving student.
That special place
I was not always a very quiet student. I was quite talkative. Even if there was nobody right beside my desk, i would still manage to talk to the student in the next row. I guess i must have had enough warnings from the teacher that one day, she told me to move my desk beside hers, in front of the class. That was considered the “bad” place. I remember moving my desk and crying. It was a punishment for me.
Report card day
A little while after that day, i brought my report card home. Despite being a bit disruptive in class, i still managed good grades (remember that i earned my bike by keeping a 90% average in that grade). So, the day before my mom was to go to school to meet my teacher, she asked me where i was sitting in the classroom, since the meeting was with all the parents, together, sitting at their child’s desk, listening to the teacher (i guess that changed over time). I was a bit embarrassed to tell her that i was sitting next to the teacher’s desk.
She didn’t like that
My mom really didn’t like that. After the meeting, she let me know, very clearly how she was sooooo embarrassed to be sitting, in front of the other parents, next to the teacher, during the meeting. I don’t know if it is because of her reaction or it was just a coincidence, but i never had to have my desk next to the teacher again!
What about you? Did you have any embarrassing moment in school? Or a story about where you were sitting in class? Share your story. That must be quite a few years ago so let’s go down memory lane. There is nothing to be embarrassed after all those years!
