From My Grandmother's Files: If You Act Brave, You Are Brave
by Shirley A. Littleford Johnsen, edited by Kirsten Ellen Johnsen
The first day of second grade we were roughly lined up in the schoolyard, near the outside metal stairway that led to the primary grades on the first floor of old Porter School. It was a gloomy, almost wintry day and we, last year's first grade students, were waiting to meet our new second grade teacher, Miss Foley. Rumors had spread up and down the ragged line of fearful seven-year-olds. The timid and the daring alike spread gossip that Miss Foley was a witch. She would beat you if you couldn't read, and she kept you after school.
Finally, the moment arrived when Miss Foley appeared. We children gasped at the sight of her. She was indeed imposing. Miss Starrett, our first grade teacher, had been a smiling, comfortable looking, motherly soul who always dressed in pastels. By contrast, Miss Foley was very tall, a feature emphasized by a long, narrow dark brown skirt and knee length rust colored jacket in large windowpane checks. Worse, her face was set in an expression we interpreted as meanness. It was probably just one of resignation.
As we filed into the second grade classroom, each child fearfully edged or scooted past Miss Foley. When it was my turn to walk by, I noticed the faintest twitch in her mouth, and the slightest suggestion of a gleam in her eye. "Well," I thought to myself, "she's not so awful." She may have recognized my attitude, which was and always has been: If you act brave, you are brave.
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to Kiri's Queries to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.