Although classroom order improved for awhile once the lunch-pilfering was resolved, old problems soon resurfaced. Mother decided that, rather than simply judging Miss Eula’s classroom performance, we should actually make an effort to know more about her — as a person. She invited her to our house for an evening visit. That afternoon, Miss Eula walked home with John and me after school and stayed for supper. Later, she and Mother continued talking after we were asleep. At around eleven o’clock Mother took the lantern and walked her partway back to Jensens, where she was boarding that month. Unfortunately, gestures of goodwill were not the solution to the problem, and Miss Eula still seemed incapable of maintaining discipline.
Daddy wrote to congratulate me for the high marks on my report card, but my grades did not reflect how little I was learning, and John was frustrated as well. In Minneapolis, he was a top student; teachers recognized his potential and encouraged him with extra reading and challenging projects. He was already reading the adult-level books Daddy sent, and his letters, although frequently short, clearly expressed his ideas.
Through it all, Miss Eula somehow managed to coordinate a student play for Thanksgiving, in which John played Miles Standish and I was Squanto. But ten days later, Mother gave up on the school, knowing that she could do more for us at home. Because she was a high school physics and math teacher, with graduate level education in Greek and Latin, she was far more qualified to teach than Miss Eula. At the end of November, she walked to the schoolhouse with us to get our books and school supplies. Her only comment to Father was: “The teacher never said a word and neither did I.”
Mother was unaware of the state’s compulsory attendance law….
Her extreme isolation during the day might have influenced her decision, but I doubt that she would have withdrawn us if there were no problems. The hiatus, however, lasted only a week. Miss Eula had promptly notified the District Superintendent of Schools, who mailed Mother a notice stating that “Prosecution will be had for violations of the Compulsory Education Act. ” The law specified that the superintendant was to file a “criminal complaint” with the county attorney, and it provided for a fine of up to fifty dollars or “imprisonment in the county jail for not more than 30 days.”
It did not sound like factors such as classroom anarchy, or Mother’s teaching certificate, would be considered. She wrote to daddy explaining the situation, and reluctantly sent us back the following Monday. On the next fairly mild day Mother drove into Park Rapids to meet personally with the Superintendent.
He acknowledged that other parents had complained as well, and then astonished Mother by saying he’d heard that John was responsible for most of the problems in class. Miss Eula had reported that John was the ringleader of the incorrigibles. She had concluded this after hearing that there had been no discipline problems the previous year, before he joined the class… Of course there was also a different teacher…
Mother found out more information that was not reassuring. We knew that Miss Eula was just nineteen years old, and had completed only one year of training beyond high school, but she was also the sole support for her ailing mother. The Superintendent, obviously sympathetic to Miss Eula’s plight, told Mother he was urging all the parents to help, by insisting that their children behave in class. He did not offer to stop by the school periodically to check on discipline or to offer his support.
Mother, in her characteristic way, always tried to present an optimistic view: “I’m satisfied now that I have talked to him… Things will straighten out in time.” She talked with John and me…. again…. urging us not to cause trouble, and we reluctantly agreed, still not quite understanding how our behavior would make a difference in the other kids.
Eula’s brief training did not prepare her to deal with a gifted student. Years later John earned a Ph.D. in physics, became a global authority on high energy cosmic rays, and was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Physics.
John was not doing particularly well in school, and Miss Eula correctly sensed that he disliked her. Being new, relatively shy, and one of the smallest boys in the room, he was a highly unlikely candidate for class ringleader. He showed his displeasure by withdrawing, not by inciting others. Throwing erasers around the room was not his style. He was actually so eager to learn that he would have happily studied — for hours — on his own. But, the only projects she knew to assign him once he had completed his work were mindless busywork; filling out worksheets or cutting and pasting. John resented wasting time when he could be reading interesting books. To express his growing frustration, he delivered frequent subtle barbs with unique finesse, without appearing overtly rebellious.