I was usually a model student, but in 2nd grade my patience reached its end with morning math. The tediousness of doing simple addition and subtraction with 4+ digits and 3+ values every single morning made me snap, and I developed a habit of wadding up my paper and shoving it into my (already chaotic) desk. My teacher would notice my paper missing from the stack when they were all turned in, ask me where it was, and I'd respond by folding my arms and declaring, "I didn't do it." Rather than rise to the bait, she'd ask the girl next to me to check my desk (who was all too happy to find it), then she'd smooth it out, lay it back on my desk, and ask me to finish.
The next year, I won the school spelling bee, so I was going on to the district. My family was very poor, and it showed in my wardrobe. My third grade teacher and this same second grade teacher together took me out of school in the middle of the school day to go shopping, and they bought me a couple of outfits and some new shoes, so I'd have something nice to wear for the district competition.
I'm not even sure that second part would be legal today.
