School Day Memory: 100 Marble Pickup
Posted in Once I Was a Kansas Girl and tagged with Childhood, Pride, School, Science on August 16, 2008Okay, so by now you might have realized I’m kinda nostalgic about my school days coming to an end. To celebrate (not eulogize) such an occasion, I’m going to post a new memory of school each week through the semester. I’ll try to do one from each grade, but really I just want to offer you the best stories I have.
This first memory happened in 8th grade science class. I’ve always excelled at math and science, but I didn’t enjoy science when I was younger. I think it’s because they focused too much on the life sciences. I’ve never been a fan of learning about animals or the human body. Anyway, 8th grade is when my love of science started to emerge, thanks to a strict teacher, Mr. Hagan, who taught us basic chemistry and physics.
I didn’t like one of my fellow students very much; I’ll call him George. There really is only one type of personality that I generally have a problem getting along with, and that is my own. I like to be right and be in control, and there is simply not room for two such people in the same group. As an adult and a maturing Christian, I’ve learned to handle situations like these for the most part with grace, but this wasn’t the case when I was 14.
So, George was as strong-willed as I was, and we had known each other for years, so there was probably some built up tension between the two of us. One day in our science class Mr. Hagan put us in the same group for a project. I don’t really remember what the point of the project was, but I know that we had a cup full of marbles.
At one point during the project, I wanted to do it one way, and George wanted to do it another. I knew I was right, so I didn’t budge but stayed put. He kept pushing for his way, and in the process knocked my arm that was holding the cup of marbles. I saw it coming, but I did absolutely nothing to stop it.
Everyone looked up as hundreds of marbles clattered across the tile floor.
Clearly there was an issue between George and I, and we both blamed the other for the spilled marbles. Yes, I could have prevented it and it was certainly my fault that they were now rolling under the desks, but I didn’t care because I wanted to make a point by not preventing it from happening. I’m not saying what I did was right, but it’s what I thought was right at the time. After all, how could I be wrong?
Well, Mr. Hagan walks over and asked what happened. After we each told our side of the story, he makes George, all by himself, pick up all the marbles. I felt vindicated in what I did, and perhaps this sealed my love of science.
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August 16th, 2008 at 2:45 pm
Haha. I bet you smiled as he George picked up the marbles.
August 16th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Hi can just picture and hear all those marbles bouncing all over the room! Somebody definitely lost their marble that day!
Couldn’t resist!
God bless,
Brenda :)
August 16th, 2008 at 4:53 pm
Hi can just picture and hear all those marbles bouncing all over the room! Somebody definitely lost their marble that day!
Couldn’t resist!
God bless,
Brenda :)
August 16th, 2008 at 11:55 pm
See, women ARE always right! LOL! That is a fun story. I would have loved to have been you, standing there with my arms folded across my chest watching as “George” picked up ALL of those marbles! Of course when I was 14, I was waaaaayyyy too nice and would have been down there helping pick up.
August 18th, 2008 at 6:09 am
I could have never done that. I am always the ‘bend over backwards’ to be nice kind of girl. I always secretly looked up to girls like you. (And was a little frightened of you too.) :)
January 7th, 2009 at 4:34 pm
[...] Floppy Disks 4th grade: Watching Whales 5th grade: Bad Grammar 7th Grade: Teacher Review 8th Grade: 100 Marble Pick Up 9th Grade: Science Nerd 10th Grade: Playing in the Rain 11th Grade: Pink 12th Grade: Sleepovers on [...]