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Friday, 02 March 2012

Eating His Hat

By Mickey Rogers of This, That and the Other

NOTE:* This story was told to me by its victim. The setting is a Midwestern junior high school in the early 1960’s. The names have been changed to protect the innocent and the guilty.

Mr. Darmin, one of the junior high teachers, couldn’t believe his eyes; Susie, a very intelligent young lady, was listed with the “slow learners” coming into the seventh grade. The Slow Learners class was made up of those students who supposedly had low IQ scores and thus were unable to comprehend much. Mr. Darmin knew Susie, and he knew that she didn’t belong in that class.

Mr. Darmin was never afraid to question authority. In fact, he once said that principals didn’t know what to make of him because he didn’t fit their stereotype of a teacher. Unlike so many educators at that time, Mr. Darmin’s classes were entertaining and relevant. Students loved to go to his classes. Up until his death about five years ago, many of his ex-students stayed in touch. In essence, he was an especially gifted educator.

Mr. D. confronted the principal, Mr. Frank Putterman. “Frank,” he said, “you’re making a big mistake with Susie. She’s a very bright gal.”

The principal snarled: “She’s from the Smith neighborhood; I know what the people there are like!”

“She needs to be in advanced classes,” Mr. Darmin argued.

“I’ve made my decision. At least for this year she’s staying in the slow class,” the principal barked.

“You’re going to eat your hat on this one, Frank,” Mr. D. responded.

So Susie had to spend seventh grade in the Slow Learners' class. In order to compensate, Mr. Darmin gave her more challenging work to do. No doubt the principal was not informed of Mr. D.’s actions.

Finally, when eighth grade rolled around, Susie was allowed to enter regular classes. Susie’s teachers found her to be extremely bright and a hard worker. Mr. Darmin continued to give her special attention; he did what he could to rebuild her fractured self-esteem.

Susie did quite well in the eighth grade but evidently the principal refused to acknowledge his grim mistake. However, Mr. D. and Susie’s other teachers were extremely supportive.

In ninth grade Susie continued to excel. Mr. Darmin in particular continued to build her up and offer her challenging learning situations. Still, there was no apology or explanation from the principal.

At the end of ninth grade the students would move on to the high school. When the final grades were calculated for grades seven through nine, Susie, the “slow learner,” was found to be the valedictorian of the class. Evidently her achievement was not recognized by the principal, but Mr. D. and several other teachers congratulated her.

A few days later, Principal Putterman received a box in the mail. Inside was a nice-looking derby. The note with it said: “I told you you’d have to eat your hat on this one.”

It was from Mr. D. Hopefully, the principal got a good case of indigestion from it.

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[INVITATION: All elders, 50 and older, are welcome to submit stories for this blog. They can be fiction, non-fiction, poetry, memoir, etc. PLEASE read instructions for submitting.]

Posted by Ronni Bennett at 05:54 AM | Permalink | Email this post