Snickers
“Now class, who can tell me who the second president of the United States was?” Hope asked, standing in front of her class with a history book she’d checked out from the library, not that she needed it for that particular question. It had been two weeks and there was no update on the slates, nor had she made any progress on getting books from Mr. Stewart. Luckily, she’d worked a deal with Robert Canton that the students could walk to the library once a week and each check out a book. She’d also borrowed several for them to have in the classroom and would exchange them every week or so. Without slates, teaching was still a challenge, but the good behavior had stayed in place, for the most part, and the children all seemed eager to learn.
Only one child raised her hand, and of course it was Ginny. Hope was reluctant to call on her again because she wanted the other students to have a chance to answer, but it seemed none of them knew much about social studies, so she nodded for her star pupil to answer the question. “John Adams,” she said, her voice not at all implying that she thought she was smarter than the other students.
“Very good,” Hope replied. She turned her back to write the answer on the blackboard and heard snickering from the back of the room. Turning back to face the class, she saw Elsie Jones trying to hide a laugh and Peggy Cline had a smirk on her face.
These two were the oldest girls in the class at fourteen and fifteen. They could’ve studied for their exams this spring if they’d wanted to or been ready, but Hope wasn’t recommending it. They were both smart enough to get by and could read fairly well, but she needed another school year with both of them to get the girls ready to graduate. Now, she was alarmed at their behavior. This wasn’t the first time she’d caught the two giggling over something, and by the expression on Ginny’s face, she’d overheard them this time.
“Would you care to share with the whole class, Peggy?” Hope asked, giving her sharpest teacher look.
“No, Miss Tucker. It’s nothing,” Peggy replied, her eyes downcast now that she’d been called out.
“Then I suggest you mind your words.” She glanced over at Ginny and thought she saw tears in her eyes. Hope debated calling Peggy outside to tell her what she’d said but thought it might be best to let it go at this point and possibly address it later. The last thing she wanted was to embarrass Ginny or bring the attention of the entire class to the situation. With one more warning look, she turned back to the blackboard.
“Now, we’ve already discussed George Washington and his presidency. Today, we will learn about John Adams, and tomorrow we will move on to our third president, also a very important man, so I suggest a few of you go home and ask your parents his name.” She turned back to look at her students. “I know that many of you are capable of learning this information so that you are able to answer my questions, so please, don’t be timid.”
Using the history book as a reference, she began to explain the key points of John Adams’s presidency, thinking she may want to shift the schedule around the next day so that social studies wasn’t so late in the school day. The children were tired, and many stifled yawns as she talked about a time in history that wasn’t exactly exciting to almost anyone. She wished she could skip ahead and talk about the war between the states. That was something the children would want to hear about. Every one of them knew someone who’d fought for either the North or the South, and Hope loved to tell her students about the battles her daddy had fought in. But she doubted they’d make it that far in social studies this year. She’d have to save it for the fall term.
Once she’d given them an overview, Hope asked some questions for the students to ponder and soon had an energetic discussion going about Abigail Adams’s call for her husband to consider giving women more rights, such as the power to vote. Most of the boys in class gave plenty of reasons why they thought that was ridiculous, while the girls, even Peggy and Elsie who usually had nothing positive to contribute unless it was pulled from their teeth, were adamant that women should have the same rights as men. Hope was proud of herself for breathing life into what may have otherwise been a forgettable lesson, though she was disappointed that Ginny said nothing.
A glance at the clock told her it was time to send the students home for the day. “All right, boys and girls. Who can tell me your assignment for tomorrow?” She was met with blank stares and tried not to sigh in frustration. Ginny didn’t raise her hand either, though Hope was certain she knew the answer. Surprisingly enough, the lone, dirt-caked hand that slowly raised came from the second row, one of the younger students.
“Yes, Steven?”
“You said to ask our folks about the third president. Is that what you mean, Miss Tucker?”
“Yes, Steven. Very good.” She tried not to make a show of how proud she was that the little boy, the one she’d spent weeks coaxing into staying long enough to hear her lessons on math and social studies, was not only in his seat this time of day, but had answered a question. “Please don’t forget. Now, you may gather your things and walk quietly out to the play yard, and I will see you in the morning.”
There was a bit of low murmuring as some of the older students made sure their younger siblings had their lunch pails and library books, but for the most part, the children were quiet until they reached the yard, and then there was plenty of laughter as they skipped home or the few that had rides headed toward their waiting carriages. Ginny and George took their time and were the last ones to leave. This was generally the case, and Hope had wondered about it for a while. Today, she decided to ask.
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