Punished For Being Smart

When I was in 4th grade, my entire class had to take a state-mandated reading comprehension test.

So we all sat at our little desks, pulled out our #2 pencils, and the teacher handed out the booklet, it was maybe 15 pages.

I sat across from a kid, we’ll call him Mike. Mike was the runt of our class; very small, even for 9 year-olds. He was also a severe sugar addict. He wore a vest like Marty McFly in Back To The Future, as they were all the rage back then. He had ripped open the lining on the inside, near the zipper on the bottom, so he had massive inside pockets. He hid ridiculous amounts of candy there, and pecked at it all day long. His day was one big sugar-high. Looking back, I feel mighty sad for Mike, but at the time, I didn’t like him at all. We didn’t get along.

So, once the test was handed out, I began it in earnest. I blasted through it pretty quick. So quick in fact, that I was the first to stand up and put it on my teacher’s desk. Mike watched me, and then jumped up, pointed his finger at me in a scene right out of a movie, and said “Miz B! (Miz B was our teacher) He cheated! He just guessed at all the answers so he was done first!”

Miz B called me back to her desk, and ripped the booklet in half right in front of me. The class exploded with laughter, and Mike had a smug look on his face. I was crestfallen. It was a betrayal by a teacher, and by my fellow students. Now that I think about it, there were many incidents such as this that eventually determined the pecking order that we were bound to follow. This also taught me that being smart isn’t desireable, following the herd is far more acceptable. Being smart is embarrassing, and should be hid, or you’ll be accused of being conceited, or “too big for your britches.”

I returned to my desk, with another booklet in my hand, and started the test again. The other students began turning their tests in, and I worked on my second copy. Then Miz B called me back to her desk again. The torn halves of my test were sitting on her desk, and she was paging through them. I remember it being funny that in order to turn to the next page, she had to flip 2 pages (top half and bottom half).

She looked over a few more pages, and then turned to me and asked if I had cheated. At this point, I was trying to keep from crying, because wasn’t one moment of embarrassment enough? Now she had to just keep rubbing it in more? I told her “No, I’ve never cheated. And how would I anyway?”

She turned a few more pages, and then said that I didn’t have to complete the second test, the first test was ok, and I should go sit quietly in my seat while the other kids finished.

The results of the test were mailed to my parents. I missed 2 questions on the entire 15 pages of reading comprehension, and I finished 10 minutes before any of the other kids in my class. I never told my parents what happened, because I thought they certainly wouldn’t believe that I hadn’t cheated somehow.

Years later, as an adult, I happened to see Miz B in a grocery store. I wouldn’t even have recognized her, but my companion did. We introduced ourselves, and when she remembered me, she couldn’t even look me in the eye. It was a very uncomfortable conversation for her, and she looked ready to run away.

I don’t bear any ill will towards Miz B. It was an unbelievable score, especially considering the small amount of time. I know she knows what she did was wrong. That’s why she was so uncomfortable.

Last week, my 7 year-old nephew was accused of cheating on a standardized test. He scored at levels several grades higher than his current one. His teacher has fought with his mother regarding putting the boy on medication for ADHD, and said something to the effect of “No student with behaviour problems like his could have scored that high without cheating.”

I know the boy is scary-smart, because he reads billboards to me when I drive with him, and he is able to sound out words he’s never seen before, and doesn’t even know the definition of.

It’s odd and frustrating being on this side of the issue. I don’t know what to do for my nephew. But I know what it’s like to be punished for being smart.