“Stephen is a very good student. The problem we discussed seems to have worked itself out, and Stephen seems to be more relaxed and have more confidence in himself.” - Mrs. Ford, Second Grade Teacher, on Stephen’s report card.
I recall three things from second grade: (1) I did not like Mrs. Ford; (2) One day I had an accident, out of fear for asking Mrs. Ford permission to go to the bathroom, and (3) I had repeatedly cheated, and finally got caught, on a self-directed reading program called SRA. I’m guessing she was talking about #2 in her comments, as I don’t think she tipped Mom off about #3; although had she known the extent of my cheating, and that I had near-zero reading comprehension on the level I had cheated myself to, she might have done otherwise.
In both incidents I remember being profoundly ashamed, and possibly worse I remember neither having any closure. I also remember attempting a coverup for both, most assuredly dim-witted ones at that age, but no exchange with Mrs. Ford about what had happened, what I had done wrong, and how I could move on from it. And the details of both have stuck in my memory for almost 50 years.