School Story:
I think some of my favorite memories came from Latin class with Mr. Finch. From day one, he treated us like adults and literally laughed at silly things like taking attendance. He made a very dead language come alive by letting us translate some fairly racy stuff, such as epistles about slave revolts dismembering their masters (it was for our unit to learn body parts) and the Widow of Ephesus (which I still remember learning lachrymose means tearing up or mournful, and it was on the SAT, lol).
But one of my all-time favorite memories was the time I was kicked out of class. I was angry because idiot boys behind me (and yes, I remember their names, but will leave them out to be nice) woke up on the wrong side of the bed and decided to take it out on me. They were using a rubber band to throw things at me, and being in the back, Mr. Finch couldn't tell. I tried to raise my hand, and I will admit I was very much a know-it-all, so Mr. Finch ignored me thinking I was just trying to answer the question or add to the lecture. I became frustrated, and at one point I stood up, turned around and yelled at the boys behind me. To Mr. Finch, they looked completely innocent, so he asked me to sit down.
So I was upset, and for the first time in my life, I talked back to a teacher. I think I said something about him being unable to control his class, and I think I even cursed. Now, I was always a rule-follower in school, never even had detention. And Mr. Finch said "Miss Schilling, out of my class!" The funny thing is, he didn't even tell me where to go, but I took myself to the principal's office anyway. I explained what happened, the boys were called in too, and they ended up I think with ISS. It was the first time I ever stood up for myself, and thankfully it worked out, and to this day I still get a chuckle about the one day I misbehaved and was thrown out of class.
