An Open Letter To My First Grade Teacher Who Let Me Starve Over Dinosaur Phonetics | The Odyssey Online
Start writing a post
Student Life

An Open Letter To My First Grade Teacher Who Let Me Starve Over Dinosaur Phonetics

/ˈdīnəˌsôr/

30
An Open Letter To My First Grade Teacher Who Let Me Starve Over Dinosaur Phonetics
haikudeck.com

Dear Mrs. Fisher,

You were a great teacher!

.....until you weren't.

You kept me in class and didn't let me go to lunch. And for what reason you may ask? For the simple reason that I could not for the life of me pronounce "dinosaur."

This was way back when in first grade, yet I have never seemed to forget this day. At the time, with my oh so ripe youth and bountiful collection of great days and not so great days, this was deemed my worst day ever; and mind you, it still ranks pretty high up there.

Every couple of days, you would call about six of us at a time to go over some basic reading, to see if we were able to keep up at the reading level we were expected to be at.

It was Wednesday, March 3rd... No, I'm playing, I don't remember the actual day...

But on that day, you called me and others to come and check our reading. We read word by word in a circle until we were done. Everything was going smoothly, as smooth as a jar of extra smooth peanut butter... but then that jar ran out and all that was left was extra chunky, not even regular chunky, but extra. Extra.

Dee-no-say-er... die-nos-or... dine-osay-or.

How do I say this word? What is this word? How did I not know the word?

Looking back now, I hang my head in shame that I could not pronounce this correctly; there are only so many ways you can butcher a word.

Nevertheless, I held my group back and eventually it was time to leave the class and go to the cafeteria for lunch time. We had a set menu of the lunch items and that day they were serving chicken nuggets and tator tots. Now chicken nuggets and tator tots are still currently a blessing from heaven, but back then it was heaven itself. In addition to the nuggets and tator tots, they had other less popular options. Lunch was first-come-first-serve, meaning it was a war to get your hands on those nuggets and tots.

Seeing that it was lunch time, I figured you would finally tell me the correct pronunciation and let me off the metaphorical hook. I was so very wrong.

I wept in silent tears as you bid my classmates farewell and sent them off to lunch, while keeping me tight and secure on the metaphorical hook.

These silent tears did not stay silent for long, however.

With every new and extremely wrong pronunciation of 'dinosaur', I shed yet another tear.

You. Were. Relentless! Unmoved! I was five, for crying out loud (literally). You'd think being face to tear-stained face with a crying 5-year-old would have touched you enough to cut me some slack! Wrong yet again.

With only ten minutes left of lunch time and no more tears to shed, you caved and finally put an end to my misery, and I'm sure yours as well. You walked me to the cafeteria and I'll be darned, a miracle happened right then and there. The cafeteria still had chicken nuggets and tots.

And I kid you not, they were dinosaur shaped nuggets. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

But in the end, I am thankful for this day, because as a young kid, you taught me a few things: 1. If at first you don't succeed, try, try, try, keep trying, try some more, try again, 2. Life won't always give you a break, 3. Life throws you into unknown situations, and it can sometimes be unfair, and 4. Life works out in funny ways, so don't sweat it too much; crying is allowed, however. If it is meant to be, it will happen, and my friend, those dino nuggets were meant to be.

P.S. You're still a great teacher, Mrs. Fisher, I was just bitter.

Report this Content
This article has not been reviewed by Odyssey HQ and solely reflects the ideas and opinions of the creator.
Entertainment

Disney magic for New Year!

The "Happiest Place on Earth" has a lot of characters with some pretty great advice.

4470
Disney magic kingdom castle on new years
StableDiffusion

Disney movies are well known and very popular in today's world. Although many people appreciate the plot and the storyline, not many people appreciate the wisdom these characters possess. Every Disney movie has unique advice that can be applied to everyday life. Here are 11 Disney quotes to help start your New Year off right:

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

40 Gift Ideas for the Indecisive

It's a time of love, family, memory-making, and gift-giving. But also a time of stressing over the perfect gift.

118889
Christmas gifts around a tree
StableDiffusion

It's officially December. There is less than a month of 2024, and I still feel like yesterday was summer. Now comes the merriest time of the year, the Christmas season.

Everyone has been waiting for this time of year since mid-October (which is way too early, in my opinion) or before. It's a time of love, family, memory-making, and gift-giving. A lot of times when I ask friends and family what they want, I get a lot of "I don't know" or "I don't care."

Keep Reading...Show less
Lifestyle

Bucket List To Live In The Now

Find excitement in your life and start exploring wherever you are right here, right now.

930
mu bucket list

I was sitting at my cubicle, now that I am an adult, looking at the rain pouring down on the windowsill, bumming on life, wishing for the rain to just stop for a full day.

There are moments where we count down the hours until work is over and how many more days till the weekend, and this many weeks until something exciting. Or something like that? Well, I was bumming because my next day off from work is not until Memorial Day weekend, which is not until the end of May. And since this is my first year out of college being a “real person,” I am totally missing the winter, spring and summer breaks. I am sure all of us have felt this way even if just for a hot minute…

Keep Reading...Show less
Entertainment

11 Ways To Survive Finals As Told By Leslie Knope

Because you know you're going to be stressed out, and Leslie knows exactly how to survive.

684
Everything hurts and I'm dying

So finals are on their way. That's right everybody, finals are about to start.

But hey, don't panic. Start getting your affairs in order and prepare for a week of hell. Here's a few things Leslie Knope wants you to do to make your finals week just a little bit less stressful:

Keep Reading...Show less
Student Life

10 Signs You Go To Kent State

You know you're a true Kent Stater when...

773
Kent State University
Great Value Colleges

If you go to or went to Kent State, then more than likely you have done or will do some of these things.

1. You’ve slipped and fallen on the ice at least once.

The winters at Kent are brutal, and while the heated sidewalks and some great snow boots are always a help, there’s no chance you won’t bust it on the ice at least once in your four plus years at school.

Keep Reading...Show less

Subscribe to Our Newsletter

Facebook Comments