Here is the short version of the story: The only time I ever got a spanking in school was in second grade for talking during sleeping period. Now the long version.
When I was in second grade, I got my first pair of glasses. I was the first kid in my class to get glasses. The second kid to get glasses was Harry Kail. I don’t remember any other kids in our class getting glasses that whole year. Harry Kail and I had a connection because of this. When I was in second grade, we also sat and tables and Harry Kail and I sat at the same table for most of the year. Part of our daily routine in second grade was for the teacher to turn out the lights while everyone put their head down on the table to take a nap. We referred to this time as “sleeping period”. I don’t ever remember falling asleep during sleeping period. I don’t know if any other kids slept during sleeping period. I suspect this was created as much to give the teachers a break from us as it was to give us a chance to rest.
Mary Manasco was our teacher. To a little kid like me, it seemed like she was 100 years old but based on what I know now, she was probably in her late 30’s. At our school, there were two second grade teachers that year. Mrs. Manasco was considered the nice teacher. The other second grade teacher was known to give paddlings for things like missing words on spelling tests. Mrs. Manasco would also use her paddle but it was for reasons that seemed more legitimate. I probably should have expected to get in trouble that day when Harry Kail and I decided to start talking during sleeping period. We thought we were whispering softly enough that Mrs. Manasco would never hear us. Her desk was on the other side of the room which made us feel more confident that we were safe.
With my head on the table, my little second grade but was sticking out from the back of my chair. And that classroom wasn’t as big as I thought so her desk was a lot closer that I thought. And my chair was closer to her desk than Harry Kail’s chair so I guess that’s why she got me first. Out of nowhere, I heard the smack and felt the sting. There was no warning. At least Harry Kail had a little bit of a warning. There was one more smack for Harry. Then there was whimpering from Harry Kail and I for most of the rest of sleeping period. We never talked during sleeping period again. And I would never encounter another paddle at school again either.
I liked Mrs. Manasco before that incident and my love and respect for her grew even more after that. I liked most of my teachers but she qualifies as one of my favorites. At the time of this writing, about a week has passed since I heard the news of her death. Anyone I know that had her as a teacher has nothing but good things to say about her. A great lady and a great teacher.