Fundamental

 I have an ultra-vivid memory of sitting in a circle on my chair with my second grade class. When I was in second grade, just so the time frame is clear. I was in the High Reading Group, which meant that I was excelling and not that I was in any way medicated. Just to be clear. I took great pride in my ability to read, having spent so much time doing just that morning, noon and night, starting with the back of cereal boxes at breakfast and comic books under the covers at night. 

I was good at reading. 

Which is why the word "drowned" continues to live in my memory as a blow to my fragile seven year old ego like few others. When it was my turn to read in the circle, I cleared my throat and  began reading away at a tremendous clip. Expression and fluency. When I came to that word, I do not recall having any particular difficulty. I finished up the paragraph and looked up for my customary approval. 

Ms. Hof, my guiding light on the journey through second grade said, "Very nice David. That next to last word is 'drowned.'" She paused for what I can only assume was obligation. "Not 'drownded."

I was crushed. There were snickers and grins from the other students in the circle. The "Best Reader" was hoisted on his own petard. Though it would be several years before I knew exactly what that idiom meant, I looked down at the word and felt my face flush and tried to make what I had just said the right thing. 

Decades later I understand that creating a past-tense verb often relies on putting an "ed" at the end. Sometimes you hear the short e. Sometimes you don't. I had done both. A simple mistake that still rings in my ear fifty-five years later. 

Which is why I understand why Harrison is angry so much of the time. He is in third grade, and having just given him his most recent mastery test, he is struggling to catch up to a level being passed by Kindergartners. And his little sister who is in first grade. Harrison is receiving a good deal of extra support, but his frustration often causes him to walk out of class, or to hide in the bathroom those times when instruction is directed specifically for him. Sadly, unless he is in a group of just one, his embarrassment gets the best of him and, in the parlance of video games, he rage quits. 

My experience with drownded is a tiny bump in the mountain range in front of Harrison. But we won't let that stop us. There's still so much left to read.