In Reply to: What they kept track of in elementary school posted by Bob Friedland on Thursday, March 16th 2023:

Hmm! Remember that old adage: "The road to Hell is paved with good intentions"? Well, I lived in hell for most of grammar school because of DENTAL NOTES. These were required every year - first, "Under Treatment"; the second, "Completion". In my working-class to professional neighborhood, of which 99.9% households had stay-at-home moms and MONEY. When a family couldn't afford dental visits, clinics were the Board of Education's answer. And here we come to the HELL: my family was assigned to the Homecrest facility - two busses there and two back, one day only per week, and first come, first served. Limited morning hours only. No novocaine and no water-speed drills. But physical pain was the least of it. Too many times after the long trek, we were last in line, and about 15 minutes before "time is up", TIME WAS UP - all that for nothing. But, wait, it wasn't over yet. We usually got to school shortly before lunch, which required a stop at the principal's office for a late pass to be surrendered to the teacher in front of the whole class. Most teachers were somewhat annoyed by this inconvenience/interruption, "Ooh, the CLINIC!" and, "When will you have your 'Completion' note?" And the coup de gras, "You know that if you don't get that note by the end of June, you won't be promoted." Like "we" were in charge. Maybe I got two or three "Completion" notes, but I did get promoted every year. And, somehow, I made it to high school and starting to pay for the dental notes by working

Reference ID: BK97027

Responses:

• Re: What they kept track of in elementary school Nate Goldman 03/22/2023 (1)
  • Re: What they kept track of in elementary school Barb 03/24/2023 (0)