C-Track Continued

I did quite well academically in the 2nd grade at Seven Holy Founders. The classroom was always quiet and orderly (explained below) so I had no problem getting my work done - there were never any distractions. But there are a few things that bear mentioning:

We were supposed to start memorizing the multiplication tables but I didn't see the point because I could count really fast on my fingers (a side effect of OCD). So when I was quizzed by Sister Elizabeth (?) I kept my hands behind me. It didn't take long for her to figure out what I was doing so she made me hold my hands in front of me... But it didn't matter. I found out I could imagine that I was counting on my fingers even faster than I could actually do it... Of course, I did eventually memorize the tables to - it came in handy in high school (that was before calculators).

Another time I was in a reading group waiting for my turn. I was wearing a dress shirt with a button type cuff. Those shirts have a slit in the sleeve starting a few inches from the cuff and (being bored) I managed to shove my right hand through the other slit and cuff so both of my wrists were in the left cuff... Then I realized that I could not pull my hand back out and it was almost my turn to read. I was hoping that sister wouldn't notice, but she immediately asked "Why are you holding your hands like that???" I told her what had happened hoping she'd just unbutton the cuff for me. But she apparently thought it would be more effective to yell at me about 'clothing abuse' while slapping my hands. She was right - I managed to work my right hand free in about 2 seconds. It's amazing what you can do with the proper motivation :-)

But the main thing I remember from the 2nd grade was kids getting paddled. Sister used a demerit system - 3 demerits in a period of 2 weeks and you got 4 swats. It wasn't hard at all to avoid - all you had to do was keep your mouth shut and pretend like you were paying attention. I only got a single demerit the entire school year... But kids were getting paddled all the time. By the end of the year I was one of only 2 or 3 kids that remained 'unscathed' :-)
That nun had some definite anger issues but she only completely lost her temper once: One of the girls forgot her catechism book 3 days in a row and then refused to go over Sister's lap for the paddling. (Yes, I remember the girl's full name, and no, I won't mention it.) She was a 'first timer' and seemed to think that not cooperating would somehow work in her favor. That was a really bad idea... My initial amusement at her tactical blunder turned to horror as the swat count climbed way into double digits... The poor girl couldn't sit down for 2 hours.

So that's how they maintained order and motivation in 2C. From talking to the other kids it seemed that corporal punishment was actually pretty rare in the other classes and non-existent in A-Track. Our nun was just a sadist. I'd elaborate but there's already enough network bandwidth devoted to that :-) The 'bottom' line is that I escaped with my bottom intact, and the following year I was finally moved to A-Track.