I loved going to school. I cried on the first day because I had wanted Sister Martha, who used to give the children crackers to eat while they rested their heads on their desks.  But I was to have Sister Janice, who taught a mixed First and Second Grade Group.  It was very boring for me, because my sister had already taught me to read and write and count and spell - so I listened in on the second graders work, and learned with them. My teacher realised I was well in advance of the other First Graders, and suggested to my parents that I be moved up a year. But because my sister was in the Second Grade, they felt it would be unfair on her to have me made her equal. I was already 3 inches taller than she was, which she resented greatly.

But when I advanced to the Second Grade, things changed. We had Sister Norbert - who was my sister Judy's all time favourite teacher, and I could see why. It is hard to draw an accurate picture of a nun back in the late 50's when they all wore head to toe black habits. Our nuns were Benedictines, and as well as the long black dresses, their outfits had very awkward and bulky white head garments called coifs which they wore to shield their faces - with a rounded bib part under their mouths to cover up to their chests and a straight across piece just above their eyes, and then a black veil over their hair. But what I can tell you about Sister Norbert, was that she was fairly young, probably in her mid-twenties, and tall and thin, and she could tell the best stories.  She especially did well on stories of little children whose parents were cruel to them, but they prayed to God for the courage to go to Mass barefoot in the snow (since their parents had hidden their shoes).  We believed every word of course. We thought Sister Norbert was the next best thing to a Saint that we could get.

Our class was large - 60 children, aged 7 of all ranges of ability. The schoolroom was in the annex, containing 2 classrooms and toilets. The heating was done by stoves which also had pans of water to hydrate the air. We were always very cold in the winter (which lasted from October to April) when the outside temperatures were usually below freezing. We were seated at one of ten tables according to our ability, and I was very proud that I was on Table 1, with the most able students.  We from Table 1 actually spent most of our time that year coaching the not-so-able students, one by one in the hall which had no heating at all. Even that was fun.  The table in the centre of the room held the problem children.  Among these were Carole and Cheryl, possibly twins, I never asked. They had what would now be called learning difficulties. They were very skinny and wore ragged clothing, and their eyes nearly popped out of their heads. I don't think they could say many words, and generally they did not fit easily into the classroom picture. They also were hyperactive and couldn't sit still. Sister Norbert had a solution for them. She tied them to their chairs and put sticky tape over their mouths. Have I shocked you?  I think what is more shocking is that the other 58 children in the classroom accepted this without any problems what so ever. If Sister Norbert thought it was the best thing to do - then we agreed 100%.

But the scandal I am writing about happened because sometimes the more normal children were naughty too.  Sometimes they said bad words and literally had their mouths washed out with soap. Serves them right, we thought.

But one particular boy also was given the chair treatment. He was tied to his small wooden chair with string and had his mouth taped shut with 2" wide brown sticky tape.  His name was Joseph Zerbes, and I think, if I remember correctly, his dad was with the circus.  Well, Joseph did what Cheryl and Carole had never done. He told his dad what had happened to him. And his dad got very mad.  He came into school to confront Sister Norbert. But she knew he was coming in, and before class started that day, she said to us, "Joseph's father is coming in to ask about how I treated Joseph. You are to say that I didn't tie him up or put tape over his mouth. You will do that, won't you? " And we all knew that if she said it, it was the right thing to say, and we agreed.  So Mr. Zerbes marched in.  "Children," he said, "Did Sister tie up Joseph yesterday?"  "No, Mr. Zerbes," we all chanted.  "Are you sure she didn't put tape over his mouth either?"  "No, Mr Zerbes," we said with angelic faces and the ring of honesty in all our voices.  "Well, then," said Mr. Zerbes, "Joseph is for it!" and he raged out of the room.

That's the end of the story.  But now, 55 years later, I can hardly believe that I who had been told the value of not telling lies, and must have known that we had been asked to do just that, had acquiesced without guilt and without ever telling anyone about it. Disobedience was also wrong, and if we had not done as Sister Norbert had asked us, we would have been disobedient. Maybe she even reminded us of that. I don't remember.

Many years later, I asked my sister Judy if the same sorts of things had happened when she had been in Sister Norbert's class. She denied it, and I could tell that she didn't believe my version of things either.  I don't keep in contact with any of the other 59 children from that class - so I can't ask them if they could remember it as I did. So I just have to go on what I consider a very clear memory.

In these days, Sister Norbert would be considered to be a child abuser - and the fact that she regularly abused children with learning difficulties would have been even more damning. Perhaps she would even have gone to prison. I wonder if she ever felt any guilt.  I can imagine how difficult a young and not very experienced teacher would find it to discipline 60 very tiresome children.  Perhaps she felt she had no choice.  But whatever she thought, we thought she was wonderful.