What's your favorite bookish school memory?

In Third grade we read the book by Jean Craighead George.  Its about a boy who runs away and lives in a tree and has a pet hawk.  And his tree was pimped out.  It was pretty amazing how well he was able to live off the land and survive honestly and my teacher at the time, Mrs. O'Leary, had us 'camp out' in the middle of the classroom.  We brought snacks and sleeping bags, moved all the desks to the side of the room and pitched a couple of tents.  It was pretty awesome all said. 

Did your teacher read aloud to you? Do you remember what book it was?

In 5th grade our teacher was pregnant and it was a complicated pregnancy so she would have us do a lot of things for her.  However the one thing she did, and that she insisted her substitute (which, we scared away the first two...but that's a different story) had to do was read a loud to us before the bell.  At least a chapter from any book on the shelf.  The last book she read to us was by Roald Dahl.  That book terrified me.

Do you remember what books you checked out at the school library?

I know in elementary school I checked out a lot of books by Stephen Cosgrove in the 'Serendipity' series.  I also first found 'Secret of the Unicorn Queen' books and by Roger Lea MacBride this way.  In Junior High it was harder for me to take out books because I wasn't often in school (I was ill a lot), but I do remember taking out some teen romance novels, Christopher Pike and RL Stine's Fear Street books.  Actually I took out mostly Fear Street books (The Cheerleaders were some of my favorites).

What was one of the first book reports you did for school?

Kindergarten, the teacher didn't tell us to, but I did anyhow because my older cousins were complaining about it and I thought it would be cool to write a report about a book I read.  It was for by Laura Ingalls Wilder and my Kindergarten teacher, who really didn't like me (thought I was too sassy and pert) accused me of lying and plagiarizing because she didn't think I could read a book of that level (I guess its meant for like 10+?) and understand it.  I got so freaked out--she was talking about having me expelled and this would ruin my future and la la la--I had a panic attack that triggered a seizure. 

WELL let me tell you that did not go over well at all with anyone.  My mom, dad, my mom's friend and half the other parents in the room (cause I was friends with everyone back then and all the parents loved me and knew me since diapers) had a bitch fit on the school administration.   About twelve years later I would go through the same ordeal with my sister in her school--except she screamed herself hoarse and started sobbing.

Do you have a favorite book or author that you first heard about from a teacher or school project?

Oddly, and I say oddly because I'm not much into historical fiction, by Avi is one of my favorite books and a teacher recommended it for 7th grade summer reading.

Do you have a not-so-pleasant bookish memory from your school days?

9th grade English Honors, I finally was allowed to join the Honors class for English (yeah another long story) and I was so excited because we were studying Greek Mythology and Plays.  First day of class I busted out my hardcover edition of Sophocles Oedipus Trilogy, proudly had my Edith Hamilton and Bullfinch's mythology books out on my desk and waited with bated breath to see what my new teacher would teach us.  My classmates thought it was hilarious (in a not so nice way), but for the first time in a long time I knew scads more about a subject then they did so they could suck it.

WELL someone apparently taught my English Honors teacher wrong because throughout the entire first week of classes she kept mixing up names.  Tiresias instead of Theseus.  Ariadne instead of Circe.  It was...painful for me to listen to.  But I was determined to be a 'good student' and not act up in class again and get kicked out of Honors.  So I would correct my classmates on the side and after class I went up to my teacher and explained to her that I was very confused because my editions of the books we were studying did not say what her editions did. 

She got seriously huffy and defensive and said that she had been teaching this for ten years and not one other student had said anything and who was I and didn't I know that she could have me kicked out of the Honors program?  I didn't like her tone.  At all.  So at the next class when she was telling us the WRONG WAY about how Antigone came about I stood up and began to ask questions.  A lot of questions.  Questions gleaned from college level thesis papers and journals.  She fluttered and got flustered and ordered me to the office.  The Vice-Principal, who didn't know me then and I'm thankful because in four short months he would know me too well and this meeting would have gone differently, listened to the teacher rage.  I calmly pointed out, with bullet points, quotes and post-its where she was wrong.

She ended up being suspended pending inquiry and was fired by the end of the month.  And I did get kicked out of the Honors program anyhow but for some completely unrelated (apparently skipping half the year but maintaining my A average was just not acceptable...)