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How in the world did I get placed in Advanced Biology
 

By Tom Kender

As I had said previously in 1st Detention, I had learned my ABC's at a catholic grade school. It's well known that parochial schools do turn out better than average students, well, at least it's well known to the parochials??? Anyway..

In spite of the fact that I did receive a significant amount of "failure to exercise self control" and a number of "fails to apply himself" and perhaps labeled a "lolligagger" and a maybe a "doodlemonger"....and my knuckles were constantly scabbed from the "attention getting" 12 inch rulers that the nuns wielded...I did get a good education from Our Lady of Mercy (now there's an oxymoron....nuns bashing your knuckles and they teach at Our Lady of Mercy)

I don't think I was counseled when I put my class schedule together and you know we had some good counsellors, I probably took things into my own control and made my schedule at the last minute....that reminds me I got a couple of "fails to finish tasks on time" also.

Well, it didn't take long to scream "Boy, did I screw up" when I am in Mr. Kaenzig Biology class and I don't know a grasshopper's mandible from a bullfrog's anus. I mean I was lost. I dreaded that class because I felt so inept...here I was in class with guys who would later become some of the fine doctors that graduated from Fairview and all I have on my mind is "did I pack my deodorant for gym class" and how many more minutes before I get to talk to the girls in the hallway. I didn't have a clue.

It guess it finally showed up in the first six weeks report card. ...I needed to start at a much lower level in my science curriculum.

Fortunately, I was able to get over to Phil Prather's General Science class before too much damage was done. Now he was a good guy.

O.K., this is cool.....I can dig General Science. I mean I can probably skate through this without doing much work. And it was true. I didn't have to do much....I was pretty smart and made good grades.......unfortunately, not until I started writing this story did I finally realize.... that maybe those nuns were right after all.

As I had said previously in 1st Detention, I had learned my ABC's at a catholic grade school. It's well known that parochial schools do turn out better than average students, well, at least it's well known to the parochials??? Anyway..

In spite of the fact that I did receive a significant amount of "failure to exercise self control" and a number of "fails to apply himself" and perhaps labeled a "lolligagger" and a maybe a "doodlemonger"....and my knuckles were constantly scabbed from the "attention getting" 12 inch rulers that the nuns wielded...I did get a good education from Our Lady of Mercy (now there's an oxymoron....nuns bashing your knuckles and they teach at Our Lady of Mercy)

I don't think I was counseled when I put my class schedule together and you know we had some good counsellors, I probably took things into my own control and made my schedule at the last minute....that reminds me I got a couple of "fails to finish tasks on time" also.

Well, it didn't take long to scream "Boy, did I screw up" when I am in Mr. Kaenzig Biology class and I don't know a grasshopper's mandible from a bullfrog's anus. I mean I was lost. I dreaded that class because I felt so inept...here I was in class with guys who would later become some of the fine doctors that graduated from Fairview and all I have on my mind is "did I pack my deodorant for gym class" and how many more minutes before I get to talk to the girls in the hallway. I didn't have a clue.

It guess it finally showed up in the first six weeks report card. ...I needed to start at a much lower level in my science curriculum.

Fortunately, I was able to get over to Phil Prather's General Science class before too much damage was done. Now he was a good guy.

O.K., this is cool.....I can dig General Science. I mean I can probably skate through this without doing much work. And it was true. I didn't have to do much....I was pretty smart and made good grades.......unfortunately, not until I started writing this story did I finally realize.... that maybe those nuns were right after all.