| OCR Text |
Show 76 left even earlier, after eighth grade, to take the boy jobs in the steelworks. ;en Miss Petrov frowned, causing a thin line to appear betwe* her full brown eyebrows. Then she said, "If I should ask you to stand up, one by one, and tell me about yourselves -- which I would very much like to do -- we might run out of time before Professor Dowling comes to teach you algebra. So, instead, turn over your papers and write something that will let me know who you are." The pupils exchanged uncertain looks. No teacher had ever before wanted to know who they were. Tilly Horner hesitantly raised her hand to ask, "What should we write?" Miss Petrov replied, "At the top of the paper, write your date of birth, including the year. Then...oh...tell me about your family, the kind of work you would like to do when you leave school, your favorite pastimes, your favorite books, just anything that will let me learn about the human being who occupies your seat." Tilly Horner bit the tip of her pencil, not quite sure what that last part meant. Karl leaned sideways to watch Fred Hollingsted write in bold letters. "My birth date -- February 6, 1897. I am an honor student." Karl printed his own birthdate -- November 20, 1896. On the next line he wrote, "I have an older sister and a little brother. I like music. I never took piano lessons, but I can play by ear. Sometimes I make up songs." He raised his pencil and rested his chin on his fist, wondering what else he could write about himself, something that would impress this new teacher. |
