Mrs. Tidwell was the worst teacher I ever had. I wrote about her before, none of it good. I’m surprised she wasn’t unkind in the report card — maybe she just saved the humiliating comments when parents were not involved.

On top of her being mean to me, she put on a minstrel show — blackface and all — every year. Maybe it was more acceptable back then, but I certainly didn’t think it was a good thing to do.