My freshman history class in high school was my first taste of college. My teacher was a great guy, but he lectured at us instead of speaking to us or with us. I can’t say he’d remember my name or that he even knew any of his student’s names for that matter, but I knew it was a high school course after receiving good grades for simply paying attention and completing required assignments. During one of his lectures, he gave very detailed stories that I can still recall to this day, I remember him describing early Rome. He told us that none of the women were educated, but were rather stuck with child and household duties, while men were all educated by their fathers. My teacher asked the class why this was a good concept. No one said anything, and it appeared as if no one had an answer. However, I did, but I wasn’t sure if it was right. My twisted optimistic self thought, “well half the population is educated!” That had to be a good thing; it’s better than none, right? My teacher looked around for an answer or a hand and asked the question again. Still, no one said anything, until I quietly murmured my response. My teacher quickly looked at me and said, “exactly!” All relief poured through me instantly as I realized my optimism pulled through.
