Retrospect: George

Self-tutoring about people and events from the past: the tutor recalls someone hard to forget…

Back in the Annapolis Valley, when I lived there, you could fail a grade. It didn’t commonly happen, but certainly did happen sometimes. The point is that there wasn’t social promotion: if you didn’t do enough work and didn’t score high enough on tests, you’d fail. Then, you’d have to repeat that entire grade. That’s how it worked in elementary school.

The elementary school I attended included grade 7. There were a few kids in grade 7 who’d failed one or more times. They weren’t in my class; then again, there were five grade 7 classes, with around 25-30 kids each. So, theoretically, the school could contain people, even in the same grade, who would never meet.

One of those kids, who I will call George (but that wasn’t his name), was quite famous in the school. People would point George out when they saw him from a distance. He was said to be unpredictable and potentially violent. Kids also reported that he was 16 (whereas we were all turning 13 in grade 7). That he was 16 was easy to believe: he was much bigger and brawnier than your typical grade 7 kid. Perhaps George’s physical prominence fed the rumour that he was a dangerous fighter.

George was always smiling and/or laughing whenever I saw him. Moreover, he always seemed to be going somewhere, no matter the time or if class was in session. George was a blonde, burly young man you’d easily take for a farm-boy. He was very good-looking, and with his smile on top of that, you couldn’t miss him. I always suspected that was why he was famous in the school.

I never saw George in a fight. However, he was often with some other boys who were around his size – or even bigger – but lacked his charming smile. Those friends of his looked intimidating, to be sure; moreover, they weren’t trying to. Perhaps that’s one reason people were afraid of George.

The only time I saw George up close was a time I walked into a hallway where a petite teacher (I knew her) was trying to talk to two boys who were ignoring her, and fighting with each other. George happened to be approaching from their other side, and started to talk:

GEORGE: “Hey, boys, don’t ignore this nice lady who’s trying to tell you something. Let her talk, then you can finish the fight.”

TEACHER: (turning to George): “You know fighting’s not allowed in the school, right, George?”

GEORGE: “I’ve heard that, Ms. Sinclair.” (BTW: her name wasn’t Sinclair.) “But that rule just doesn’t make sense. Now, what did you want to tell them?”

TEACHER: “George, I wanted to tell them to stop fighting and get to class.”

GEORGE: “You heard the lady. Go to class now; you can finish the fight later, after class.”

The teacher seemed annoyed but relieved simultaneously, since the two boys picked up their school bags and went their separate ways, we assume, to their classes. “See you, Ms. Sinclair,” George waved, then turned and walked away.

I could tell, from the previous 2½ minute exchange, that George was no dummy. He was articulate, polite, and charming. Moreover, he was obviously a natural leader: the two boys did just as he ordered, while they’d ignored the teacher.

It’s possible George even drove to school, if he was indeed 16. I’ve always wondered why he stayed there, when it would have taken him little effort to just pass grade 7 and move on.

I suspect George’s family may have been one of those who were so well established there, a position was waiting for him when he got old enough (rather than when he finished school). Many of the local fortunes had been made on production rather than education: perhaps George’s people skills and pragmatism would be all he’d ever need. God bless him, however things turned out.