In second grade, I was the queen of the handball court. Nobody could beat me. I am pretty sure I had one of the longest running records of being undefeated too.
This same year, my teacher used a money system in the classroom. We could earn different amounts of dollars that would be exchanged or taken away when candy or some other treat was purchased (I always saved my money for a long time and bought the lunch date at Burger King with the teacher). I even figured out a way to get more money. I had my mom buy a bucket of fire balls at sam's club and I sold them to my classmates, for their class money, for 50 cents a piece. This lasted for a few days until the teacher found out about the business I was running and put an end to it. (No worries, I had already sold out of my bucket and was very rich).
Anyways, one day at lunch we were having another handball tournament. I was on the court and had been the entire recess, until Chad Becker came on the court. It was a close game and he won on a questionable move. The whole line broke into applause and shock (because nobody ever beat me) and kept telling me that I lost and had to get in the back of the line to wait my turn to play again. I threw the ball on the floor and shouted, "You guys are so mean!" and ran away (probably to the jungle gym, I still pretended at this point that it was a pink bubble gum castle).
When I came into class after recess, there was a five dollar bill (of class money) on my desk with a little note written on it that said:
i'm sorry
-Chad
Even in second grade I knew enough to be embarrassed for my tantrum I had thrown because someone had actually beaten me. This note made me feel even worse.
I'm not sure why I remember this episode so clearly, but I do know this. I am now teaching second grade, and we are using the money system in my classroom. Those students will do ANYTHING for money. They love earning whatever they can. They count their money every morning (and some compare as to who has more). This has only made me realize what a big deal that was for Chad to give me that $5. I mean, when you are earning mostly quarters at a time, five whole dollars is a lot. What a sweetheart he was. I have no idea what happened to him after second grade, or why I can remember his full name, but wherever Chad Becker is, I hope he still has such a big heart. I bet he does.
