Yes, my mother taught me to read early as well. I was 3. It was both a natural consequence of her reading to me and my being somewhat annoying (she would try to read her newspaper and I’d poke the back of it with my little fingers as I sounded out the headlines). In order to get some peace and quiet, she taught me to read and gave me my own section of the newspaper.

What a horrible thing for your teacher to do! Obviously, she was projecting her own feelings of inadequacy onto you. And good for your mother! I’m guessing that this happened a long time ago because drilling someone between the eyes, warranted or not, isn’t really “what’s done” these days. But still, good for her. Believe me, the thought crossed my mind.

Other kids thought I was a nerd too. Not so much a show-off because I hid my “intellectual side” as best I could when I was a teenager (it was the 80s and smart was most definitely not “in”).

Thanks for stopping by, reading and commenting. I’d love to hear more of your adventures as a smart kid growing up in the sticks and times your mother had to smack some sense into folk (I have a ton of stories about my father smacking sense into people, LOL).