Swinging From Mrs. Sam

After long and careful thought of attempting to recall a teacher that made me feel like “everything I said was wrong”, similar to Me Talk Pretty One Day, I feel very blessed to say I have never had a teacher who made me feel that way. However, Mrs. Sam did, but she was no teacher. Rather, my elementary recess supervisor. 

As a child, I enjoyed going to school because I got to learn and play with friends. All of the things that made me happiest about school had to stay within the classroom. During lunch recess on the playground, I was unable to enjoy myself and friends on the playground because of my intense fear of getting yelled at by Mrs. Sam. 

One recess, I felt risky and decided to have fun. I figured the most rebellious, yet safest activity to not get in trouble, was to swing on the swings. The more I swung, the closer I felt Mrs. Sam’s eyes get, as she searched for something to yell at me for. Although, these eyes did not stop the swinging, I heard a whistle blow, Mrs. Sam’s accusing finger pointing directly at me, beckoning me. I had to get off the swings, just for Mrs. Sam to make this shameful situation of me, all because she believed I was swinging too high. There was no winning this needless shaming, as it occured for the rest of my elementary years. 

My fear and discomfort crept beyond the borders of recess grounds. (Sedaris, 219). As I watched the popular Disney show, Good Luck Charlie, I was reminded of Mrs. Sam. There was this lady the Duncan family were neighbors with and she was not just similar to Mrs. Sam in regards to their attitudes, but their looks as well. One could only imagine little Tara being haunted by her lunch supervisor, as she flinched when Mrs. Sam’s doppelgänger appeared on screen.

Being in high school now with no recess, I definitely regret letting Mrs. Sam stop me from enjoying the time I was given to be free. I’ve now learned to swing for the stars and to avoid judgement and anxiety from bringing me down.



Comments

  1. AnonymousMarch 9, 2025 at 4:43 PM

    Hi Tara. I found your blog really interesting and I loved how you added quotations for Sedaris piece as if you were in his situation.I also loved how you shared your fear of Ms. Sam and how it connected to the piece.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Zainab SyedMarch 9, 2025 at 7:51 PM

    Hi tara! Love the reference to Good Luck Charlie, a classic childhood show. It was very helpful in creating an image in my head of Mrs. Sam. Your description of the experiences were super detailed and really easily relatable! Great job :)

    ReplyDelete

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