Conrad and the Ink Well (Cont.)
Screen 2 of 4Each of the desks in the room had an inkwell made of thick glass and open at the top. This movable inkwell was set in a round hole cut in the top right-hand corner of the desk for this purpose. (The reader should be reminded here that ballpoint pens were not in existence in the early 1930's. At least, they were not available to elementary school pupils in Virginia's rural and small town schools. Children in grades one through four used only crayons and pencils. Pen and ink were introduced at the beginning of the fifth grade, each boy and girl being required to buy a wooden pen staff and a metal pen point to be used with it. The ink, usually furnished by the school, was kept in large glass bottles either in the principal's office or in the closet adjoining each classroom; and the individual inkwells in the upper grades were filled each morning from these bottles by the teacher or a dependable student assigned to this task.)
This was the setting for Conrad Binford, who as a beginning fifth grader was expected to learn soon the proper use of pen and ink. Now remember Conrad was smart. He was also a handsome boy of twelve with a very imaginative and creative mind, and his sparkling eyes and winsome smile added to his attractiveness. (I had learned in college that creative children should be encouraged and developed and that a child's creativity could be measured in part by determining how many different ways he could think of for a certain thing to be used. For example, some children--the less imaginative ones--would probably think of only one use for a brick: in a brick pavement or in the wall of a house. Whereas others--the more creative ones--would certainly mention this most obvious use of a brick but would also list several additional uses for a brick such as: as a doorstop; as a foot warmer when heated and wrapped well; and as a weapon to use in breaking a window or killing a snake. But the creativity tests I had seen never mentioned ink and the various ways it might be used; so I was not prepared for what was to come. Also, I had not been taught how to establish a workable balance with children between creativity and conformity to rules and regulations, a general problem all successful teachers deal with constantly.
It soon became obvious that Conrad saw a use for ink other than for writing. In spite of my "rules and regulations" about the inkwells, I saw him one day dipping his thumb and forefinger into his inkwell; and then after rubbing the ink between his fingers he gently stroked them up and down the beautiful blonde hair of the girl sitting in front of him. Apparently he thought the dark blue ink would go well with the bright color of her hair. Perhaps he was even ahead of his time in the art of "finger painting."
"Conrad," I said sternly but quietly to him as I came close to his seat, "you know you are not to use the ink in that way. Now apologize to Elizabeth (who, before I realized it was wiping the ink off her hair with her dainty handkerchief), go wash your hands, and get back to studying your geography lesson." He said nothing, but did what I told him and I thought this gentle correction would settle the matter, not only for Conrad but also for any others in the room who might be inclined to misuse ink in this way. And so I continued the arithmetic lesson with the sixth grade.
But no. About ten minutes later, Conrad repeated the act, when he thought I was not looking. This time, somewhat angry by his disobedience, I rebuked him in a louder voice than I had used the first time, told him to see me at recess time, and cautioned all the pupils not to do such things with their ink. Surely, there would be no recurrence of this kind of behavior, I thought. (Such naiveté and temporary optimism are perhaps the chief reasons young teachers do not leave the profession in their early years.)
Again I was wrong. School must indeed have been boring and "stupid" to Conrad. For before I had finished the sixth grade lesson I saw him for the third time sticking his fingers in the inkwell, this time rubbing them on the shoulder of Elizabeth's dress.
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