What I Learned in the 5th Grade

I sometimes think back to the 5th grade because it was a tough year for me, but I learned some great life lessons that year. My teacher, Mr. Strombeck, taught me so much, and most of what I learned wasn’t even a part of the curriculum. He had a reputation for being one of the hardest, most strict teachers in the school, yet I’m glad I was in his class.

I Learned to Read (and Think)

This teacher gave us reading assignments that somehow seemed to leap beyond anything I had ever been required to read in the past. They were short stories that it seemed like an adult or young adult may read. He told us to read them on our own time and then answer some comprehension questions that I thought were quite difficult. These stories were not typical kid stories. It was literature. Complex themes and ideas were floating around, and it was not always explained so directly within the story. You had to figure it out on your own or come to your own interpretation of what was going on.

I am convinced now that he wanted to get us thinking. He didn’t want to explain the story to us so that we could learn his explanation. Mr. Strombeck wanted us to figure it out and make sense of the story for ourselves – that is what reading is truly about.

This was the first time I learned to ask myself questions as I read. Why did this character behave this way? What were they trying to accomplish? Why did they get emotional or upset at a certain point? When or where are they, and why does it matter?

I remember that the first stories he assigned were incomprehensible to me. I felt lost. But I kept reading and trying to understand, and at the end of the year, my reading skills had vastly improved. In the 6th grade (the following year), I read the highest-level books in the school library, which were 8th-grade level. I’m sure this was because my 5th-grade teacher had actually challenged me to truly read and to truly think.

My Actions Have Consequences

Surely, children younger than the 5th grade learn that their actions have consequences. Every child knows that if they behave badly enough, they will get punished or at least have some privilege or reward taken away. But I learned this lesson in a deeper way here.

One of my friends needed an eraser, and he was only maybe 15 feet away. I didn’t want to get up from my desk without permission, so I gently tossed an eraser to him, and he caught it.

“That’s 5 days detention right there,” the teacher said sternly, looking at me.

He took a moment to write me up and hand me the form. I was quite upset, as I thought it was obvious that I had not violently thrown anything or tried to hurt anyone. But I knew if I tried to argue the point, it would just make things worse.

To this day, I’m not entirely sure if the punishment of 5 days detention was really warranted. It seems extreme for the gentle toss of an eraser.

Yet as a child, the lesson hit home – Be careful with what you choose to do. Think through your choices. Your actions have consequences.

In hindsight, I think this fifth grade teacher was trying to actually prepare us for life, and not just for the sixth grade.

I sense that the message he was giving me and to the class is that even if this punishment seems harsh, in real life, people often commit actions that appear to be harmless and yet which can result in horrible consequences. Also, in real life, sometimes minor crimes result in harsh sentences, and some criminals get off for free. Things are not always fair.

“It’s not easy, but sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do.”

I was horrible at paying attention in class, and so I believe I was struggling in history class at one point, and my Mom had talked to Mr. Strombeck. He told my Mom that I should go to his desk the next day to discuss my options.

The next day arrived, and I was very introverted, so I was nervous about going up to him. Most of the day went by, and I never went to his desk. I was going to keep waiting and probably never go up to him. Finally, in the afternoon, Mr. Strombeck called me to his desk.

He asked me if my Mom had told me to come to his desk and talk to him, and I said “Yes.”

Then he said something like this: “I know it can be difficult to come up to an adult, but you’re going to have to learn to do this. It’s not easy, but sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to do. You are the one who would like to do better in history, so you are the one who needs to come to me about it. Next time you have something on your mind, come straight to me.”

Then he gave me a few extra credit options to help improve my grades.

At the time, I think I struggled to communicate with people, especially adults. In general, I had started to develop some anxiety around socializing. Fifth grade was also the first time I was expected to give presentations in front of the class. All I can recall was having this overwhelming sense of dread when I needed to present like this world-ending disaster was happening. A girl in my class got so nervous that she would shake visibly and cry during her presentations. I probably felt like her on the inside.

The understanding from my teacher that it was difficult for me to communicate and that I was intimidated to speak with adults somehow helped me make it through the year.

Ultimately, now as an adult, I agree with him that some things will be quite difficult, but you have to do them.

Through doing those difficult things over and over, somehow it seems to result in personal growth, well-being, character, grit, and skill.

How to Use the Internet

That year (1995), I was selected to be in a group of four students who would learn extra computer skills. I don’t remember much about what we did. The group only met once per week for about an hour. At that time, I remember working on something called Netscape (a common web browser at that time).

In those days, there were less than 40 million internet users worldwide, and apparently, I was one of them. Today, there are nearly 5 billion regular internet users. There is a good chance you and everyone you know has internet access, but the world wasn’t always this way. And as I’m starting to feel older than I actually am somehow, I will remind you that I am 35 years old now.

We couldn’t have known back then that this internet thing was really going to take off. As kids, it was just an interesting way to pass the time and like a toy to play with.

Now we know the internet is much more powerful than we thought – we are all connected through it and able to share and receive as much information as we can handle.

Final Thoughts

I learned a lot in the 5th grade. I learned to read and think that my actions have consequences, that sometimes you have to do things you don’t want to, and how to use the internet.

By the way, the only things I remember learning were not actually in the course curriculum. Isn’t that interesting?

What did you learn in the 5th grade?

Or do you have a teacher who stands out to you and who helped you learn some valuable life lessons?