At the old James Jerome Hill Elementary School, almost every 5th grader hoped to be chosen for the school police when he or she advanced to the 6th grade. The school police were responsible not only for
standing in the middle of the street armed only with a bright red flag festooned with a yellow and black “STOP” sign but also to monitor lines of kindergarten and first grade kids to and from the school and to serve as hall monitors before and after class.
We hoped to be chosen because of the POWER the position brought with it; no one messed with the school police! So on that day at the end of our 5th grade school year my daycare “sister” Susie and I went to school just full of anticipation of being selected. At the end of that day one of us was harassing the other the entire two and a half block walk back home; Susie was selected and I wasn't.
I was crushed. Not only did I suffer a loss of self esteem, it was worse than that; I suffered weeks of teasing at the capable hands of Susie and her younger sister Barbie. Over the course of the summer the teasing stopped replaced by other squabbles; that's how these thing went. Until late August when preparations for going back to school reach their annual intensity. Susie was again in full harassment mode and again my self esteem was taking a beating.
The first week of school was torture; I'd look at my friends resplendent in their Sam Browne Belts and shiny school police badges being all bossy and stuff. Mr. Larson, our principal, had not yet appointed the sergeant, lieutenant or captain of school police; he wanted to observe a while before making a decision.
A week or so later Harry was appointed captain, Grant as lieutenant and Marilyn as sergeant. On the same day I was called to the principal's office and not being the smartest kid on the block; I had no idea why. The kids in my class started in on me as I slowly walked to the classroom door. Head down I made my way to the office all the while wondering what I'd done.
Mr. Larson smiled when I arrived. On his desk was a very worn, raggedy-looking Sam Browne belt with a brand-new shiny school police badge affixed to it. He congratulated me and told me I was Harry's replacement. I was a made-man…er boy. No more harassment from Susie and my self-esteem made a complete turn around.
“Put a little polish on that belt,” were his parting words. By the time I reached class, the belt was on me worn, but proud. It was with a huge smile that I entered the classroom. Everyone but Susie returned that smile.
I can relate to your story, except mine has a different twist. I was a school patrol twice. Once in 6th grade like you were, but also in 3rd grade as well.
You see, I attended Farnsworth Elementary for 2nd and 3rd grade. Since 3rd grade was the highest grade at Fansworth at the time, the school had the bright idea of selecting 3rd graders as patrols.
This generally worked out fine as 3rd graders usually aren’t into a huge power trip. It worked well except for one time; the annual school patrol parade and picnic.
The annual picnic was the highlight of the year. Taking time off of school, marching down the streets of St. Paul, then going to Como Park for a celebration with friends.
As a 3rd grader, we were considerably smaller than all of the other 6th graders.To this day I can still recall the teasing we took not only from the other patrols, but from some of the kids watching the parade. Snide remarks like “Look at how little they are!” and “They can’t be school patrols!” were yelled. The entire day was like that as we were easy targets.
Our parents and teachers told us to ignore the bullies, but the damage was already done.
In the end we still had a great time, and I still have fond memories of being a school patrol. My friends and I had the last laugh when as 6th graders we ran into some 3rd grade patrols at that same Como Park picnic. We told the “little” kids to have fun no matter what the bullies said. It will be something they will remember for a long time.
And it was.
Thank you for your comment, Christopher, your getting chosen not once, but TWICE has just sent my self-esteem into a tail-spin. 😉
Ahhh, the parade & picnic at Como was the the highlight of the school police experience for me.
I’m sure the kindness you and your friends extended to the third grade patrol kids was long-remembered and made their experience much better.