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A Personal Narrativ e \f 3 3 our full attention . When his older brother Brian started toward him, Dou g dared an y of us to move. I couldn't, I was petrified. Thos e doubl e barrel s looked lik e cannons . I ha d hear d o f kid s playin g wit h gun s tha t the y thought wer e unloade d an d accidentall y shootin g someone . Tha t wa s regular news in black Columbus. Brian, who also was now frozen, pleade d with Dou g t o pu t th e gu n back . H e tol d Dou g tha t th e gu n migh t b e loaded an d tha t i f he pulled th e trigger , h e migh t kil l someone an d hav e to go to jail. That prospec t had no effect. Bria n then reminded Dou g tha t if thei r mothe r foun d ou t abou t th e incident , sh e woul d groun d hi m forever. Tha t threa t di d register , an d Doug' s jok e ended . H e laughe d heartily, but alone. During th e sixt h grade , a few teacher s seeme d t o tak e greate r notic e of me. By then, many of them ha d taught at least one Fair. Except for my sister Theresa , nearl y nin e year s olde r tha n me , th e Fair s wer e averag e students. Bu t Theres a ha d earne d straigh t A' s sinc e grad e schoo l an d graduated wit h numerou s academi c honor s a t th e to p o f he r class . I looked u p to her and craved th e same praise she had received. That year , Fairwood institute d a ne w progra m i n whic h sixt h grader s woul d rotat e among severa l teacher s eac h day . Undoubtedly , tha t innovatio n wa s de signed t o prepar e u s fo r junio r high , whic h I wa s beginnin g t o loo k forward to . I rotate d amon g Mrs . Whitham , Mrs . French , an d Mrs . Thompson. Frenc h an d Thompson , bot h black , wer e a s demandin g a s Mrs. Whitham , an d the y pushe d m e i n ever y subject . Eve n thoug h I worked har d a t th e assignments , I still ha d onl y averag e skills , however . Reading remaine d difficul t fo r me , but I progressed throug h al l the SR A levels with A's and B' s on most projects . BUSING In the spring, Mrs. Thompson tol d several of us about a voluntary busin g plan tha t woul d enabl e som e blac k childre n fro m th e eas t sid e t o atten d selected, predominantl y white , junio r hig h schools , i n ou r cas e Johnso n Park. She explained tha t the ne w school migh t have better resource s an d might b e mor e demandin g academicall y tha n Franklin , th e blac k junio r high schoo l i n m y neighborhood . Th e pla n wa s on e directional—n o white kids were bused t o the black schools. Only then di d i t dawn on me that man y of the kid s that I had bee n i n school with fo r five years would scatte r i n a couple o f months. I had no t considered th e possibility of going anywhere bu t Franklin , because that' s 34 I f A Personal Narrativ e where m y sibling s went , befor e goin g t o Eas t Hig h School . Davi d tol d me h e woul d atten d a privat e school . Dou g wa s simpl y read y t o leav e Fairwood. Her e wa s my chanc e t o b e different , t o participat e i n a n educational experiment . I woul d hav e t o leav e my neighborhoo d an d some of my friends. I wouldn't know many...

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