Latitude or Longitude?

* Creative Non-fiction Essay

Back in sixth grade, I wore orange eyeshadow and studied Geography in Social Studies. The hallways crowded, the lights too bright, filled with preteens with potential drama. We colored maps, calculated coordinates, and traced cities with our hands. We pretended to understand what Miss L was teaching. Most of us enjoyed the coloring part, some enjoyed the number part, none of us enjoyed the memorization part.

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The words Longitude and Latitude are phonemically similar, specifically the L and the

-itude, making the words next to impossible to differentiate. Words that look alike that are often mistaken for each other. Words that sound alike that have opposite meanings. Words that feel similar that makes one feel embarrassed to mess them up. Homonyms.

Adolescent psychologists will tell you that sixth grade students are transitioning from Concrete Operational to Formal Operational in Piaget's Stages of Cognitive Development. Once students pass into the latter category, they will be able to use deductive reasoning. While inductive reasoning uses a conclusion to make predictions for to the future, deductive reasoning uses draws from specific, tried and true evidence to make a conclusion. ***

In our class, some of the students cheated the system by paying close attention to what Miss L. said. They followed patterns and made inferences. These students always received A's on the test. Next were the students who studied the examples from the worksheets. These students received B's. Last were the students who memorized the vocabulary words. They received C's.

In sixth grade, no one tells you that your brain is changing from one mindset to another. You just assume that you are either an A student, a B student, or a C student. There is no conversation about realizing where you are in life, and that your super powers aren't fully developed just yet.

Everyone is told to work hard, try again, put in more effort.

As a former B student, I didn't understand. I memorized the vocabulary, studied the examples, finished my homework, participated in class. I was trying.

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Likewise, during student teaching I planned lessons, graded homework, formed relationships with students, went to after school meetings. I was trying.

After college, no one tells you that sometimes you picked the wrong choice. Instead of choosing option A you chose option C. Option C seemed safe, secure, and simple. Option A seemed grandiose, unsure, and complicated.

Rather than analyzing patterns in your life and listening to your gut instinct, you memorized the work that is in front of you.

Like Longitude and Latitude, you were confused. You were mistaken. And now you are embarrassed.

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Late during sixth grade, we had a state standardized test. This test was not only meant to track sixth grade students for the rest of Middle School, but it was an indicator of what academic level students would be able to reach in High School and beyond. Miss L told gave us study advice even though Geography wasn’t on the test, "Pick the most obvious answer, class. This test is not asking you to overthink the question. Pick the answer that is clear and obvious."

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