Bald Eagles

When I was little, I was pretty much the same, I absorbed useless information and remembered rules to the note. So, one day my teacher asked the class "Why is the bald eagle called 'bald?'" I knew the answer, since I had seen it on a kids nature show. I retold what I had heard, that the word "bald" has a connection to the word "white" in Old English, and this refers to the white head.

She looked at me like I was an idiot and said, "No, it's because they look bald, with no color on their head." I felt stupid, but that's how I usually felt in school. I had a tactless teacher who didn't mind humiliating me, even when I was right.

I saw a special on bald eagles this morning on Today. They've been removed from the endangered and threatened lists. I remembered the discussion so long ago, as I always remember when someone mentions or I see a bald eagle. I decided to look up the reason for the name "bald eagle" on Wikipedia. If I was stupid and gullible as a child, then I decided that I would let it go and get over it. Here is what Wikipedia said: "Bald in the English name is derived from the word piebald, and refers to the white head and tail feathers and their contrast with the darker body." In your face, first grade!

I never wanted to go to school in first grade. My teacher was horrible, always making me feel stupid, giving me bad grades for following directions too literally, never giving positive rewards, enabling other kids to make fun of me, and dropping me from the top reading group, only to promote my babysitter's son. My generic blue crayon colored purple, and I knew I wasn't crazy. I got in trouble for coloring things that were supposed to be blue purple. So when I colored an ice cube white, I got in trouble because she couldn't tell that I colored it. Well, actually ice cubes are clear, but I thought white would be ok. I guess I should've colored it blue...um, purple.

-MsLin