This memory piece documents the frustrating experience of an
non-reading child in a reading-oriented classroom. It comments on the loneliness of the child, face-down on the desk, as the teacher, faced away from him, continues to write symbols which are incomprehensible to the child. The dark figure stands watching, peering into the classroom, and indicating the books yet to be finished by the child.

This image is one of being trapped in an environment where adults are waiting for comprehension, while the child is more interested in the shapes, colors, and patterns within the room whether they be the yellow of the teacher’s dress or the checkered pattern of the floor.

Kevin Wall, art teacher, Haven Middle School