This morning I handed my essay in to Mrs. Tate and after she had examined it she cane back to my seat and said:
“Charles this is a very good composition, but it seems to me to have more tone of an oration; you seem to be talking directly to the audience, and so I would like to have you learn it—that is at least part of it; because you know you will need the practice at the end of the year!” After she had explained some corrections, she added: “I think this is very interesting; it is very hard to make such a subject interesting.”
I scarcely heard her for all I could hear was “you’ll need the practice at the end of the year!” So, I am to have one of the two high honors! I had hoped for this ever since I entered High School, but had almost been afraid to even hope for it. At noon, I told Bill of her remark, and he said that she had said almost the same thing to him down at the Library Saturday night. Then it’s just to be we two!
Charles Burchfield, February 20, 1911