Reflective Essay: The Misery Of Silence

Elementary school had an enormous impact on me, specifically my language skills. My favorite teacher was Mrs. Kapinos and to this day, I can still remember her dark curly hair, and the smell of her fresh perm. More than anything, I remember how her eyes seemed to soften as she spoke, and how simple and calming her breath was. It was in this class, in the third grade, where I learned to express my feelings and my emotions through written word.

During that school year, I came out of my shell. My teacher noticed that I struggled to read off the blackboard, not for lack of comprehension, but due to a visual impairment. I was petrified to wear glasses, worried that I would be ridiculed by my classmates. Mrs. Kapinos gave me a book to read about a young girl, like me, who was apprehensive about wearing glasses.

Kapinos thought it would be best if I took the role of the “Storyteller” for myself; this was my moment to sink or swim. Knowing that my classmates would be hearing my story for the first time was daunting, but I would soon learn that speaking in front of the class would be terrifying. In Maxine Hong Kingston’s essay, “The Misery of Silence”, she talks about speaking aloud in a classroom setting, and how challenging it can be for a young student: “It was when I found out I had to talk that school became a misery, that the silence became a misery. I did not speak and felt bad each time that I did not speak”. Kingston also makes the point that for children, reading aloud is much easier when you already know what you’re going to say. “Reading out loud was easier than speaking because we did not have to make up what to say, but I stopped often, and the teacher would think I'd gone quiet again”. My teacher, unlike Kingston’s, recognized what I needed as a student and as a young girl. I was the child that had often felt ignored, the “wallflower”, always hoping that someone, anyone, would pay attention to me. She must have understood that I was the little