Two days after Simon’s fifth birthday, he went to school for the first time. The school was a long way from his home, so his mother took him to school in the morning, and left him at the school gate.
At half past three she went back to the school to pick up Simon. She waited outside with many other mothers. Soon he came out and ran up to her.
“Did you enjoy your first day at school?” she asked him.
He shook his head.
“No,” he said, “and I’m never going back there again.”
His mother was very surprised.
“What’s the matter?” she asked him, “Has someone been unkind to you?”
“No,” he replied.
“Did you miss me?” his mother asked him. “Is that why you don’t want to go to school again?”
“No,” he replied.
“Then tell me the reason,” his mother said.
“All right. I can’t read. I can’t write. I can’t spell. I can’t do math and the teacher won’t let me talk. What’s the point of going to school when I can’t do anything there?”