This is the story of Skippy Gordon, who, in the fall 1953, did unknowingly fall prey to the influence of Miss Temple and her nefarious cooperation in a federally planned routine which would envelop him for one half of his waking hours, and which would continue for the next ten, fifteen, or twenty years of his life. Suffer with Skippy as he endures the joy-ending trauma of realizing that all his toys and nice mom are at home while he's stuck in a stinky room with twenty paste-eaters painting endless pictures of his house with thick, unruly paintbrushes. Feel, with him, the betrayal as his love and desire for a big-boy bike is twisted by the duplicitous Miss Temple into a sick plan to teach him to read, write, and do arithmetic. Finally, an exposé that has the courage to shine a light on first grade as it truly is.