What three mistakes did Scout make on her first day of school in To Kill a Mockingbird that angered Miss Caroline?

Scout has high hopes for her first day of school.  She had longed stared out in the distance to catch a glimpse of Jem playing in the schoolyard with the other children.  She wanted to be a part of this experience called school.

On the first day of school, Scout joins her class.  Miss Caroline is her teacher.  Scout unknowingly annoys Miss Caroline and makes her mad.  Scout makes three mistakes:

1.  Scout knows how to read, and she reads well.  Miss Caroline had expected a class full of hungry, unlearned young minds.  She asks Scout to identify the alphabet on the blackboard:

... as [Scout] read the alphabet a faint line appeared between [Miss Caroline's] eyebrows, and after making [her] read most of My First Reader and the stock-market quotations from The Mobile Register aloud, she discovered that [she] was literate and looked at [her] with more than faint distaste (To Kill a Mockingbird, Chapter 2).

Miss Caroline tells Scout to stop reading at home with her father.  She wants to "take over from here and try to undo the damage."  Miss Caroline wants to teach Scout how to read in her own way, which is by the methods she learned in college.  She is annoyed that someone else had taught Scout to read in the "wrong" way.

2.  Scout starts writing a letter to Dill in cursive.  Miss Caroline notices and stops her.  She tells Scout that her father needs to stop teaching her to write, as well.  She also informs Scout that for now she should learn to print, because she will not start writing in cursive until the third grade.  She is upset again that Scout had been taught to write in a way that she viewed as incorrect.

3.  Walter Cunningham, Jr. does not have lunch and Miss Caroline tries to loan him a quarter.  He refuses, but she insists.  Scout speaks up, trying to explain to Miss Caroline that people in the Cunningham clan do not borrow money from anyone.  Miss Caroline thinks that Scout is being impertinent, and she punishes her with smacks on the hand with a ruler.

What three mistakes did Scout make on her first day of school in To Kill a Mockingbird that angered Miss Caroline?

What a frustrating day that must have been to Miss Caroline!  She was fresh out of college and I'm sure she had dreams about how glorious her first day of class would be.  Instead, she has a student who's nearly as big as she is who has tried first grade...well, more than once, let's say.  She tries to teach the basics of reading and writing but discovers one of her pupils doesn't need her instruction--so now what's she supposed to teach her?  She thinks she's doing a nice thing for one of her students by loaning him lunch money, but her gesture is first ignored and then rebuffed--by the same smart-aleck girl who already knows how to read.  She reads a delightful story to her class, but they fail to find it as enthralling as she'd hoped.  She is frightened half out of her wits by finding "cooties" in one boy's hair. She's in a new culture, and even though she doesn't come from that far away, it feels like she's in a foreign country, at times.  It's certainly NOT the day she had hoped it would be. 

What three mistakes did Scout make on her first day of school in To Kill a Mockingbird that angered Miss Caroline?

Because Miss Caroline is from Winston County, which is in the northern part of Alabama and is part of Appalachia, she comes from an area with entirely different customs and religious denominations from that of Maycomb, which is like Harper Lee's hometown of Monroeville, in south Alabama.  To alienate her further, Scout says that "Winston County secede from Alabama in 1861, and every child in Maycomb County knew it."

Clearly, Miss Caroline is on foreign ground.  She has no understanding of the community, and when Scout tries to inform her about Walter Cunningham by saying, "You're shaming him, Miss Caroline...," the teacher feels that her student has derided her.  For, in essence, Scout tells her that she knows nothing about the area of Maycomb. 

In To Kill A Mockingbird, what two mistakes did Miss Caroline make on her first day of school?

In Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird, there are several mistakes Miss Caroline makes the first day. First she tells Scout not to let her father teach her to read or write anymore, causing the child embarrassment and disappointment. 

In terms of knowing (or not knowing) her students, Miss Caroline makes two major mistakes based on her unfamiliarity of the economic circumstances with which her students live.

First, she tries to force Walter Cunningham to take money for lunch when there is no way he could pay the debt back—Miss Caroline has no point of reference regarding the poverty in which they live. These are children of southern farmers—hit especially hard by the Depression—that can only pay in goods rather than cash, barely squeezing by. As Scout tries to explain: "They don't have much, but they get along on it." 

"Miss Caroline, he's a Cunningham." [...]

Scout knows quite well about Walter's difficulty with Miss Caroline's offer of money. She recalls Atticus doing so work for Walter, Sr. Scout and the other students are all familiar with the hard life of the Cunninghams. In fact, quite a few among them deal with the same difficulties.

He didn't forget his lunch, he didn't have any. He had none today nor would he have any tomorrow or the next day. 

Once more Scout tries to reason with Miss Caroline:

The Cunninghams never took anything they can't pay back. [...] You're shamin' him, Miss Caroline. Walter hasn't got a quarter at home to bring you, and you can't use any stovewood.

Miss Caroline cannot follow this line of reasoning that makes perfect sense to Scout and the other children. In light of this, she punishes Scout by tapping her hand several times with a ruler and sending her to stand in the corner.

The second mistake Miss Caroline makes is in telling Burris Ewell to go home to wash his hair and take a bath. Burris nastily announces that he has only come for the first day of school—as he has now for the last three years—and that he's leaving anyway. Miss Caroline (not knowing the disposition of the Ewells) asks Burris to sit down. In response, the youngster threatens the teacher:

Miss Caroline said, "Sit back down, please, Burris," and the moment she said it I know she has made a serious mistake. The boy's condescension flashed to anger.

"You try and make me, missus."

Little Chuck Little got to his feet. "Let him go, ma'am," he said. He's a mean one, a hard-down mean one. He's liable to start somethin', and there's some little folks here."

As polite as Little Chuck is, he is not one to be pushed around either. As Burris turns toward him, Little Chuck's hand makes its way to his pocket, where the reader can infer there rests a knife.

Watch your step, Burris...I'd soon as kill you as look at you. Now go home.

As Burris leaves, he hurls back insults at the teacher, departing only after making certain he has caused her to cry.

If Scout's ability to read and write as a first grader caused Miss Caroline to be come distressed, the reader may infer that Burris' insolence and menacing behavior, as well as Little Chuck's threatening protection of Miss Caroline, would be cause enough to make the woman think twice about teaching first grade in Maycomb. Obviously her life in Alabama did nothing to prepare her for the diverse population of her new class. Not only is the reader able to understand Scout's frustration with school, but also we can interpret how difficult it is to teach in this community and how ill-prepared an outsider is to deal with the specific circumstances the people of this town face on a daily basis.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, what two mistakes did Miss Caroline make on her first day of school?

Miss Caroline, despite her good intentions offers money to Walter Cunningham because the boy has no money to pay for lunch. She doesn't understand that the Cunninghams don't take charity and therefore she doesn't understand why Walter will not take her money. Scout tries to explain this, but to no avail. Fortunately, Jem invites Walter to lunch at the Finch house and Walter gets lunch after all. Miss Caroline is also upset that Scout already knows how to read because Atticus taught her how. This results in Scout saying she will not return to Miss Caroline's class. However, Atticus promises to keep reading with Scout if Scout returns to class. That is a reasonable compromise, according to Scout.

In To Kill A Mockingbird, what two mistakes did Miss Caroline make on her first day of school?

I guess this depends on what you call a mistake.

I would say that she clearly makes a mistake in how she deals with Walter Cunningham.  She sees that he does not have lunch and so she tries to give him a quarter so that he can go down town and get something to eat.  He won't take it and she makes him uncomfortable by trying to insist.

I guess the other mistake might be that she allows the class to laugh when she hits Scout with the ruler.  I'm saying this is a mistake because it gets the 6th grade teacher really mad at her.

In To Kill a Mockingbird, what three mistakes does Scout make that anger Miss Caroline?

In Chapter 2, Scout makes several mistakes that upset Miss Caroline. Scout’s first mistake is reading aloud, which is frowned upon by Miss Caroline. Scout is asked to read the alphabet, most of My First Reader, and quotations from The Mobile Register. (2.22) Miss Caroline tells Scout that her father should stop teaching her how to read because it will interfere with her reading. Miss Caroline believes that children should “begin reading with a fresh mind.”

The second mistake Scout makes happens during a reading lesson, when Miss Caroline is holding up flashcards for the class. Scout is bored and decides to write  a letter to Dill. Miss Caroline catches Scout writing the letter and tells her that her father should stop teaching her how to write. Miss Caroline believes that first graders should only “print” because writing is taught in the third grade.

The third mistake Scout makes happens at lunchtime when Miss Caroline attempts to lend Walter Cunningham a quarter to buy a lunch. Scout tries to explain Walter’s financial situation and how the Cunninghams never take what they can’t pay back. Scout fails to convey the information to Miss Caroline and says, “You’re shamin’ him, Miss Caroline. Walter hasn’t got a quarter at home to bring you, and you can’t use any stovewood.” (2.28) After Scout’s comment, Miss Caroline tells Scout that she has had enough out of her this morning. Miss Caroline gives Scout a dozen little pats with a ruler as a punishment. The entire class bursts out laughing at Miss Caroline’s attempt to punish Scout. 

What were the two mistakes Miss Caroline made on the first day of school?

Miss Caroline is present to provide us with an outsider's view of the town of Maycomb, as opposed to the insider's view we get from Scout.  She does not understand the class situation, such as Walter Cunningham's pride or the Ewells, who come to the first day of school every year and then stay home the rest of the time.

What were the two mistakes Miss Caroline made on the first day of school?

Miss Caroline's greatest mistake is misunderstanding that it she who is the oddity, for she is an "outsider," and, in a tight Southern small town being an outlander, as the Easterners call it, is a clear social disadvantage.  She should have thanked Scout for her assistance, and then she would have ingratiated herself with the community since they hold Atticus Finch as one of their more prestigious citizens.

[Remember Scout's mention that Miss Caroline was from Winston County--a county of Northern Alabama that was sympathetic to the North in the Civil War. Thus, Winston County and its inhabitants were in great disfavor in Southern Alabama, whose roots are very Confederate.

What were the two mistakes Miss Caroline made on the first day of school?

I, too, must agree with bullgatortail. Miss Caroline shames Scout and belittles her father. Neither of these things would fly today. One could assume that Miss Caroline's ego simply got into the way of her dealing with Scout. Today, a reader such as Scout would be praised. The biggest problem is that Miss Caroline's attitude impacts Scout so much that Scout's love for school changes.

What were the two mistakes Miss Caroline made on the first day of school?

I agree with bullgatortail. The core of Miss Caroline's mistake is her ignorance and her ego. She comes into a community with very little understanding of their ways, and expects that she will be able to reach them and educate them. She knows so little of human nature, that she does not realize the value of a first grader who can read and what devestation she perpetrated upon Scout for condemning this.

What were the two mistakes Miss Caroline made on the first day of school?

Miss Caroline's biggest mistakes were making Scout feel ashamed and inferior because she could read so well; and declaring that Atticus--perhaps the wisest and most intelligent man in Maycomb--"does not know how to teach." Miss Caroline's swelled head over what she thought was her modern education and superior intelligence deflated considerably by the end of her first day.

What were the two mistakes Miss Caroline made on the first day of school?

One could argue that Miss Caroline should have researched the area and the students she was to teach before school started.  The conflict with Walter might have been avoided if she understood the poverty level and the pride of the students she was teaching. 

While I agree that criticizing Atticus was a mistake, I think the bigger mistake was telling Scout to stop reading at home.  I can't imagine a teacher telling an advanced child they need to stop learning.  Miss Caroline only knew one way to teach the students to read.  If Scout was already reading, she didn't know what to do.  It seems silly for Miss Caroline to want Scout to stop reading at home so she can be taught to read at school.

What were the two mistakes Miss Caroline made on the first day of school?

Miss Caroline really wasn't a good fit for the class she was sent to teach.  She wasn't in tune with them culturally.  She made a mistake because of this when she tried to get Walter to take a quarter for his lunch.  That would embarass him but she doesn't realize it.  She makes a differnt sort of mistake by criticizing Atticus to Scout.  This seems extremely improper for a first grade teacher.

What mistakes does Scout make on her first day of school that anger Miss Caroline?

In Chapter 2 of To Kill a Mockingbird, despite her eagerness to begin school, Scout has a difficult first day. Her first mistake is letting her teacher, Miss Caroline Fisher, know that she can already read. Miss Caroline tells Scout that she should not be reading at home with her father as "it would interfere with my reading." Clearly, Miss Caroline wants to be the only source of scholastic education in the lives of her students.

Her second mistake happens after recess when Scout gets bored during a lesson with flashcards. Scout starts writing a letter to Dill but Miss Caroline catches her and tells her that Atticus shouldn't be teaching her how to write. Particularly egregious is that Scout is writing in cursive, something that's not taught until the third grade.

Scout's final mistake occurs when she informs Miss Caroline that the Cunninghams don't accept anything that they cannot repay. This occurs after the teacher offers Walter Cunningham some money for lunch. Scout tries to explain this policy of the Cunninghams and says that Miss Caroline is embarrassing Walter by offering him money. Scout is just trying to clear things up, but clearly, Miss Caroline does not appreciate Scout's contribution. In her frustration, Miss Caroline slaps Scout's hand with a ruler and makes her stand silently in the corner of the classroom.

These incidents show that Scout is a precocious and observant girl but she still does not know how to best communicate with adults. It also shows that Miss Cunningham is concerned with maintaining her authority as her students' teacher but still does not know how best to do so and that she does not understand the social dynamics that exist in Maycomb.