Townsquare Media Tuscaloosa contributor and 101.7 The River co-host "Brother" Scott McCown has a few thoughts on the good old days of elementary school. Yes, the lessons of the fifth grade!

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Alright, Brother Scott, what do you have to say?

Recently, I was back in Pensacola, Florida, and thought of an event from about 17 years ago. That event was the funeral of my mom’s only sister. While there, I had the opportunity to see people from my past. One of those people was Mrs. Gulsby, my fifth-grade teacher at Escambia Christian School.

Mrs. Gulsby was everything a fifth-grade teacher should be — TOUGH! She expected a lot from those 10 and 11-year-old students in her charge. The first week of school, she tested us on our multiplication facts. When she realized that some of us had been derelict over the summer and had not practiced our math skills, she marched down to the third-grade teacher and borrowed the 45-rpm records with multiplication songs on them. The mighty fifth grade had to sing those “baby third grade” songs every morning until every student could pass a multiplication facts test.

There is one event from her class that was not part of any lesson plan and turns out to be pivotal in my understanding of freedom. If you remember elementary school, you may recall that students begin to grasp the concept of the United States being a “free country.” Students begin to express this concept in many ways. Sally pushes her way past Billy to get to the fountain and emphatically states, over his protests, that “it’s a free country; I can cut if I want to.” Back to Mrs. Gulsby’s lesson. Sam (not his real name) came back from the boys’ room with small tears in his eyes, complaining that John (not his real name) had hit him in the arm and wouldn’t apologize. When John came into the room, Mrs. Gulsby asked if he had hit Sam. John replied, “It was an accident! I was just swinging my arm, and I accidentally hit him!” Mrs. Guslby insisted that he apologize anyway. John protested, “It’s a free country, I can swing my arm if I want to, why should I apologize?”

Mrs. Gulsby then said something profound. A profound statement that many in our nation need to hear today! If we as individuals, minority groups, majority groups, activists, and lobbyists would apply her words . . . well, our nation just might be a better place.

Her wise counsel was this: “John, your freedom to swing your arm ended where Sam’s shoulder began! Now go say you are sorry.”

Thank you, Mrs. Gulsby. Your words provided counsel on many occasions. Your words help me apply the words of an even greater teacher who once said, “So whatever you wish that others would do to you, do also to them” (Matt. 7:12).