This is a story about a mother and her daughter on the first day of school. They go to one school, which the mother prefers because it is close to home and to her church, to register but they are told they need to go to another school to register. At this other school, the mother asks another woman to help her fill out the form because she can't read or write. When the mother leaves, she leaves her daughter in the safekeeping of this school with hopes that her daughter will get an education, be able to read and write, and and have a better life than her mother.
It is debatable whether this story is about the mother or daughter. This is an important day in the daughter's life: her first day of school. She may be 6 years old and she is telling the story later on when she is an adult. But, the focus seems to be on the mother and how she handles the daughter's first day of school.
From the first sentence, it seems that the daughter realized her mother couldn't read and write and this was embarrassing for her later on. She became ashamed of her mother. This is why this first day is remembered so vividly by the daughter.
The second school is a real school in Washington, D.C. but it's not clear exactly where it is in D.C. It may be in NE Washington, D.C.
This story has a lot of sensory details. For example, in the second paragraph, the clothes of the daughter are described and when the mother plaited the daughter's hair, her "scalp tingles." When [she' turns [her] head quickly, [her] nose fills with the faint smell of Dixie Peach hair grease....." For another example, at the end, the sound of the mother's footsteps as she leaves the school, is emphasized.
This is a story about "leaving home"; the little girl is "leaving home" to start the first grade of school. Many children are apprehensive about this step in their lives. Parents and teachers try their best to facilitate a smooth transition so it is as easy and comfortable as possible.
I don't recall my first day of school when I was six years old. I do remember vaguely a few experiences in the first grade. I remember drawing and being commended for my drawing. I remember there being about fifteen others in the classroom. It is all a blur, however, because I was deaf but no one knew it on the first day of school in the first grade. But, apparently my teacher noticed something because I had a hearing test that fall and got a little hearing aid.
