In the fall Mrs. Frost began again to look for a teaching job, and the children were sent to a one room school house with all eight grades in one room (54). Shortly after attending this new school, Robert began to complain and was later joined by his sister. The school was not working and the teacher herself was not well educated, so Mrs. Frost moved her children back to Lawrence with other relatives to find work and better schools. During this time Mrs. Frost learned of a job opening in the village of Salem, only ten miles from Lawrence (56). In 1886, she once again moved her family and began teaching at the Salem school. The children also attended school here, and entered the fourth and fifth grade. Things were looking up for the small family.
He who, from zone to zone,
Guides through the boundless sky the certain flight,
In the long way that I must tread alone,
Will lead my steps aright. (71).
Frost was surprised because he never tried to memorize this particular poem. He was also surprised to learn later that is was by his favorite poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. Frost, with the help of his mother, became more dedicated to his studies. However, due to some misfortunes with students and other teachers, Mrs. Froth resigned from the Salem school district and moved her children away from there (77). Frost vowed to his peers, �Some day I�ll come back to Salem Depot and show them� (77)
Frost solved the problem displaying all the steps, and in his eagerness to explain in detail his work, he forgot his shyness (81). Frost received praise from everyone in the room, and from this point on in his high school career, he threw himself into his studies. Frost�s extraordinary burst of reading in the summer of 1889 helped to stimulate the beginning of his poetic career. His experiences on his employer�s farm gave him a start in another direction as well (85). Frost helped with the animals, and he also harvested crops and learned the meaning of hard work during his time on the Bailey farm. It was during this time that Frost began to carry himself like a man (87).
At the start of Frost�s sophomore year, his shyness and awkwardness among his peers had vanished. Even his classmates had to admit he was academically superior to all of them (91). Frost�s interest in writing also peaks and every free moment he had, he wrote stanza upon stanza of poetry. At the close of Frost�s sophomore year, the Frost family all had to find work due to their financial situation (96).
The family all found work at a hotel. The work was hard and long, and by the summer�s end, Frost could not wait to start up at school again (97). Frost�s junior year flew by, and in the summer he had to work odd jobs again. Frost was proud of his standing when he returned to Lawrence High School as a senior in the fall of 1891; head of his class, Chief Editor of the Bulletin, prominent member of the debating society, and one of the new college preparatory students who had already passed six of the seven preliminary examinations (108).
It was also during Frost�s senior year that he met Elinor Miriam White, the daughter of a backslidden Universalist minister in Lawrence (108). They soon began a romance together which continued into marriage later on in life. Frost and Elinor both graduated from Lawrence High School, and they were both the highest pupils in the class. Throughout the summer, whenever they could be together, they shared long walks, picnics, and poetry (135).
