She has been looking forward to this for a long time, but her first day does not go as smoothly as she would like.
Her teacher, who is new to the profession, is alarmed to find that Scout can already read and write, and she makes Scout feel guilty at her high level of education.
During lunch she complains to Jem about her teacher, but he does not sympathize.
Walter Cunningham, a boy from a very poor family has no lunch, so the teacher offers to buy one for him, but he refuses, as he knows his family will not be able to repay her. Scout being too smart for her own good interrupts to explain this situation to the teacher, who slaps her with a ruler across her hand. Scout is annoyed at this injustice and takes it out on Walter, and they fight, rolling around on the ground and Jem breaks it up. To Scout's amazement he invites Walter back to their house for lunch. Scout criticizes Walter for his poor table manners and Calpurnia pulls her aside and slaps her for failing to be a good hostess. .
Back at school a large bug crawls out of Burris Ewell's hair, a member of the Ewell clan, another impoverished family of the town, which causes the new teacher to be dismayed. Burris only comes to school on the first day in order to be registered. He shouts abuse at the teacher who is reduced to tears.
At home Scout complains to Atticus about school and that she is never going back, but Atticus says under the law she must go, and that he will continue to read to her provided she doesn't tell her teacher.
Atticus has been Scout's main teacher and he has always said to her that in order to understand a person one must "climb into his skin and walk around in it".
Chapters 4 and 5.
Summary.
The school year passes depressing slowly for Scout and her class is released half-an-hour before Jem's so she has to pass Boo Radley's house by herself every afternoon.
One day she notices a shiny object in a tree at the end of the Radley's yard.