'Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic,
Taught to the tune of a hick'ry stick.
You were my queen in calico,
I was your bashful barefoot beau,
And you wrote on my slate,
'I love you, Joe,'
When we were a couple of kids."
What do you remember from elementary school.
I remember kindergarten as a time when we sat around in a circle and played on little instruments like toy drums and xylophones and tambourines. We had dolls that we put to bed and covered up with small blankets. We had nap time and each child brought a small rug or blanket from home for naps. We didn't learn anything except how to play well with others and how to be away from home for several hours at a time. Recess was great with slides and swings and children running around in the fresh air.
First grade I learned to read. "See Dick. See Jane. See Dick run . See Jane run" ***
Second grade and third grade are blurs except for the Christmas pageant in one of them. I desperately wanted to be "Mary, the mother of Jesus". The one who sits by the manger and gazes lovingly at the baby. My hair was brown so I thought I looked like Mary. Instead, they chose a little girl with blond curls for Mary. (what bad casting)!!! I got to be the "Star of Bethlehem". Wearing a white robe with a golden halo, I did look great but my disappointment was severe at losing the staring role of Mary.
Was I scarred for life because of this early rejection? Who can say.:)
Fifth grade. Each year the fifth grade class made a trip by bus to the state capitol, Atlanta. The year I was in fifth grade my teacher's husband died so our trip was canceled.
Sixth grade was my zenith year. Miss Lucy Clarke was my teacher and I was "teacher's pet" I got called on repeatedly to stand in front of the class and read. Miss Clarke said I was an excellent reader and also an outstanding writer. She entered two of my essays in a state contest and I won. I think the prize was one whole dollar but there was a banquet and an award. I was so proud and happy.
What do you remember?
*** "The famous Dick and Jane books that taught millions of children to read were first published in 1931. These primers introduced the students to reading with only one new word per page and a limited vocabulary per book. All who learned to read with these books still recall the "Look. See Dick. See Dick run."
5 comments:
I definitely remember the Dick, Jane and Sally books. I remember my first grade teacher, Mrs. Burlew, weighed about 300 pounds. My grade teacher, Mrs. Fuller, taught Indians on a reservation before teaching in our school. I had Mrs. Yoch for sixth grade and she had frosted hair.
What do I remember from grade school? Hmmm....
Kindergarden--Didn't get to attend as there was no room for me.
1st Grade--Missed having art on my first day of school because I was at the tail-end of a line of kids going from one class to the next. Lollygagging about, I missed that the line took a turn. When I got to the front door of the school and was by myself, I decided that it was time to go home--and I did! Later in the school year, it was announced over the intercom that President Roosevelt had died.
2nd Grade--I was extremely jealous of Ruth Sunday (although I would not have said so--being too shy to open my mouth). She was a "full-blooded" Cherokee. Oh, how I wished I were an American Indian!
3rd Grade--Moved from Tulsa to Kansas City, where no one could understand anything I said because of my "accent"!
4th Grade--Mrs Campbell taught us to birdwatch.
5th Grade--Mrs Nichols hit Royce Beckett on the head with a rock (not hard enough to get through his thick skull!) Last I saw Royce, in the mid-1970s, he was a well-respected minister.
6th Grade--Mrs Meyers chose me to play "The Lady That's Known As Lou" for a class presentation of The Shooting of Dan McGrew--mostly because I was the only redheaded girl in the class.
7th Grade--Mrs Dowdy was teased unmercifully (behind her back) to the resemblance that her face bore to a bulldog's. She single-handedly set many of us on the path of becoming well-spoken. She was a wonderfully effective teacher.
Cop Car
Thanks for the idea. It's going to be my next blog entry. :-)
I remember well the Dick and Jane books. I so loved my grade two teacher. One day I brought my dog to school and got heck from the principal and had to miss class to take him back home. On returning, my teacher picked me up and sat me on her knee while I cried. I will never forget her kindness.
Real ink! What an exciting day it was in the third or fourth grade when we all got out our new, fat Parker pens and filled them from the containers nestled in the special holes in our desks. And, of course, Penny, who had braids almost down to her waist, went home blue-tipped up to her red ribbons!
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