Older Times...

I went to a school from kindergarten through fourth grade which left me with memories of good things. Well, mostly good things. I remember my very first day as my mother walked with me because I didn't want to go at all, but she promised me pea soup for lunch after my first half day. It worked. I had a purpose. From then on I walked with other neighborhood kids. We cut through a dirt path beside the firehouse and then over tree roots and weeds just to get to the road that we had to cross to enter the school. Rain, snow, heat - it didn't matter - we walked close to a mile two and from school for all five years. 

There were a couple of incidents where I was obstinate in kindergarten when the teacher asked me to pick up a piece of chalk she had dropped and I refused, telling her that she should pick it up - she dropped it! That was my reasoning.

I did enjoy knitting blocks in first grade, as we all did, so an adult could sew them all together and send the blankets to the soldiers during the war. I didn't like sitting on the cold basement floor with head down and arms wrapped around myself during fire drills though.

One time I caused a classmate to pass out during recess. Somehow I had learned to press the point just behind his ears when we were wrestling in the dirt to make this happen and it worked! I was a real terror tomboy during 2nd grade. I loved to wrestle and show off my strength. 

Bringing a dime to go into a savings book once a week was done by all who could get a dime. Some couldn't. The teacher then collected the books and I think she filled in the slots for the ones who didn't have dimes to save.

A scoundrel boy once kicked the third grade teacher in the leg, tearing her stocking and we all were very shocked. He was sent to the principal's office and his mother was brought in to help decide his punishment. We never understood why he kicked her.

I loved fourth grade. The pull-down US map and the pull-down world maps were my favorite parts of both history and geography lessons.

Also, in fourth grade everyone was treated equal. When it was Valentine's Day, a red, pink and white paper-covered box was placed in the room a week before and much time was spent creating cards while in school and also at home.

EVERYONE was expected to make a card for EVERYONE ELSE and put it in the box. WE DID THAT! NO one was left out. I do admit that my 'prettiest' cards were addressed to my best friends and a 'special' card was addressed to a boy I liked but no one knew I liked him - not even him! HA!

Wouldn't it be wonderful if school was really appreciated by both the students and teachers today as it was then? We did learn. Oh yes. We learned about respect, caring for each other, sharing and appreciating what we had. Learning was more than books and tests and scores and homework.

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