Awful - Just AWFUL

EVIL

Grades Five through Nine

My entire group of classmates from the small elementary school went to the Junior High School, along with youngsters from several other areas. It was a real awakening for some of us. You see, many of the kids from my area were Irish and Italian. Some from other areas were of various ethnicities such as German, French, Polish and Jewish and there were also many colored kids. Yes, we called them colored in those days. What a blend of races and colors then came together and we very easily learned about each other. One thing I remember today is that there weren't any Hispanic, Chinese or Asian kids in the mix. The diversity also included kids of very low income to very wealthy families. I definitely remember that it didn't matter who you were, where you came from, what you had or didn't have, what mattered was the fun and learning experience. The learning was not just about school subjects either. It was acceptance of our differences and respect for each other. BUT! This school was different! WE had fun - all of us - together. The teachers were exceptionally tuned in to our age group and what we needed. As we progressed from 5th grade to 9th grade we were definitely prepared for the real high school wake up. There we each went in different directions but the mold was formed. We were well prepared. More ethnic groups and nationalities joined us in 10th, 11th, and 12 grades. Times were different then. It was a multi-ethnic and multi-racial high school in a good way.

In this Junior High School there were opportunities for wood shop, art, dance, orchestra, band, chorus, volleyball, track, debate, and so many clubs that were open to everyone as "electives." We had gymnastics. (Open showers too!) Home economics was a favorite for boys and girls. The school had several authentic working kitchens for that class so we could work in small groups. We actually learned how to prepare meals and then set tables properly and eat what we made! The first thing we all did in sewing was to create our aprons - on the many treadle machines. That taught us to measure, cut, and sew. The health classes were divided - girls learned about puberty and our bodies with posters being flipped by the gym teacher (instructor) but we only learned about the female things. The boys had similar classes that pertained only to the male. Compared to today it really is laughable now, remembering those flip charts!

Well, I'll let you go with the above thought. I sure could write a book of experiences in that school!  It was SPECIAL and really formed me.

Lifelong Friends Joan & Gere - 1952

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.

All graphics from internet

Had to Write It

Sometimes I wish my mind would shut down and stop dragging out the pieces of "Before." Well, it won't but if I write it down it will help some. I know that - so here goes....

Ya know, I got to thinking about how much my schooldays have formed me and the memory of grammar school is becoming more and more vivid as I age. I wonder why that is? Would you believe that I remember most of my teachers and their names and their traits through grades K-4? Let’s start with my first day at school.

It was quite a walk to get there, up the road, through the woods, across a street, and up a flight of concrete steps to the actual brick school. There was a crossing guard in front of the school for us “walkers.” On my first day I didn’t want to go at all. My mother walked with me and promised a lunch of her homemade split pea soup when we got home after school. That did it! My dress was a homemade pink one with little white puff balls making the pattern. My shoes were freshly polished, not new, but polished white buckle type. I already knew how to buckle them myself and was proud of this feat. 

My kindergarten teacher was Miss DeVega. We learned to read by using the Dick And Jane and Spot books. They weren’t ours but were passed out each day. When we read our assigned page well as a class accomplishment on a day, we were treated to a song called the “Whistler and His Dog” that she played on an old horn-type phonograph. We all as a class, loved that song and the reward. It made us feel happy and cheerful. There was also a dog statue on the table beside the player.

Betsy wet her pants almost every day. She was the only one who did that. John’s clothes were almost always scruffy, and another little girl seemed to have something strange about her actions and speech, but we learned how to get along together quite well that first year. I was very observant and the next year things stood out more. I took it all in. 

In first grade I walked back and forth to school no matter the weather with three other girls from my neighborhood. Sometimes we skipped and sometimes we ran. I remember the teacher being strict. Our lessons were conducted on the large chalkboard. It was a privilege to be asked the slap out the chalk from the eraser just before the end of the day. We went outside and beat them on the brick wall of the school. One time the teacher dropped a piece of chalk on the schoolroom floor. I was in the front row and she asked me to pick it up. That didn’t set right with me so I got up and smashed it with my foot. Shocked everyone. Then I was asked to clean it up and when I was done I was punished by having to put my head down on my arms on the desktop. Do you know why I smashed it? My reasoning was that if you drop something you pick it up. If you break something you clean it up. It didn’t seem fair at the time but I didn’t mind at all cleaning it up! She didn’t even say “please.”

I even parted my own hair!

In second grade we were all very close and knew a lot about each other. We learned to knit 5" x 5" squares “for the soldiers” to make blankets to send overseas to keep them warm. All of us did that and we rolled torn sheet strips to make bandages. Every week our dime cardboard savings books were passed to each of us and our dime, if we had one that week, was put in to learn how to save and the books were returned to the teacher. Cursive handwriting began. Coloring time was done as a reward after accomplishments in reading and writing. Crayons were shared by all.

Third grade was a rough time for teachers, kids and parents. There were air raid drills and we were marched in line to the school basements and had to sit on the floors with our heads down and arms around our legs and be silent. The basement pipes were covered in white asbestos and it was musty smelling there. Polio struck a few students. We even went to the iron lung ward at the hospital to visit classmates who were victims. It was scary to hear this noisy machine breathing for someone with only their head sticking at at one end. Not all children stricken by polio had to be in the iron lung. Daniel was fitted with a leg and back brace and played with us on the playground and we were very careful to not knock him off balance. But! I was becoming a scrapper when teased or challenged in the recess periods. I somehow had learned that fisticuffs was an activity I excelled in and that, if I pressed my thumb behind an opponent’s ear, they would faint and I was the winner. I think I learned to defend myself because I grew up with many boys in the neighborhood and they did a lot of scrapping. I remember a boy named Tracy actually kicked the teacher when he didn’t want to do something she asked and he tore her stockings! The entire class was shocked and she just grabbed him and marched him to the principal’s office for punishment. The boy behind me pulled my braids. I learned to ignore him.

We all mellowed out in 4th grade. Learning was fun! Large geography maps were pulled down from the ceiling and a wooden pointer stick was used to learn about the world and the country. An accomplishment that we ALL learned was to be able to point out each state and name it on another pull down map that had no labels. Lifetime friendships were formed and Valentine’s Day was a big deal. The teacher showed us a technique to relax and go to sleep easier at night. I still use it. 

By now we kids all knew who Roosevelt, Churchill, McArthur, Hirohito, Hitler, Mussolini, Stalin and others were and what they did but we DID NOT learn about them in school. We learned from our parents and our friends.

From there I went to a Junior High School and it was the best school a kid should ever have. Fifth through ninth grade - art of all kinds, woodshop, band, choir, orchestra, dance, home economics, typing, shorthand,  gym, track, volleyball, this school had it all besides English, History, Geography, Math, and the teachers were the wonders of the best lifetime education a kid could receive.  

Can't Find the Word.....

DISASTER!
CATASTROPHE!
TURMOIL!
SACRIFICE!
DEVASTATION!
TRAGEDY!
BLOW!
SHOCK!
HORROR!
DISMAY!
OUTRAGE!

SAD... SO SAD...massacre in Florida School.

Wow!

I always said "Music is my heartbeat." This group is exciting to me. My music teacher from 5th through 9th grade inspired me and all of his students worshipped him. This is because of the music and instruments he taught us to listen to and to play. He was bold and commanding and soft and gentle at the same time. The only instruments I successfully played was the trumpet and the French horn, playing both in band and orchestra. Good teachers can really bring kids good memories and appreciation of all kinds of music. I also played some piano, but hated my lessons because the teacher who came to my home just didn't have it. She was pushy and mechanical in her methods. (And she hit my hand with her stick!)

lunkerville/video

My Resulting Thank You Card.

So SWEET! K-3 challenged kids who call themselves my "Peer Pals."

Posted~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

THURSDAY, JANUARY 26, 2012

Elementary School Project

Hi My Out of State Friends!

One of my dearest friends and neighbor is a school teacher and the Lifeskills class is doing a project where they are trying to receive a postcard from every state in America. If any of you would like to help them by sending their class a postcard from your state, they would greatly appreciate it and send you a personal thank you note. Their address is:

Lathrop Street Elementary

c/o Mrs. Benninger/Mrs. Petrewski

130 Lathrop Street

Montrose, PA 18801

Be sure to put a return address on your card and they will reply!

Thank you so much for your time and involvement in this project. I would really like for you to participate. Gere

By the way, I have really nice personal friends in TN, GA, WV, KY, WI, SC, CT, NC, VA, OH, NY, FL and more. I'll contact them via e-mail messages. I don't have anyone in MA, TX, or IL. This is why I'm hoping you'll participate.

Electronic Technology

There are plusses and minuses! For sure! We traveled yesterday 30 miles to our nearest Walmart store to stock up on items that we can't find here locally and for the bulk packages of paper necessary supplies and such. My husband takes one cart and goes his way with a list and I go my way with a list. We have a meeting spot near the exit and usually check out one at a time, depending who is finished shopping first. We then wait for the other to appear and head home.

I approached a line to check out and my husband was two people ahead of me, already scanned, cart all loaded, but he had a look of dismay as he stood there. I waved to get his attention. He didn't see me, but the clerk did. He was upset because his bank debit card was rejected - twice and he didn't know why. He told the clerk he'd have to wait for me and my card. She then pointed to me and he told me his problem. The man behind him was nice, waiting with only one item and not fussing at all. I moved forward, dug out my card and, it too, was rejected! I just said, "No problem, I'll write a check," and did so, and handed it to the clerk. She asked to see my driver's license photo - OK that was good. She then scanned my check and - GAVE IT BACK TO ME! It was just an electronic transaction, she said. The most ironic thing is, that I almost never carry my checkbook with me and did that morning. I have no idea why I stuffed it into my small purse, but how convenient that I did! On a day when it was needed!

Meanwhile the man between us just chuckled and waited patiently. He then checked out his meager purchase, paid with cash, moved on, and I unloaded my cart. When it came time to pay, I had to write another check, present it, and have it handed back to me. Meanwhile, the line behind me was growing quite lengthy! I couldn't wait to get out of there.

To the bank and then home we headed, still a bit rattled. The clerk at our lovely small hometown bank told us that the whole system was shut down for a while and was undergoing upgrades, BUT....it was up and running now!

Part 2. The PLUS

Our fourth grade grandson's class experienced the joy of talking with other fourth grade students in TEXAS on a live videoconference via webcam and skype connection. Their experience was published in the local paper. I've attached the link to the article here. It was a very good experience for all of them.

Check out the report. I found it very innovative and good for the youth of today. (you may have to copy and paste address in a separate web address line)

http://www.northjersey.com/community/announcements/138182249_Young_Giants_fans_and_Cowboy_fans_seeing_eye_to_eye.html

It wipes out our embarassing experience.

Elementary School Project

Hi My Out of State Friends!

One of my dearest friends and neighbor is a school teacher and the Lifeskills class is doing a project where they are trying to receive a postcard from every state in America. If any of you would like to help them by sending their class a postcard from your state, they would greatly appreciate it and send you a personal thank you note. Their address is:

Lathrop Street Elementary

c/o Mrs. Benninger/Mrs. Petrewski

130 Lathrop Street

Montrose, PA 18801

Be sure to put a return address on your card and they will reply!

Thank you so much for your time and involvement in this project. I would really like for you to participate. Gere

By the way, I have really nice personal friends in TN, GA, WV, KY, WI, SC, CT, NC, VA, OH, NY, FL and more. I'll contact them via e-mail messages. I don't have anyone in MA, TX, or IL. This is why I'm hoping you'll participate.