S is for Swamps

S is for Swamps I have known

or S is for School Days

Well, today was going to be about swamps with an Earth Day theme, but I've run out of time to develop that post properly--meaning I haven't written it and I can't find my pictures to go with it. The earlier parts of my day were spent either at work or the dentist. (Still biting my tongue at this point. Can't wait for the numbness to wear off.)  And, I have to leave for my book club meeting in a few minutes. So I've decided to go into the files and revisit something from the past.

Below is a post that I did during the School Days series and this one happens to be about my dad. When I did this interview, he was was in the early to mid stages of Alzheimer's. However, since older memories are often the last to go, everything he told me was right on and I had a very nice time talking with him. I am so happy I did this.

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School Days--Earl

School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. 

Here is today's story.

Earl started school in 1932 when he was six years old. His school was in rural West Virginia. 

Tell me about when you started school.

I had just turned six. I started with my older sister. They held her back so we could start school at the same time. We went to a one room school a mile or less from our farm house. I used to run all of the way there and all of the way home.

What was your school like?

It was a one room school with one teacher. It had a gas heater and had no pump for water. We had to carry our water.  On the playground there were teeter-totters and the big kids would try to knock the little kids off.

Did you like school?

No, I couldn't wait to get away from there. There were too many restrictions.

Did you get in trouble because you weren't used to so many restrictions?

No, they just ignored me. I didn't do much including applying myself to my studies. I wasn't much interested in what they were teaching although I could hold my own in most areas. My sister applied herself and did well in school. My favorite subject was freedom when school let out.

What did you do for lunch?

We took our lunch. I made my own because my mother was too busy with the rest of my brothers and sisters. We usually had biscuits and sandwich spread. I've had enough sandwich spread to do me for a long time.

Another time, I would like to hear more about your school days.

Throwback Thursday--Wally's School Days

For a while, I was doing a regular feature called School Days. This was where I interviewed people about their earliest school memories. Below is the interview I did with Wally about his. Of course, I have some different memories as a parent about his early schooling. Here's one is one of them.

We went to our first parent-teacher conference and his teacher had an assortment of Wally's papers showing us his work. One of them was a picture of a house and his family. All of the kids in the class had some version of this. His was not particularly advanced showing a simple house, stick figures, with no perspective. However, she made an interesting comment. She said that everyone looked happy in the picture and they can really tell a lot about a family from a  picture drawn by a kindergartner. She said you wouldn't believe what the kids draw sometimes. Ward and I gave each other a sideways glance and nodded waiting for her to move onto the next subject.

After we got outside, we said, "Boy are we lucky that she didn't see the picture Wally drew yesterday." In that picture, we were a family of fishes in which Ward had big, scary teeth and was eating the rest of us. I'm not sure what Wally was thinking when he drew it and I don't know what his teacher would have thought if she had seen it.  But I'm glad she didn't, so we didn't have to explain that for the most part, we really were like his school picture.

Now here are Wally's memories of his kindergarten year.
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MONDAY, JUNE 18, 2012

School Days--Wally

School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. 

Here is today's story.

  

Wally started kindergarten at age five in the 1990's in Houston, TX. His school was the neighborhood public elementary school.

Wally at kindergarten field day.

Tell me about starting school.

My kindergarten class was was in a portable building outside of the main school. There were two portable buildings next to each other for all of the kindergarten classes. Beside our buildings was a large grassy field about the size of 2-3 football fields. Now that I think about it, the grounds of the school were quite large. Larger than the high school that I went to.

I remember that there was a flower garden between the two buildings. One day I crumpled up some dry leaves and put them in the flower bed. Another kid told me that was stupid. I told him it wasn't because the leaves would decompose and help the flowers. He didn't believe me and asked the teacher if that was right. She said I was.

Did you go into the main building much?

Not really. We went to music and art in there. Kindergarten was only half a day, so we didn't eat lunch there. However, I went to first grade in the main building. My school wasn't like most schools. The walls didn't go all of the way to the ceiling.

Did that cause a problem with noise?

Not that I remember. The teachers were good at moving us around and coordinating their teaching so we wouldn't disturb each other. Also, the walls were about two inches thick and had good noise canceling properties. 

One day one of the walls fell down on one of the students. I don't think they got hurt, but it caused a lot of excitement.

Did you like school or have a favorite subject?

I was indifferent about most of it. However, I did like field day. All of the school came out for competitions with relay races of various kinds. The best part was the snow cones we had. 

Thanks. Another time I would like to hear more stories about your school days.

School Days--Wally's Field Trip, Part Three

  School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here.

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This week will be a little different with an account of Wally's first grade field trip instead of an interview. I wrote this soon after we returned from the trip, so there's no looking back with nostalgia here. The story is fairly long so it will be posted in three installments. They will follow each other weekly on School Days Mondays. Today is the last installment.

Wally's First Grade Field Trip 

Part One and Part Two found me reluctantly going on the field trip and trying to control some very active first graders as we toured the zoo.

Now for Part Three

A favorite joke on the bus ride home.

After continually hearing that they were hungry, we stopped for a snack at noon. Before the trip, the chaperones agreed that we would buy each child one treat. They could chose one thing from the zoo snack shop and everyone in my group chose ice cream. The first thing that they had agreed upon all day. However, they didn't seem to understand the one treat per child policy. After they finished their ice cream, they said that they were thirsty and asked if they could have a soda. When I showed them where the water fountain was, the used the, “Everyone else got to have a snack and drink,” argument on me. When that didn't work, they tried to make me feel bad by saying, “I wish I was in a different group.” As soon as they figured out that I was unyielding, they all had a long drink from the water fountain.

When our snack was finished, we headed for our ever important stop at the gift shop. Jessica finally purchased two small plastic animals with her money after receiving a lot of advice from the other group members. It was almost one o'clock by now and time to head back to the front gate to load the bus. I was glad the trip was almost over because I was exhausted.

The bus ride back to the school was a little more subdued than the ride in the morning had been, so I guess the kids were tired too. Krystal and Pink Feather weren't talking to each other because of something that had happened in the gift shop. However, they insisted on sitting together. Many of the kids were delighting in telling riddles. I actually found this riddle funny--Why was 6 afraid of 7? Because 7 8 (ate) 9.

But the kids found their version equally funny--Why was 2 afraid of 3? Because 3 ate 4.

The trip was officially over at 2:15 when the kids followed their teachers back into their classrooms. As I was driving to pick up Theodore from the sitter, I realized that the trip had been successful. Even though it hadn't left me with a warm, fuzzy feeling, I had managed to survive the entire experience without the need of a single aspirin. Having children has taught me to appreciate the small things in life and surviving six hours on a first grade field trip was one of them.

School Days--Wally's Field Trip, Part Two

  School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here.

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This week will be a little different with an account of Wally's first grade field trip instead of an interview. I wrote this soon after we returned from the trip so there's no looking back with nostalgia here. The story is fairly long so it will be posted in three installments. They will follow each other weekly on School Days Mondays.

Wally's First Grade Field Trip 

Last week found me unsure about going on the trip and the long bus ride to the zoo.

Read about the details here. 

Now for Part Two.

One of the highlights of our tour.

 We arrived at the zoo at ten o'clock and had forty-five minutes for lunch before we actually entered through the gates to look at the animals. Forty-five minutes seems like such a short time when I'm trying to run errands, but it seemed like an eternity when I was having lunch with my group of first graders. They spent the first three minutes eating the meat and sweets from their lunches. The next five minutes were spent feeding the pigeons everything else that was left. The remaining thirty-seven minutes were spent by me trying to control four very excited children. I was partially successful with my cries of “Stay out of the mud!” “Come back here!” “Get off of the railroad tracks! and “Where has the rest of the group gone?”

At eleven o'clock, we finally entered the zoo and had two hours to tour it at our leisure. As we started to explore the zoo, the personalities of the members of my group became evident very quickly. I had two boys, Wally and Andy, and two girls, Isabel and Jessica. Andy was somewhat quiet and wanted to look at everything very thoroughly. Wally, my son, was determined to always be in the front of the group. Isabel was very talkative and eager to tell every fact she knew about the various animals. Jessica was concerned with when we were going to visit the gift shop so that she could spend the money her mother had given her that morning. Also the girls decided that they were going to have aliases for the day. Isabel would only answer to April or Krystal. Jessica informed me that she should be called only Jasmine or Pink Feather.

We covered most of the zoo during our visit even though we didn't have a well thought out route. Pretty much whatever they saw ahead of them was what the kids wanted to see next. However, they all seemed to be looking in different directions. As we were touring, I got hoarse from calling out, “This way Isabel, I mean April, Krystal whatever your name is. Over here, Pink Feather. Slow down, Wally.” and “Come on, Andy.”

The highlights of our tour were watching a king cobra snake eat some white mice for lunch, and observing an orangutan watching us. As the orangutan came up to the glass and stared at all of the kids, I was reminded that she was close to the same developmental age as they were. I wondered what she thought about all of the little monkeys jumping around outside her cage.

After continually hearing I'm hungry, ...

Tune in next week when we go to the snack cart and the gift shop. See if the bus ride home is any different than the bus ride there.

School Days--Wally's Field Trip, Part One

  School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here.

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This week will be a little different with an account of Wally's first grade field trip instead of an interview. I wrote this soon after we returned from the trip so there's no looking back with nostalgia here. The story is fairly long so it will be posted in three installments. They will follow each other weekly on School Days Mondays.

Wally's First Grade Field Trip 

Part One

Wally with his teacher before loading the bus.

Wally came home from school one day excited about some papers he had for me. It was time for the first grade field trip to the zoo, and he had a permission slip and a volunteer form. This was just the opportunity I had been dreading waiting for—a chance to ride on a bumpy school bus with 50 first graders, and then chase them all over the zoo as they showed a life size example of Brownian motion. However I couldn't ignore Wally's enthusiasm, so I filled out both forms and waited to learn my fate. There were only had a limited number spaces for the trip, so the school used a lottery system to pick the chaperones.

I was given a false sense of relief when Wally brought home a note saying that I had lost the lottery and my services wouldn't be needed. My relief turned to dread  excitement when two days later, I got a call from the principal that one of the chaperones had canceled, and I was the next lucky person picked to go.

Quickly I went to work on finding childcare for Theodore and an attitude adjustment for myself. Maybe the trip wouldn't be so bad. The kids had matured a lot since kindergarten where my attitude about school field trips had been formed. Maybe the trip would actually be fun. Certainly the general population seemed to think so. “Wow, that sounds like a lot of fun!” was the universal response when I mentioned the trip to anyone. Perhaps they were right. I hoped so.

After a lot of effort on my part, I arrived at the school Thursday morning of the trip with a positive attitude along with some Kleenex, extra band aids, a blanket, and a bottle of aspirin. (As positive as I was trying to be, I still had to be practical about the situation.) The day was looking promising. The rain had stopped  and all of the kids had remembered their lunches. After group assignments and a bathroom trip, we loaded the bus at nine o'clock.

We were off and not a moment too soon. The kids were ready to explode with excitement and essentially did once the bus started moving. The sound was deafening as 50 six year olds started screaming with excitement. As their squeals got louder and louder, the mom in front of me looked back with an expression of horror and said, “We're not even out sight of the school yet!”

The first half of the hour-long ride was filled with the kids calling out the name of every eating establishment we passed. “There's McDonalds!” There's Jack-in-the Box!” There's Ci Ci's!”  The second half of the trip was teeming with questions like, “Why are we going this way?” and “Are we there yet?” During the bus ride, trying to keep a positive attitude, I reminded myself that the kids had matured a lot since last year. I saw very little running up and down the aisles and no fighting as I had seen on the kindergarten bus.

We arrived at the zoo at ten o'clock.

Tune in next Monday to see what happened at the zoo.

School Days--Irene

 School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. 

Here's Today's Story

 Irene started school  in the mid-1960s when she was six years old. Her school was in a small town in West Virgina and contained grades one through eight.

Tell me about starting school or an early school memory.
I remember my mother took me to a meet the teacher day when it was time to sign up for first grade. I met the three first grade teachers, Miss Stemple, Mrs. Pettit, and Mrs. Dawson. Miss Stemple let me draw on her blackboard and I really liked that. Mrs. Dawson had a very different room. She had a big cage in the middle that had a squirrel in it. She also had a snake. She had a piano and the bench for it opened up to reveal penny candy that you could buy. I don't remember much about Mrs. Petitt, but she may have let me draw on the blackboard also.

After we had met all of the teachers, my mother asked me what teacher I wanted. She asked me if I wanted the room with the snake in it. I thought about it for a little while and decided that I wasn't crazy about the snake. She then signed me up for Miss Stemple's class. In retrospect, I think that's where she wanted me all along because that is who my sister had.

Did you like Miss Stemple? Was she a good choice?
Sure. I didn't really have any other teacher or school experience to compare her to except my mother who taught me how to read before I began school.

What else do you remember?
I remember that we learned Roman Numerals in first grade. We spent a lot of time each day writing them until we reached one hundred. Also, for most of the year, I played every day with Jimmy and Debbie on the playground. We were in different classes, so we would meet at the merry-go-round at recess. One day I couldn't find them and was quite worried and started to cry. I don't remember if I found them that day or not.

Thanks for sharing some of your memories. I hope another time we have time to hear more of your stories.

School Days-Lumpy

School is back in session, so it's time to start School Days again. 

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 School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. 

Here's Today's Story

Lumpy began kindergarten at age five in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He started at the neighborhood public school in 1950.

Tell me some early memories about when you started school.

I don't remember much, but I do have a story from kindergarten to tell. One day one of the boys in the class bit me. For the rest of the day he had to sit under the teacher's desk. That was his dog house because the teacher said that dogs bite, children don't.

Also, I remember that Mrs. Rinders was my teacher's name and we had mats that we laid on the floor in the afternoon for naps. Mine was blue.

What else do you remember?

We moved around while I was in elementary school. After my kindergarten year in Milwaukee, I moved to Grand Rapids. Here I went to first, second, third, fourth, and part of fifth grade. In fifth grade, we left Michigan and moved to California.

Was it hard for you to make those moves?

The hardest move was to California. They seemed to do everything differently such as eating lunch outside every day. In Michigan, I had walked home for lunch. It was hard to leave all of my friends and it took about a year to make good friends again. I was very interested in nature and I gradually found two or three other kids who had the same interests.

Did you have a favorite teacher?

Yes, her name was Miss Peel. In the beginning of fifth grade my teacher had a nervous breakdown so they brought up Miss Peel, the teacher I had had in fourth grade, to be my fifth grade teacher. She was a large, stern woman, but a very good teacher. After she taught me, she went to South Africa to be a missionary. Knowing that I like animals and such, she wrote me letters about all of the new wildlife she was seeing such as the snake that had been in her hut. We kept in touch until she died about ten years ago.

Did she write to all of the kids?

I only know of one other person she wrote to and they stopped writing after about a year. Eventually she got married and ended up living in South Carolina. I still have a table cloth she sent me from Africa for a wedding present. It has hand painted animals on it and we have it hanging up in our house.

Thanks for sharing some of your memories and I hope another time we can learn more about your school days.

School Days

School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. 

School's out for Summer!

We may have a visitor from summer school, but the School Days post is on summer vacation. See you in the Fall.  

School Days--Wally

School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. 

Here is today's story.

 

Wally started kindergarten at age five in the 1990's in Houston, TX. His school was the neighborhood public elementary school.

Wally at kindergarten field day.

Tell me about starting school.

My kindergarten class was was in a portable building outside of the main school. There were two portable buildings next to each other for all of the kindergarten classes. Beside our buildings was a large grassy field about the size of 2-3 football fields. Now that I think about it, the grounds of the school were quite large. Larger than the high school that I went to.

I remember that there was a flower garden between the two buildings. One day I crumpled up some dry leaves and put them in the flower bed. Another kid told me that was stupid. I told him it wasn't because the leaves would decompose and help the flowers. He didn't believe me and asked the teacher if that was right. She said I was.

Did you go into the main building much?

Not really. We went to music and art in there. Kindergarten was only half a day, so we didn't eat lunch there. However, I went to first grade in the main building. My school wasn't like most schools. The walls didn't go all of the way to the ceiling.

Did that cause a problem with noise?

Not that I remember. The teachers were good at moving us around and coordinating their teaching so we wouldn't disturb each other. Also, the walls were about two inches thick and had good noise canceling properties. 

One day one of the walls fell down on one of the students. I don't think they got hurt, but it caused a lot of excitement.

Did you like school or have a favorite subject?

I was indifferent about most of it. However, I did like field day. All of the school came out for competitions with relay races of various kinds. The best part was the snow cones we had. 

Thanks. Another time I would like to hear more stories about your school days.

School Days--Earl

School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. 

Here is today's story.

Earl started school in 1932 when he was six years old. His school was in rural West Virginia.

Tell me about when you started school.

I had just turned six. I started with my older sister. They held her back so we could start school at the same time. We went to a one room school a mile or less from our farm house. I used to run all of the way there and all of the way home.

What was your school like?

It was a one room school with one teacher. It had a gas heater and had no pump for water. We had to carry our water.  On the playground there were teeter-totters and the big kids would try to knock the little kids off.

Did you like school?

No, I couldn't wait to get away from there. There were too many restrictions.

 

Did you get in trouble because you weren't used to so many restrictions?

No, they just ignored me. I didn't do much including applying myself to my studies. I wasn't much interested in what they were teaching although I could hold my own in most areas. My sister applied herself and did well in school. My favorite subject was freedom when school let out.

What did you do for lunch?

We took our lunch. I made my own because my mother was too busy with the rest of my brothers and sisters. We usually had biscuits and sandwich spread. I've had enough sandwich spread to do me for a long time.

Another time, I would like to hear more about your school days.

School Days--Eddie

 School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. 

Here is Today's Story

Eddie started kindergarten in 1988 when he was almost five years old. His school was in suburban Maryland.

What do you remember about starting school?

I remember that Mrs.Gnu was my teacher for kindergarten. She was nice enough, but she acted like she didn't want to deal with kids, especially me.

Why do you say that?

Maybe because we were hard to deal with.

We had a coloring book on dinosaurs to color and I didn't want to do it. Coloring was not my thing. I colored all of the pictures gray and didn't worry that I was outside the lines. She asked me why I did that because the dinosaurs were different colors. I replied, “You should know. You are old enough to have been there.”

Another time I watched one kid dump an entire bottle of Elmer's glue on another kid's head.

Were you one of those kids?

No, but the two kids involved later lived together.

What do you remember about first grade?

Mrs. Bee was my teacher and was frustrated with me. I wasn't catching onto spelling and although I could read, I didn't want to read what they had at school. One day, she was exasperated with me and said, “Why aren't you getting it? Are you stupid?”

That's awful.

Yes it was. It was the first time I wanted to hit an adult. The interesting thing is that she was my mentor in middle school to help me be organized.

Can you tell me a good memory from elementary school?

My second grade teacher, Mrs. Jackson was very nice, but I really enjoyed fifth grade. I don't remember what I learned, so there must not have been too many problems in that area. Mr. Shraffe was my teacher and he was a lot of fun. He was a good story teller and sometimes he would end the day with a game or a magic trick. He brought his laser disc player to school and showed us Billy Joel's music video of We Didn't Start the Fire. We studied history that way.

Thanks for sharing your memories. I hope we can hear more stories another time.

School Days--Bear

 School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. (Note: School Days will be a bit different today. We are interviewing Aunt Martha who will tell us about her dog's school days.)

Here is Today's Story

Bear went to puppy school when he was six months old in 2004. His school was held in a vet's office after hours.

Tell me about Bear's experiences at puppy school.

The purpose of classes were to work on basic obedience and socialization. They were once a week for a couple of hours and lasted for several weeks.

Did Bear like going to class?

Well, not exactly. The classes were about 25 miles away and he got carsick, so it was hard to get him into the car. We tired various remedies for car sickness with only limited results. I didn't like this part.

How about when he got there, were things better?

Well, sort of. Bear is a flat-coated retriever--a big dog with high energy and a happy enthusiasm for most dogs and people he meets.  So, he was excited by everything that he saw and barked every time that something happened in class. One class, we had to go into one of the exam rooms for a timeout because of his barking and they forgot to come get us.

Also, since he was big and excitable, we had to go behind the counter when it was free time. They were afraid that he might hurt some of the small dogs in the class with his enthusiasm. So much for learning socialization.

As time went on, did things get better?

Well let's just say at the end of class, he didn't get the award for "Most Improved." He got the award for "Most Talkative"  Today, Bear is a happy, well behaved dog. Thank goodness.

School Days--Wendy

 School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. 

Here is Today's Story

Wendy started school at age 4 ½ in the mid 1940's in a small town 30 miles outside of London. 

Tell me about starting school or an early school memory.

The school I started in was around the corner from where my parents had a pub. It was in a poorer part of town and somewhat rough. When I was in first grade, I got a twin doll carriage for Christmas. A twin carriage was quite special. One day in first grade, I took it to school on toy day with my baby dolls and the other girls were jealous. They wanted it, and a fight ensued. When I went home with my hair literally pulled out from the other girls fighting for my carriage, my mother said that I was not going another day to that school.

She enrolled me in a private school run by the two Miss Mitchells. One of the sisters was quite big, and we called her Big Miss Mitchell. She taught Latin. The other sister was quite small, and we called her Little Miss Mitchell. Little Miss Mitchell taught tennis. It was a coed school and had about 150 students in all 12 grades. We kept the same classroom and got a new teacher every year. I liked to talk and got moved around. I ended up with a desk in the corner by myself that I liked.

It was also a finishing school. When we studied art, our teacher came from the London School of Water Colors and when we studied music, we had teachers from the London Symphony. In the older grades, we had a formal dining room where we learned how to plan menus, set tables, and instruct servants.

That's a very different school experience than I am familiar with. I hope that we can learn more about it another time.

 

School Days--Paul

 School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. 

Here is Today's Story

Paul started kindergarten at age five at a Catholic school in Maine during the early 1960's.

Tell me about starting school or an early school memory.

 I went to St. Louis school for kindergarten and first grade. The neighborhood was mostly French Canadians and most of us spoke some French at home. The nuns instructed us in English, but we usually spoke in French on the playground. Norman was my best friend and we talked in French at recess.

During my first year of school, I had a lot of stomachaches and stayed home a lot. I'm not sure why, but it could have been because there was a big bully on the playground. He was big and chubby although I think he was only a first grader. He lived next to Norman. Also, there was a big picture in the hallway of the devil that freaked me out. The devil was black and charred with big white eyes. I looked away every time I passed.

We had to walk to school but it wasn't too far—maybe about two tenths of a mile. There was a puddle on the way home that had water in it from rain or snow melt. I always walked through it. It was deep enough that is would go over my goulashes and get my feet wet. That really exasperated my mother, but she always had a huge glass of milk and a chocolate chip cookie from the local bakery waiting for me when I got home. That cookie was really good.

I don't remember much about what I learned. I do remember that we had to practice a lot of writing and there was a match game that I really liked. Instead of Dick and Jane readers, we had readers that featured John, Jean, and Judy. When I moved to Sacred Heart for second grade, I was very worried that I would not have my John, Jean, and Judy books. They had the same books and I was happy.

In first grade, we had a long term sub that was very strict. One day I was asked to recite an answer and I didn't know it. The teacher put her hands around my neck and shoulders and shook me and said “Petit Paul doesn't know the answer.” I went home and told my mother that my teacher tried to choke me, but she didn't believe me.

Thanks for your stories.

School Days-- Ponderings from Theodore

School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. 

Here is Today's Story

Theodore started first grade in Houston, TX,  at age six.

Below is a series of conversations I had with Theodore during his first couple of months of first grade. I wrote these exchanges down after we had them, so they are fairly accurate as to what actually took place.  As you will see, he was not too thrilled about going to school in the beginning.

September 15

Theo, how was school today?

Fine, but I didn't learn anything. I never learn anything at school.

But Theo, look how much better you can use scissors than when you first started school. 

No, Mama, what I mean is that I never learn anything I NEED to know.

Late September

Theo, you have to go to school.

I'm not going. I never learn anything.

Maybe you already know how to read and write, but you are learning other things like how to walk in a line and behave in a group.

Mid October

I'm not going to school. It's a waste of my time.

Theo, you have to go. It's the law. Daddy and I will get arrested if you don't go.

October 25    The tide starts to turn.

I don't think I learn anything at school but I must be learning something. I'm just not aware of it while it's happening. 

October 28    Finally, it all makes since to him.

Mama, I know why I'm not learning things at school. You learn "things" in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th grades. You don't learn "things" in first grade. First grade is for learning how teachers teach. And that is different than the way you and Daddy teach me. 

After Theo had figured out the reason for first grade to his own satisfaction, he went to school willingly.

School Days--Lola

School Days is a reoccurring feature in which I ask people about their early memories of school. Everyone has a story to tell about this and I hope to give them a voice here. 

Here is Today's Story

Lola started school during the mid-1970's in first grade at age seven. She went to a public school in the small town of Markelsheim, Germany.

Lola's school in Markelsheim, Germany

 

  

Tell me about starting school or an early school memory.

My elementary school was situated on top of a hill. The school part used to be a cloister from 1250-1408. One of the buildings was used for classrooms and one was used for sports. There was a large bell tower inbetween and the old church was next to us.

 

You were at a public school even though your school was part of a church complex? 
Yes. We went to the church for special occasions and sometimes for classes as a whole class (like before first communion, etc.) We were taught religion in school. It belonged to a regular class schedule until age 14.

When did you start school? 

In Germany you start kindergarten as soon as you get old enough that you don't wet your pants. There was a morning session and an afternoon session of kindergarten. I never liked the afternoon session. Formal school starts with grade one when you are about 7. 

Schultuete  are often 2'-3' long.

I remember that on my first day of school, I was excited because I knew that I would get a schultuete (school bag) as a surprise. A schultuete is a large, cone-shaped colorful bag. It is filled with school supplies such as paper and pencils and candy. Mine was metallic blue. They also had one at school with a hedgehog on it that they took everyone's picture with. 

 

Herr Braun was the director of the school and was really mean. We tried to avoid him. One day when we were learning macrame with our really old craft teacher, she let us go into the hallway to hang our pieces on the coat hooks so we could work on them. As soon as we got out of the classroom, we ran all over the school. We tiptoed past Herr Braun's office so he wouldn't hear us.

Another time Herr Braun was filling in for the music teacher. We were supposed to memorize a song perfectly and he was testing us on it. Several of the girls, including me, and several of the boys had not memorized it. He made us all stand. However the girls only had to stand beside their chair, but the boys had to go to the front of the class. Herr Braun was yelling very loudly and a lot. He made one of the boys bend over the table and he took a yardstick and slammed it very loudly on the table next to the boy. That scared all of us. He didn't hit the boy because he wasn't allowed to. I am sure he wanted to very much though.

I have lots more memories for another time. 

Note: Lola grew up to be a glass lampwork artist. See some of her things at Color Ignited.