SOL 29/31 & #52 Stories 12/52: School Memories, Grade by Grade

Returning for year nine of writing daily in March with my Slice of Life writer friends! Check out Two Writing Teachers for more slices of life occurring every day in March.

The writing group at our church was born out of my friend Shannon's email query: "I was thinking about your challenge to us about writing stories on my way to work this morning.  Yes, I need to do this.  But it will never happen unless I have a deadline so it got me thinking. Ever think about having a memoir/writing group?"

At our first meeting, two weeks later, I shared Allison Berryhill's, What I Remember: Kindergarten - 9 blog post.  Here's my response, written during the 30 minutes of writing time that we shared together. 

School Memories – Quick Write

 MI Ward Writing Group, Feb. 16, 2020

Kindergarten – The playhouse! The kitchen, the wooden ironing board and iron. Our teacher used to fold a large piece of butcher paper in half for the “daddy” to read the newspaper while the “mom” cooked in the kitchen ad ironed clothes.

1^st Grade

I remember pages of dittoed pictures that we colored, specifically one of a bird.

2^nd Grade  

We moved to McAlester to 1011 North D the summer before second grade. Mrs. Truttman was my teacher And she shared poems with us. “The Sugar Plum Tree” was a personal favorite. Mrs. Truttman created a sugar plum tree in the display case that faced the hallway and opened from our classroom. We got a treat at the end of the day or was it just once a week?

I was totally puzzled by the phonics worksheets, a daily staple, having learned to read without phonics. Why did I need to make those funny marks above the letters and know if the vowel was short or long to read the words I could already read?

3^rd Grade

Mrs. Crowder was my teacher and this was the year we saw our teacher cry when she learned that President John F. Kennedy had been shot.

4^th Grade

Mrs. Frew and lots of preparation to get ready for our new classmate, Charlie Tipps, who transitioned to our class from the state school for the blind.

Charlie who played the piano beautifully

Charlie who could identify each of us by our footsteps

Charlie who miraculously read braille and taught us how to use his stylus to punch out words

Charlie who waited patiently while I set up his math problems with metal pegs

Charlie who stayed with our class all the way through school and received a standing ovation at our graduation ceremonies!

5^th Grade

Was this the year we did a square dance for 4-H? Our moms made our twirly skirts out of red gingham check with matching neckerchiefs for the boys.

6^th Grade

I think Mrs. Rains was my homeroom teacher. She swatted me playfully on the bottom with her wooden paddle for being in her teacher closet. I still love teaching supplies.
“We’ll remember always graduation day.

At the school party, we all had fun.

We laughed until the day was done.”

I can’t remember the party, but I remember the lyrics and the tune to the song.

7^th Grade

Junior High and new friends – Jan Rodden and Susan Roberts

French with Mrs. Massaro and English with Mrs. Powers (Camel Lips) who introduced us to Penrod by Booth Tarkington with its luscious vocabulary.

And mimeographed pages of poems that were part of our poetry packet:

“Outwitted”

He drew a circle that shut me out-

Heretic, rebel, a thing to flout.

But Love and I had the wit to win:

We drew a circle  that took him in!

-       - Edward Markham

I still remember the poem and author more than fifty years later.

And the lovely rhythm and rhyme of “Sea Fever.”

Chorus with Elizabeth Brigham, why do I remember her first name? She had a crooked hip which caused her to have an unusual gait.

8^th Grade

Motormouth Williams for English. I shutter to think we actually called our teacher that and I wonder what my students called me behind my back. She did talk REALLY fast! And now I understand, there was so much she wanted us to learn and never enough time.

9^th Grade

Alphabetical seating in Miss Dempsey’s room meant that a certain cheerleader (name remembered, but not recorded, in order to protect the not so innocent) was always seated near me. And she would get so angry when I wouldn’t let her copy off me during tests.

Miss Dempsey encouraged me to read Wuthering Heights which I hated and didn’t really understand. (Mrs. Lewallyn had me read Silas Marner in fourth grade. I didn’t like it either.)

10^th Grade

Finally I was in high school! But I only had one class in the high school building. I had four classes on the first floor of the junior high: Health, French, Speech, and English (Mrs. Thrasher).

Two classes in the junior high in the morning, then a hike to the 4^th floor of the high school for Geometry with Mr. George (a distant relative). After Geometry, it was off to the gym building for Home Economics and then back down the hill to the first floor of the junior high for two more classes.

11^th Grade

Mrs. Howard for English who taught us serious research skills complete with note cards and a bibliography

Driver’s Ed with Mr. Howard, English teacher's husband and football coach The most important thing he taught me: “Laugh when people do stupid things on the road. Call them clowns and don’t’ let them get to you."

Senior Year

Only three classes – English with Mrs. Thrasher again (with lots of independent study in the library, for the academic contest at Southeastern College in Durant)

Chemistry with Mr. Powers (such a tough class for me) Best friend Jan always wanted to “understand" it, I just memorized what I needed to know for the tests.

Charlie Porter, my lab partner, and I had an explosion in chemistry lab. I think we were making oxygen. I recall telling him that something wasn’t right because we could see something in the beaker and we weren’t supposed to “see” oxygen.

And DE (Distributive Education) before heading to Montgomery Ward to work every day from 12 (or was it 1?) until closing time at 5.

It was not a stellar year of high school, but I did manage to save a lot of money for college!