Every year from kindergarten until I was 31 years old, fall meant school. If I wasn't attending school, I was teaching. My calendar revolved around the school year. I'm still attuned to school days.
As my grandchildren head off to school this week, I'm reminded of my own school days. Kindergarten and first grade were spent in a regular school--multiple classrooms, lot of kids. Then we moved out into the country. What a difference! The school building could've been used for a TV program set in the old west. Kindergarten and all eight grades were in one room. Yep, I went to a one-room school house. My sister was in kindergarten, just her and a girl down the road. In my second grade class, there were three of us, and two were cousins.
The only person scarier than the eighth grade boys was our teacher, Mr. Nutt.* When the older boys acted up, Mr. Nutt took them back to the cloakroom where his cat-of-nine-tails ensured that discipline reigned. Talk about scary.
In third grade, the class was divided into two--kindergarten through 3rd grade students were taught in the basement, while the rest of the students were in the main classroom. By the time I was in 8th grade, my class consisted of 12 kids.
My husband's school experiences were more normal. He walked to his elementary school, whereas a bus picked me up at our driveway. He had 30-35 kids in each classroom. His experiences were more like what our kids and grandkids experienced. The only similarity between my school experiences and my grandkids is riding the bus to and from school.
My school was unique, part of the old farming community prevalent in areas west of Detroit in the 1950s. I learned more in spite of the teaching situation than because of it. I've always been a reader. And when I finished my assigned work, I listened as the teacher taught the older kids math, history, geography. My brain was a sponge.
This year, our twins started kindergarten. Such enthusiasm. They were so pumped about school. Never mind, they went to all-day "young fives" last year. Their 3rd-grade sister is a reader. I'd say she takes after me, but everyone in the family are readers.
I hope our kids retain that enthusiasm for school. That they never lose the wonder of learning.
What are some of your memories of school?
The picture at the top of this post is pretty close to what I remember my old school looked like.
* Did Mr. Nutt sound familiar? Then you must have read my first science-fiction romance, Switched. Jessie says Marcus' strict demeanor reminds her of her teacher, Mr. Nutt.
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As if being kidnapped by aliens isn't bad enough, Jessie Wyndom discovers they grabbed her by mistake. She wise cracks past her fear especially when she learns she was part of an experiment separating Terran twins before birth. Her twin just took Jessie's place back in Ann Arbor, Michigan while she gets to twiddle her thumbs on an Alliance of Planets starship. The only good part is the hunky captain. Except. He's so unemotional he could be Mr. Spock's double.
Captain Marcus Viator's well-organized life is turned upside down by the free-spirited female from Earth. Problems with the starship prevent him from returning her to her home. Together, they discover treachery and true love.
5 comments:
Our middle class neighborhood was divided into two school districts: the older school with the middle/lower income students and the new elementary for the rich kids. Our house was on the dividing line so we could pick which one we attended. Both my sisters started out in the old school and my middle sister was in the first class of the new one, where I also attended to get what my mom called "A better education." What I learned was class separation - me in my hand-me-down and homemade clothes next to the kids who had doctors and lawyers for parents. I couldn't attend Girl Scouts because we couldn't afford the new uniform. Then . . . middle school, a blending of the classes. None of my elementary friends remained in my social loop. I hung out with the unique kids - the artists, the writers, the dreamers. And I've never regretted that choice.
Wow. I understand your mother's wanting a better education for her kids. But at what cost? Our school district didn't have a high school. We were "tuition students" at different high schools, but the parents had to provide transportation. For 9th grade, I went to a middle school with the "rich" kids. Mom had me transferred to a different high school where we could ride the public bus. Much better class of kids, more middle to lower middle class. Our kind of people. So I get How you felt.
We always walked to school until middle school (grades 7&8) when we were given city bus passes. In high school, we walked, and it really was uphill both ways. LOL We had to walk downhill first then uphill because of where the school was situated.
As for class, that was divided up by what part of the city you lived in. Each area had it's own school, but some areas were more expensive to live in, so those schools had the well-to-do kids. It's still the same now, but once kids are in middle school and then high school, they're all blended together.
As my kids get ready for the beginning of school, I've been reminiscing about my own time there, and one of the biggest things I got in trouble for was not being able to sit cross-legged. I still can't. That was an issue every time we had an assembly in the gymnasium.
My twins graduated about 5 years ago, and I just asked them if they missed high school yet- nope. I said, well, I graduated.... a long time ago, and I still don't miss those days, lol!
Maybe elementary, when there were little worries and lots of free time.
I loved this post, Diane! Never knew folks still attended a "one room" school house when I was growing up. I was raised out west in Nevada... Reno for my elementary then in Vegas for Junior High on up. I'd never seen a small school like you described. In a lot of ways I wish I had your experience!
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