Full Circle

Dee’s children started back to school, yesterday, and as always, memories just jumped out to me. I don’t have too many memories of my own first days of school though my mother was always the cheerleader, telling us how we were going to “ just love” our new teachers. I did sort of love my first and second grade teachers, Charlotte and FannyBee McClure, sisters. They were friends of the family and had been brother Don’s teachers too.

There was no kindergarten, back then, so first grade was my first experience in a class room. However, Don had held class for me every afternoon when he came home so I’d completed first grade before starting. This resulted in my total boredom FOR THE REST OF MY SCHOOL YEARS. Yep, it was all his fault because George W. Bush was not yet born – can’t blame him.

In first grade, I sat next to my best friend whose name was Eleanor Swain. She was smart and a well behaved child. I talked, whispered and giggled, most of the time. Miss McClure warned that someone was going to get a spanking if we didn’t get quiet. I never slowed down. When the teacher approached and asked me if I was talking, I said, NO M’AM, it was Eleanor. Poor Eleanor got the palm of her hand spanked with a ruler. I’m not sure she was my best friend after that, but she never squealed on me.

In high school and college, I got kicked out of class right often. It usually happened right after lunch and I’d do most anything to try to stay awake. The last time, in an Ed.Psychology class, I drew a picture of a donkey, marked it in big letters, as JACKASS, drew an arrow pointing to the horribly dull professor, and passed it around. Up and down the rows, one could hear the sniggers. I was invited to leave the room and told, one more time and I’d be out for good. I was a senior and needed the credit so I just dozed from then on. I had a 99 average in that class so the big bore could not fail me.

When my Tony was Exec.V.Pres of the First National Bank, in Augusta, a nice looking, older lady was shown into his office. I t turned out that she had been Tony’s first grade teacher, in Hephzibah, Ga. They had a nice chat and she reminded him of a little story. It seems he could not keep his mouth shut [ran in the family, I guess] and was just chattering away, one morning. She finally said,” Tony, do you think you can do a better job of teaching this class than I can?” He answered, “Yes M’am.” She said, “Well, have at it,” and he did. She told him she always knew he would go far! Said she’d laughed about that incident for years.

Tony’s mother was called back to teach, during WW2. So many of the men were in the service. One year, she was Tony’s teacher. He always said that was the hardest year in his school life. He couldn’t get away with a thing!

Later, when I taught, I was the school nurse, plus taught all subjects, music, art, and PE. We read a Psalm, said the Pledge, and The Lord’s Prayer, every morning. We also sang “The Star Spangled Banner” and a few other songs. I was school nurse because I was the only teacher in the school who had taken the Red Cross First Aide courses.. I often listened to reading groups while pouring Peroxide on skinned knees and checking temps. We wore skirts or dresses and stockings but did not have to wear high heels.

Those were the days, as they say. How much easier life would have been if we could have worn jeans or slacks plus maybe, running shoes. I was 22 years old the first year I taught. I was just thinking that my first students would be about 65 years old now! Oh Golly, Gee Whiz, I could have gone all day without thinking about that !