More on teachers and a lot on learning
I left off with first grade. I started second grade at Home Heights in the Riternour School district in St. Louis. I have zero memories of the teacher I had at that school, which is odd for me. I think it may be due to the significance of moving to a new house and a new school when we moved onto the campus of the Children's home.
We move around Christmas time. I know this because I remember buying something for our class gift exchange. Those were the days before political correctness and worries about liability. Gift exchanges were a common practice and sexism was a given. Girls had to wear skirts or dresses even in phys ed. Boys chased girls on the playground and it was a given that every one would fall into gender roles with ease.
Given the sex divide, politically incorrect Christmas gift exchanges were generally separated by gender. Since I was new to the class, my mom bought gender neutral school supplies as a gift, just in case it was a random exchange. Turns out it wasn't,, Girls gift and boys gifts were piled on separate tables. We all drew a number and gifts were selected (from the appropriate tables, of course) in numerical order. My number was high, so I had to wait while the bigger and flashier gifts left the tables first. I was less interested in getting a good gift than I was worried about someone having to receive pencils and notebooks when they selected my gift.
The girl (naturally) who picked mine was as gracious and appreciative as a second grader could be. She thanked my and said that was always happy to get new supplies for school. I'm sure she cried all the way home. I had to choose from the last two or three small packages left on the table. Good things often come in small packages. I got a really cool Liddle Kiddle (remember those?) bracelet with a tiny little doll inside a tiny little locket. Wish still had that. It's probably worth a fortune on ebay!
My teacher that year was Mrs. Feeney. I don't think I could have been more fortunate in being assigned to her class. There was a Japanese student in her class who was also new that year. He spoke no English when he first arrive in her classroom, but Mrs. Feeney was so excited to have him in her class, that he was able to communicate and flourished by the time I got to the class in December. She was excited to have me there, too, although I was a lot less interesting than Kazu!
She made Kazu into an opportunity to teach us all about Japan. We learned how to sing Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer in Japanese, and made a Japanese Christmas tree from newspaper. Kazu painted our names in Japanese figures for each of us (very inaccurate translation, I'm sure). We always sung Happy Birthday to each child in Japanese and had Japanese bean cakes for snacks.
I don't remember if Kazu stayed at that school for more than just that year (or even for more than that semester), but Mrs. Feeney made his stay in her class something significant and wonderful for him and for everyone in the class.
Thanks, Mrs Feeney, for making my own transition to a new school, a welcoming , nurturing magical experience.
Friday, May 29, 2015
Tuesday, May 12, 2015
Teachers
Thanks to my mom, who meticulously filled out my baby book and my school year journal, I jnow exactly who all of my teachers were throughout elementary school!
I was not so thoughtful. I shoved items of interest between blank pages with every intention of going back to fill out each entry for each year. I could have answered each question; Who was my teacher? Who were my friends? What did I like to eat for lunch, or What was my favorite subject? Now that my son is a sophomore in college, it sees to be a missed opportunity. Not that I think he will be all that disappointed anyway. Considering how sentimental I am, I managed to raise a wildly pragmatic kid. I blame his father.
I do have memories of my various teachers. Accuracy is not guaranteed, but the memories are there. I did not attend preschool except for the occasional stays at the daycare at the YWCA (I think it was the Y, anyway. Remember accuracy is debatable here), so I did not have a consistent teacher until Kindergarten. My Kindergarten teacher was Mrs. Freeman who I remember as a heavy set lady who was little scary to me. I'm sure she was perfectly lovely, but this was my first foray into academia and it was scary in general.
I had to ride the bus, and in the days when children weren't taught to read until first grade, we relied on strips of color coded construction paper to get us to the right bus after school. I recall some man asking me where I lived in order to verify that our colored strips were accurate. My strip was green, and my mom had drilled into my head that I was to get on the green bus. When I dutifully gave the man my address, he took my green strip and said something vaguely disparaging about my mother being mistaken about which bus I should take to get home. . I think he gave me different colored strip of paper, but I still boarded the green bus. I never doubted that my mom was correct, and sure enough I made it back to the stop in front of our little ranch house. My mom must have seen the incorrect color strip, because I told her the story and what the man had said. I recall, her expression and understood that my mom was none too pleased with the backhanded insult to her intelligence. I, however, never once doubted that my mom was way smarter than some random color strip checker!
After Kindergarten, who moved to St. Louis requiring a transfer to a new school. My teacher was Mrs. Burney. I have a clear memory of looking at a page of a Humpty Dumpty magazine as my om read it to me. I thought "How on earth do you get words out of those strange squiggles?" I'm sure I knew the alphabet, but did not translate that those squiggles were letters.. (Just as a brief digression; I love Humpty Dumpty magazine. I was very excited every time it came. One arrive on the same day that my mother returned from the hosital with my new infant brother. When my sister got home from school that day, I ran to greet her saying "We got a new Humpty Dumpty magazine...and Mom came home from the hospital. I am going to sick to the idea that I was saving the best news for last...)
Mrs. Burney taught me to read. I finally was able to decipher those squiggles. I think I graduated from picture books to chapter books very quickly after that and have enjoyed words very much since then. Thanks Mrs. Burney!
I want to scan some pictures from that time, but it will have to wait till I figure out how to set up my new scanner. Pics will come next time
Thanks to my mom, who meticulously filled out my baby book and my school year journal, I jnow exactly who all of my teachers were throughout elementary school!
I was not so thoughtful. I shoved items of interest between blank pages with every intention of going back to fill out each entry for each year. I could have answered each question; Who was my teacher? Who were my friends? What did I like to eat for lunch, or What was my favorite subject? Now that my son is a sophomore in college, it sees to be a missed opportunity. Not that I think he will be all that disappointed anyway. Considering how sentimental I am, I managed to raise a wildly pragmatic kid. I blame his father.
I do have memories of my various teachers. Accuracy is not guaranteed, but the memories are there. I did not attend preschool except for the occasional stays at the daycare at the YWCA (I think it was the Y, anyway. Remember accuracy is debatable here), so I did not have a consistent teacher until Kindergarten. My Kindergarten teacher was Mrs. Freeman who I remember as a heavy set lady who was little scary to me. I'm sure she was perfectly lovely, but this was my first foray into academia and it was scary in general.
I had to ride the bus, and in the days when children weren't taught to read until first grade, we relied on strips of color coded construction paper to get us to the right bus after school. I recall some man asking me where I lived in order to verify that our colored strips were accurate. My strip was green, and my mom had drilled into my head that I was to get on the green bus. When I dutifully gave the man my address, he took my green strip and said something vaguely disparaging about my mother being mistaken about which bus I should take to get home. . I think he gave me different colored strip of paper, but I still boarded the green bus. I never doubted that my mom was correct, and sure enough I made it back to the stop in front of our little ranch house. My mom must have seen the incorrect color strip, because I told her the story and what the man had said. I recall, her expression and understood that my mom was none too pleased with the backhanded insult to her intelligence. I, however, never once doubted that my mom was way smarter than some random color strip checker!
After Kindergarten, who moved to St. Louis requiring a transfer to a new school. My teacher was Mrs. Burney. I have a clear memory of looking at a page of a Humpty Dumpty magazine as my om read it to me. I thought "How on earth do you get words out of those strange squiggles?" I'm sure I knew the alphabet, but did not translate that those squiggles were letters.. (Just as a brief digression; I love Humpty Dumpty magazine. I was very excited every time it came. One arrive on the same day that my mother returned from the hosital with my new infant brother. When my sister got home from school that day, I ran to greet her saying "We got a new Humpty Dumpty magazine...and Mom came home from the hospital. I am going to sick to the idea that I was saving the best news for last...)
Mrs. Burney taught me to read. I finally was able to decipher those squiggles. I think I graduated from picture books to chapter books very quickly after that and have enjoyed words very much since then. Thanks Mrs. Burney!
I want to scan some pictures from that time, but it will have to wait till I figure out how to set up my new scanner. Pics will come next time
Sunday, May 10, 2015
Cheers to teachers and...moms
It's Mothers day, so I must do a shout out to my mom and all the phenomenal mom's I know and those I don't. One day a year to celebrate Motherhood, is way too little.
But I wanted to write about teacher. Actually, I have never taken a class with three of my all time favorite teachers, although I have definitely learned the most from them. There are my mom, my sister and my brother.
My mom was an English teacher. I thank her for making me somewhat of a grammar geek/snob. I also credit her for my love of books and reading. Did you know that parents owning books-more than being read to or being provided with their own books- is highly correlated to their kids becoming readers and book lovers themselves. We always had books around, and memories of my mom frequently include seeing her with a book.
I take back that I never had her as an actual teacher because I am pretty sure she was a substitute in one or two of my classes. Although she knew how to teach, her real strength as a substitute was being able to manage unruly kids. Once she was warned that the class she was subbing for had locked a previous sub in a closet. Her first words to the class were "I heard you locked your teacher in the closet yesterday. There will be none of that happening today. " I am sure that she struck terror into the most harden delinquent in the class!
Another teaching gig that I know she aced, was being a Sunday school teacher. This easily could have become repetitive and boring, and I am sure that quite a few Sunday school teacher see an opportunity to preach dogma to bored teenager, or complete Biblically based worksheet with rowdy 10 year olds. But my mom really liked teenagers. She liked challenging them to think about their belief and memes in new ways. She liked lively discussions and sometimes, even got into trouble for bringing up controversial topics or using edgy materials. Maybe it seems as if teaching Sunday School is a not real teaching, but I guarantee that she changed more minds and influence actions just as much as anybody teaching algebra in a High School.
My brother is a High School Band teacher. He and his wife, who is in charge of the drum line and color guard, have taken the band program in their small town, into the national spotlight with their amazing marching shows, Here is a link to one of their brilliant performances
https://youtu.be/uDMnAWdVlEo
Even though his prowess as a teacher and his ability to visualize and create amazing performances is a strong suit, he is even more amazing at how he interacts with students. Just as my mom made kids be respectful and made them think, Paul holds his kids to high standard, He believes in them and motivates them to be their best selves. He never questions their ability or willingness to make things happen. I have seen him in action. He is stern and demanding without ever losing his respect or love for those kids. and they respect and love him right back.
My sister never really wanted to be a teacher. She is an actor from birth and by training. When we were kids, she and I used to put on shows for our mom and dad and anyone else who may have been around. Most of our show consisted of lip syncing to sound track albums from Disney movies. I always thought it was so nice of Beth to let me be the lead character. In days long before every girl wanted to be one of the Disney Princesses, I was being Aurora and Snow White and Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland. Poor Beth was relegated to being all the other characters. What I didn't realize at the time, was that , by making me be the one note hapless heroines, she got to dance around as Cinderella"s animal friends, cast spells as the fairy godmother, drink tea with the mad hatter, look into the magic mirror as Snow White's step-mother, and the turn around and be the magic mirror itself! She was a pint-sized one woman show!
After years of being a working actor, she succumbed to her desire to have a steady paycheck and took a teaching position at a performing arts high school in New Jersey. Just as my mom and brother have inspired and shaped their students, my sister is creating a classroom full of thoughtful and sensitive aspiring actors. While many of them do go on to use their skills in the field, she is really giving them the tools they need to be thoughtful and expansive human beings, by challenging their believe about themselves and the world. Here is a like to a video of her students, nominating her for a Tony award to acting teachers.
https://youtu.be/bp0Cfi10O8g
By the way, my very busy sister also operates her own outstanding school for actors. Here isa link to her school's website www.njactors.org
I am fortunate to have these amazing teachers in my life. I do feel a tiny bit inadequate to two such decorated and well-loved teachers. Teachers and actors love to give out awards for excellence. Therapists aren't even able to tell anybody about any of their work, let alone make a video of their best sessions! I'm definitely in the wrong feild if I'm looking for accolades, butthe rel unsung heroes are Moms who could never be singled out as Mother of the Year, because they are all the best mom's in the world.!
Here's to my own best mom! I love you!
It's Mothers day, so I must do a shout out to my mom and all the phenomenal mom's I know and those I don't. One day a year to celebrate Motherhood, is way too little.
But I wanted to write about teacher. Actually, I have never taken a class with three of my all time favorite teachers, although I have definitely learned the most from them. There are my mom, my sister and my brother.
My mom was an English teacher. I thank her for making me somewhat of a grammar geek/snob. I also credit her for my love of books and reading. Did you know that parents owning books-more than being read to or being provided with their own books- is highly correlated to their kids becoming readers and book lovers themselves. We always had books around, and memories of my mom frequently include seeing her with a book.
I take back that I never had her as an actual teacher because I am pretty sure she was a substitute in one or two of my classes. Although she knew how to teach, her real strength as a substitute was being able to manage unruly kids. Once she was warned that the class she was subbing for had locked a previous sub in a closet. Her first words to the class were "I heard you locked your teacher in the closet yesterday. There will be none of that happening today. " I am sure that she struck terror into the most harden delinquent in the class!
Another teaching gig that I know she aced, was being a Sunday school teacher. This easily could have become repetitive and boring, and I am sure that quite a few Sunday school teacher see an opportunity to preach dogma to bored teenager, or complete Biblically based worksheet with rowdy 10 year olds. But my mom really liked teenagers. She liked challenging them to think about their belief and memes in new ways. She liked lively discussions and sometimes, even got into trouble for bringing up controversial topics or using edgy materials. Maybe it seems as if teaching Sunday School is a not real teaching, but I guarantee that she changed more minds and influence actions just as much as anybody teaching algebra in a High School.
My brother is a High School Band teacher. He and his wife, who is in charge of the drum line and color guard, have taken the band program in their small town, into the national spotlight with their amazing marching shows, Here is a link to one of their brilliant performances
https://youtu.be/uDMnAWdVlEo
Even though his prowess as a teacher and his ability to visualize and create amazing performances is a strong suit, he is even more amazing at how he interacts with students. Just as my mom made kids be respectful and made them think, Paul holds his kids to high standard, He believes in them and motivates them to be their best selves. He never questions their ability or willingness to make things happen. I have seen him in action. He is stern and demanding without ever losing his respect or love for those kids. and they respect and love him right back.
My sister never really wanted to be a teacher. She is an actor from birth and by training. When we were kids, she and I used to put on shows for our mom and dad and anyone else who may have been around. Most of our show consisted of lip syncing to sound track albums from Disney movies. I always thought it was so nice of Beth to let me be the lead character. In days long before every girl wanted to be one of the Disney Princesses, I was being Aurora and Snow White and Cinderella and Alice in Wonderland. Poor Beth was relegated to being all the other characters. What I didn't realize at the time, was that , by making me be the one note hapless heroines, she got to dance around as Cinderella"s animal friends, cast spells as the fairy godmother, drink tea with the mad hatter, look into the magic mirror as Snow White's step-mother, and the turn around and be the magic mirror itself! She was a pint-sized one woman show!
After years of being a working actor, she succumbed to her desire to have a steady paycheck and took a teaching position at a performing arts high school in New Jersey. Just as my mom and brother have inspired and shaped their students, my sister is creating a classroom full of thoughtful and sensitive aspiring actors. While many of them do go on to use their skills in the field, she is really giving them the tools they need to be thoughtful and expansive human beings, by challenging their believe about themselves and the world. Here is a like to a video of her students, nominating her for a Tony award to acting teachers.
https://youtu.be/bp0Cfi10O8g
By the way, my very busy sister also operates her own outstanding school for actors. Here isa link to her school's website www.njactors.org
I am fortunate to have these amazing teachers in my life. I do feel a tiny bit inadequate to two such decorated and well-loved teachers. Teachers and actors love to give out awards for excellence. Therapists aren't even able to tell anybody about any of their work, let alone make a video of their best sessions! I'm definitely in the wrong feild if I'm looking for accolades, butthe rel unsung heroes are Moms who could never be singled out as Mother of the Year, because they are all the best mom's in the world.!
Here's to my own best mom! I love you!
Monday, May 4, 2015
I'm back again. I tend to come and go so frequently!
I have figured out something about myself. I get busy. I get behind. I feel guilty for not keeping up, I procrastinate. I give myself a hard time. I procrastinate more. And then I figure I shouldn't be focusing on frivolous things until I get my "real work" done. This does not stop me from playing word games until my head explodes,or reading drivel or watching my very important TV shows. It just keeps me from being productive in other meaningful ways.
Here is what I have been up to,in the meantime.
On the MS front: I have "graduated" to using a walker. My neurologist wrote me the order for it and said "You're gonna kill me, but I think it's time" So I got one, and , what do you know...I actually get around a lot better and can last a lot longer-which is very important when you are shopping. The next time I the neurologist , I had the walker. I said, "I think I get around a lot better with this thing." He responded,"God, yes!" Not just yes or even "I think so, too," but, "God, yes!" Somehow, that was just a little disconcerting...
Amazingly, my practice has been picking up a little. That's part of the reason I have gotten behind on paperwork. I hate paperwork.
In order to not feel like a complete slug, I spend a great deal of tie taking open coursework classes. I am currently taking "The Neuro-biology of Everyday Life" through the University of Chicago. Originally I was trying to take it more seriously; trying to pass exams and doing course projects etc and then I realized the reason I never followed through with getting a doctorate degree. I hate that stuff! I only want to absorb the interesting stuff. (Just as an aside, I really did debate going back to school for a few minutes. I even took the Miller Analogy Test and scored n the 98th percentile nationwide-I am a good test taker). Since I hate studying and completing paperwork, but love actually learning new stuff, open coursework is the best thing.. It even beats going to seminars and conferences because it's free! Plus I don't have to wear shoes.
Learning stuff makes me feel as if I am accomplishing something, even though I'm really not. I watch a lot of TED talks for that very same reason. So I'm knowledgeable, but being so doesn't really help me accomplish much. Although, maybe that's why I aced the MAT.
So now that I feel as if I got that off my chest, maybe I can get back to the story of becoming me.
It's teacher appreciation week, so I think I will focus on amazing teachers I have had or that I know. Watch for it!
I have figured out something about myself. I get busy. I get behind. I feel guilty for not keeping up, I procrastinate. I give myself a hard time. I procrastinate more. And then I figure I shouldn't be focusing on frivolous things until I get my "real work" done. This does not stop me from playing word games until my head explodes,or reading drivel or watching my very important TV shows. It just keeps me from being productive in other meaningful ways.
Here is what I have been up to,in the meantime.
On the MS front: I have "graduated" to using a walker. My neurologist wrote me the order for it and said "You're gonna kill me, but I think it's time" So I got one, and , what do you know...I actually get around a lot better and can last a lot longer-which is very important when you are shopping. The next time I the neurologist , I had the walker. I said, "I think I get around a lot better with this thing." He responded,"God, yes!" Not just yes or even "I think so, too," but, "God, yes!" Somehow, that was just a little disconcerting...
Amazingly, my practice has been picking up a little. That's part of the reason I have gotten behind on paperwork. I hate paperwork.
In order to not feel like a complete slug, I spend a great deal of tie taking open coursework classes. I am currently taking "The Neuro-biology of Everyday Life" through the University of Chicago. Originally I was trying to take it more seriously; trying to pass exams and doing course projects etc and then I realized the reason I never followed through with getting a doctorate degree. I hate that stuff! I only want to absorb the interesting stuff. (Just as an aside, I really did debate going back to school for a few minutes. I even took the Miller Analogy Test and scored n the 98th percentile nationwide-I am a good test taker). Since I hate studying and completing paperwork, but love actually learning new stuff, open coursework is the best thing.. It even beats going to seminars and conferences because it's free! Plus I don't have to wear shoes.
Learning stuff makes me feel as if I am accomplishing something, even though I'm really not. I watch a lot of TED talks for that very same reason. So I'm knowledgeable, but being so doesn't really help me accomplish much. Although, maybe that's why I aced the MAT.
So now that I feel as if I got that off my chest, maybe I can get back to the story of becoming me.
It's teacher appreciation week, so I think I will focus on amazing teachers I have had or that I know. Watch for it!
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