REQUIEM FOR AN EDUCATOR

The Early Years I have fond memories of the public elementary school I attended for several reasons. Some are: great sports teams, which included track & field, volleyball, ice skating, wrestling, softball, and football. Also we had a safety patrol that was sponsored by a real live army drill sergeant who ran the patrol like an Army platoon. We couldn’t wait to reach sixth grade so we could apply. I moved quickly up the ranks and by the time I graduated, I was captain. At patrol gym we would practice all types of drill formations, which led us to become part of the color guard that presented at all assemblies. Also the entire patrol, led by the drum and bugle corps, would march through the halls every Monday morning to begin the week. The entire student body lined the halls outside their rooms as we marched by. We really felt important. At the end of the week, before the patrol left to go on duty, all classroom doors were opened to hear taps played by two buglers. One was stationed on the first floor in the west wing and the other was stationed on the second floor in the east wing. The entire school was silent as one led and the other echoed taps. Our elementary school was also noted for its choir. Mrs. Jackson, a great singer in her own right, taught English and music to the upper grades. You were allowed to try out for the choir in the sixth grade and if you were good enough you were in it for three years. This elementary school choir sang songs such as Handel’s Hallelujah Chorus, in four-part harmony, in Cappella and could hold its own against any high school A Cappella chorus. The sports I mentioned earlier were actually run by the park district out of a “field house” located on the school’s playground. The community seemed to turn out for the softball, volleyball games, and the track and field events. Guess what sports I pursued. However I did play sandlot football because that was considered “a man’s game” and although I was usually the smallest person on the field, I had “heart” and some skills. What about formal education? This is a public elementary school I’m talking about isn’t it? Oh yes, that! Believe it or not, formal education did take place despite all these wonderful extra curricular “things” that were going on. Some of our teachers even lived in the neighborhood and we would see them at the stores or in church. They seemed to take pride in our accomplishments and were determined that we were going to learn, sometimes in spite of ourselves. I liked math because it seemed like playing with puzzles and one had to figure it out. Spelling was no problem for me. I had a good memory. Social studies and science were boring to me although I received good grades. But that was because I had a good memory and passed the tests. In fact, I did a lot of that back then. Memorize the material for the test; after the test clear my memory banks and get ready for the next test. It even worked for S.A. Tests! Remember what was said, regurgitate it on test day and move on. Science was boring because we read the same books my aunt used, at least 13 years earlier, and answered the questions at the end of the lesson or chapter. Absolutely no experiments or other type of hands-on involvement was given. Social Studies was a little different. I loved to read about earlier times and other places (in story form). By fifth grade I was reading Greek Mythology from books checked out from the library as well as stories about the wild west and how it was won, or lost, depending on your perspective. However, when history was put in a scholarly format with documented dates, places, and times, who cared? A side note! Now I wish I had cared because I now find it fascinating. Also, I have a different outlook on history, which is, we study our past to understand our present and make better plans or predictions about our future. Back then it was the memorization of facts! On Tuesday afternoon, the 12th of September, in the year of our Lord 1718, when he was only 13 years old, George Washington made the statement, “I cannot tell a lie, I did cut down the cherry tree”. Hooray! Yippee! And??? What meaning did that fact have for my past, my present, or my future?