Pretty Water Colored Memories
Walmart was packed last Monday. The ice storm had stopped most people from venturing out much, but Monday must have been the breaking point for most because the place was busy. Hubby D and I kept seeing so many people that we hadn't seen for ages and of course visiting ensued. Some of those people we encountered were former students and that got me to thinking.
We saw and visited with the Furnas boys, Mike and Doug, who had had the privilege(?) of having me the first year I taught. So here it is 34 years and 75 pounds later, and Mike was nice enough to say I hadn't aged at all. He always was good at shooting the bull. I should have asked them to let me know the next time their class is getting together for a reunion so I could come and make an apology. I cut my teaching teeth on this class but after talking with the "boys", I discovered that most of their fellow classmates survived without too much permanent damage.
This class of seventh graders is the one that told me they had been running teachers off since they started school. I told them to put their money on the table because I'd be there the last day of school whether they made it or not. They asked what I meant and I told them to hide and watch. The battle was on. I had sooooooooooo much to learn about teaching and they just had soooooooo much to learn period. The principal and superintendent at the time told me that they weren't overly concerned with how much English the students learned as long as I could teach them to sit at their desk and not be so disruptive, I would have accomplished more than most. I stayed at Commerce for 5 years and I must say my principal that first couple of years saved my bacon more than once, and I am mighty grateful to him for giving me the chance to grow as a teacher. I know he took an awful lot of flack concerning me and my tendencies to say and do some not so wise things. I must admit that at the time I really didn't see any problems until he called me in for the talk. OOPS!!!!! I still get to talk to the principal every once in awhile for those same types of things. I'm better, but this tongue of mine and my tendency to do some off the wall things maybe even outrageous things does still get me into hot water every once in awhile. Getting back to Commerce, I wouldn't have left but a position opened at Wyandotte, and I needed to be where the Cap'n was going to school.
After getting home from our Walmart venture, I checked myspace and found another former student request to be my friend. He was from a particularly special group of kids. They just don't come any better than the class of '92. Of course, they were not all perfect but on the whole the class had lots and lots of nice kids. I taught them as freshmen and sophomores and then was their junior class sponsor. I even was privileged to go to church with some of them.
One of these sweet things lived down the hill from my house, and every year in September she would have a birthday slumber party on a Friday night. Their freshman year was the first time they made their midnight pilgrimage to my house to sing the school song. For the next few years it became an annual event. The first time they were a little nervous and fled immediately after singing. Each year their courage built until their senior year when they stayed around and sang several songs, even "Father Abraham" with all of the actions. The best part of this was that this group didn't need the "booze" or drug stuff to have a good time. When the sweet thing got married several years later, we formed two lines and as she and her new hubby left, we threw our rice/birdseed at them as we sang the School Song!!!!
At one dance we had, the stereo got too hot and the music stopped!!!!! We still had quite awhile to go before parents came to get their kids (7th through 12th went to our dances) so even though most of them had cars and could have left instead they gathered in a large group in the middle of the floor and started playing games. They welcomed any and everyone to join in. They finally wound up playing RED ROVER with both sides having lots and lots of players. They helped turn a fiasco into a good time. I really appreciated those kids.
This weather also made me think of them. Their Senior year on Halloween, the weather was awful. You might wonder how I remember. Well, I will tell you. When we got up the next day, it was too bad to go to school. When we did venture out, we found the words to the Wyandotte School Song, written on white shoe polish all over the windshields on both cars. They had also written "gotcha" on my front room window. The words to the school song gave them away. Yes, they got me good. BUT.......they had to do everything in the snow, sleet, and freezing rain while I was safe and sound in my warm house. Poor Cap'n got to help clean everything off except for the front window. When our house burned several years later, those words were still on the window!!!!!
This class worked extremely hard during their junior year so that we would have enough money to go on the Cherokee Queen for prom. That was one of the best proms we ever had. That was the year that I had no help; I was the only sponsor!!!!! They did an amazing job.
There are other classes that have left imprints on my heart but this bunch left more than the others. I have many more stories but will save those for a later day.
We saw and visited with the Furnas boys, Mike and Doug, who had had the privilege(?) of having me the first year I taught. So here it is 34 years and 75 pounds later, and Mike was nice enough to say I hadn't aged at all. He always was good at shooting the bull. I should have asked them to let me know the next time their class is getting together for a reunion so I could come and make an apology. I cut my teaching teeth on this class but after talking with the "boys", I discovered that most of their fellow classmates survived without too much permanent damage.
This class of seventh graders is the one that told me they had been running teachers off since they started school. I told them to put their money on the table because I'd be there the last day of school whether they made it or not. They asked what I meant and I told them to hide and watch. The battle was on. I had sooooooooooo much to learn about teaching and they just had soooooooo much to learn period. The principal and superintendent at the time told me that they weren't overly concerned with how much English the students learned as long as I could teach them to sit at their desk and not be so disruptive, I would have accomplished more than most. I stayed at Commerce for 5 years and I must say my principal that first couple of years saved my bacon more than once, and I am mighty grateful to him for giving me the chance to grow as a teacher. I know he took an awful lot of flack concerning me and my tendencies to say and do some not so wise things. I must admit that at the time I really didn't see any problems until he called me in for the talk. OOPS!!!!! I still get to talk to the principal every once in awhile for those same types of things. I'm better, but this tongue of mine and my tendency to do some off the wall things maybe even outrageous things does still get me into hot water every once in awhile. Getting back to Commerce, I wouldn't have left but a position opened at Wyandotte, and I needed to be where the Cap'n was going to school.
After getting home from our Walmart venture, I checked myspace and found another former student request to be my friend. He was from a particularly special group of kids. They just don't come any better than the class of '92. Of course, they were not all perfect but on the whole the class had lots and lots of nice kids. I taught them as freshmen and sophomores and then was their junior class sponsor. I even was privileged to go to church with some of them.
One of these sweet things lived down the hill from my house, and every year in September she would have a birthday slumber party on a Friday night. Their freshman year was the first time they made their midnight pilgrimage to my house to sing the school song. For the next few years it became an annual event. The first time they were a little nervous and fled immediately after singing. Each year their courage built until their senior year when they stayed around and sang several songs, even "Father Abraham" with all of the actions. The best part of this was that this group didn't need the "booze" or drug stuff to have a good time. When the sweet thing got married several years later, we formed two lines and as she and her new hubby left, we threw our rice/birdseed at them as we sang the School Song!!!!
At one dance we had, the stereo got too hot and the music stopped!!!!! We still had quite awhile to go before parents came to get their kids (7th through 12th went to our dances) so even though most of them had cars and could have left instead they gathered in a large group in the middle of the floor and started playing games. They welcomed any and everyone to join in. They finally wound up playing RED ROVER with both sides having lots and lots of players. They helped turn a fiasco into a good time. I really appreciated those kids.
This weather also made me think of them. Their Senior year on Halloween, the weather was awful. You might wonder how I remember. Well, I will tell you. When we got up the next day, it was too bad to go to school. When we did venture out, we found the words to the Wyandotte School Song, written on white shoe polish all over the windshields on both cars. They had also written "gotcha" on my front room window. The words to the school song gave them away. Yes, they got me good. BUT.......they had to do everything in the snow, sleet, and freezing rain while I was safe and sound in my warm house. Poor Cap'n got to help clean everything off except for the front window. When our house burned several years later, those words were still on the window!!!!!
This class worked extremely hard during their junior year so that we would have enough money to go on the Cherokee Queen for prom. That was one of the best proms we ever had. That was the year that I had no help; I was the only sponsor!!!!! They did an amazing job.
There are other classes that have left imprints on my heart but this bunch left more than the others. I have many more stories but will save those for a later day.
posted by Mrs. E at 8:17 PM
1 Comments:
I'd totally forgotten about the Red Rover game at the dance.
And while I know you won't have nearly as many glowing things to say about the class of '93 as you did the class of '92, I would like to state for the record that we also managed to raise enough money to have prom on the Cherokee Queen, if for no other reason than to prove that we could.
Quite possibly the first and last time my class ever pulled together.
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