MY EDUCATION II

     So on a fine September day in 1945 I marched off to the school house to begin my education. There was no crying and hanging on to Mommy. I'd been to the school all my life and knew where I was going. We lived a mile from the school and off I went...walking...by myself. Well it wasn't that bad. There was another farm about 400 m from our farm. There were 4 children going to the school from that farm so I had older kids to go with. In another 500 m we picked up two more kids. So in walking to school I had lots of company. Only about half the land was developed for farming so there were lots of trees and brush to explore. Now a big tree to us was something about 5 -6 meters high.

    In the last post I described how gr. one passed by.

    For gr. two my brother started school. We had a new teacher. She was a very quiet introverted woman. I don't remember much about gr. two so I don't think much happened. This lady stayed connected with the community even though she moved away to teach. She was quite often a guest in our home when she was back for the summer.

    From grades 3 to 5 I had the same teacher. I didn't get along with her as well. However, when I put my teacher evaluation hat on she was an excellent teacher and a way ahead of the time. She made effective use of field trips even if it was through the bush close to the school. We would go out all day and look for plants bugs and birds. We would have a picnic lunch. It was a fun day. She would also take us to other schools for an afternoon to play ball. She was talented in the area of fine arts. So we had lots of music and art projects. Many of the art projects involved producing something to take home. The traditional Christmas concert was a great production with her. There was great variety and good quality. We had good experiences preparing for the Christmas concert.

    My sister started school when I went into gr 3.

    There was a girl who was in my grade so that made a class of two. She moved away at the end of gr. 3 so from gr 4 to 9 I was the only one in the class. These were years when I learned to be independent. I would do my work quickly and quietly so that I could read.

     For gr 6 and 7 I had the same teacher but her talent was limited. She had music ability but didn't make things fun. I don't remember her teaching any lessons. I think her instruction involved telling us to read part of a text and then answer questions. We were comfortable with this strategy but I don't think we learned much. One of the all time memorable stories happened when this lady taught us. One of the boys occasionally came to school with a team of horses. One day as he was preparing to go home , he found that the harness on one horse had slipped over the horse's head . The horse had tramped on the harness all day so things were a big mess. It was very difficult to sort out the harness so that it could be put back on the horse. The teacher noticed that we were in the barn a long time so came to check on us. She stood quietly in the barn door and the rest of us became quiet. The boy didn't know the teacher had arrived and that's when He came out with, " old Frieda should come out. She thinks she knows everything. ." Just after he made his remark, he noticed the teacher. It was too late. She didn't say anything. We wondered when the explosion would take place. The boy immediately said, I apologize and the situation was over.

    For gr. 8 and 9 we had another teacher change. One of the local farmer's wives became the teacher. She had taught in the school and had a record of being very tough. When she took the job she said she had mellowed. We knew this woman well and she was good friends with my parents. This woman knew how to get around things in a one room country school. I remember her as always being in the middle of us. She was a multi tasker. She didn't just send you away to work but was constantly in touch with you as well as other students.

    I took my gr 9 by correspondence. This meant that lessons were sent out to me in the mail. I did the lessons and sent them in to the correspondence school to be evaluated. My Dad was a great help in this as he kept me organized and helped with the lessons. He always went over the corrected lessons so that I could understand why something was wrong.

    So that took care of me for nine years of education.
   

   

MY EDUCATION

     A few nights ago my niece posted about attending her daughter's parent teacher interview. Her daughter is in grade nine so it's the first year of high school.

    This made me think back to when I was in grade nine and how different it was. Then I started to think of my public education and how different it is compared to now. It's not only different because of 70 years but because society and technology have changed. 

    So first , the building. I know some fussy pants will say the building has nothing to do with education but the building is the first thing I think about. 

   The one room school I attended was also used as a church. So I became familiar with the building soon after I was born. I attended Sunday school there so had been in the building every week before I started school. The building was built in 1908. It was a wood structure built with green lumber and uninsulated. When the wind blew the building creaked. This is an indication that the building moved in the wind. We had many windy days with  the wind shrieking and building creaking. These sounds will remain with me forever. In the winter the building was very hard to heat. It had a large coal and wood stove in one corner of the room. The fire went out over night. The next morning the room temperature was below freezing.  Who wouldn't forget this old building. 

     There's the big stove in the corner of the room.

This is the only photo of the exterior of the building that I have.

      Ten former students and three former students attended the unveiling of a sign to mark the location of the school.  My one brother is fifth from the left and a second brother 8 th from the left.

    Now before I started grade one I was familiar with the building and most of the kids. I attended Sunday school with the other kids. 

   In gr. one I sat in a double desk which I shared with the only other gr. one student in the school. There were 17 students in the school altogether. The teacher had to have work organized for 9 grades.  Not much time was spent with each grade. So for a little gr oner there was lots of time with nothing to do. Plasticine had been invented by that time. That kept me out of lots of trouble. Now being a curious little fellow I would get out of my desk and go to another student and quietly watch them work. I also listened to every other lesson in the school . Yes everything from gr one to nine. 

   This educational structure kept me busy but I also learned far more than gr one material. 

   I had one teacher who taught us until Christmas. Her boyfriend had just come back from the war so they got married. For the rest of the year we had a 19 year old kid teach us. 

    I'm sure I new how to read before I started school. The Dick and Jane series came in for my gr. one year. American and Canadian systems used these materials so people from other countries may wonder what I'm talking about.

     When I look back at this system I wonder how any student ever learned to read. Many of them didn't learn how to read.

NOW THE WORK BEGINS

     When I arrived at the little Louisville school in early September of 1958, I had not had my 19th birthday.  Yes, a teenager had been hired to teach in  school for one year.

     So I had to get busy. I had to find books and supplies that had been dropped off over the summer. It had been impressed on us in Teachers' College that the school register was a very important legal document. I also had to find the last year school register to see who my students would be and what grades they were in.

     I also had to set up a timetable. Since there were seven different grades there had to be time for each grade in each time period. I also had to know how many minutes per day for math and all the other subjects.

     A school board member did drop in to introduce himself and welcome me and give support.

     So the first day of school arrived and this nervous teenager was willing to give his best shot for these kids. All kids were dropped off by parents. Two kids arrived on a small pony. I rang the bell promptly at 9:00. My mind is blank after that. Somehow we got organized. 

     These kids were used to a brief lesson and then working on their own. The older kids could spend more time on their own. The little guys needed attention. Plasticine kept them occupied for only  short time. The primary program was detailed in guide books. I had to consult the guide book the night before and then I was ready for the little guys. I also found an old window blind that I carefully printed their vocabulary on and drilled them whether they needed or not. Something that came to me years after is that many kids come to school knowing how to read. As I look back George, knew how to read but he stilled jumped through all the hoops. I'll never for get one day how he played the dummy and pretended he didn't know the words. He screwed up his eyes and acted as if he didn't know the words. The rest of the kids were watching and burst out laughing as they knew he was faking it.

     I also had drills in math for kids to learn their time tables.

     These kids were extremely well behaved. Now the teacher before me had serious problems and kids had misbehaved. I was warned by some of the people to be stern. I think I scared these little guys.

     I had no ability in art or music. I faked my way through these subjects. The powers that be were satisfied if I tried. At that time the department of education had a weekly music program. I would turn the radio on and we would have our weekly music lesson.

    Recess and noon hour were great times. Sometimes I went out and organized activities but most of the times they just loved to play.

    The old school building was in pathetic condition. It was very cold in the winter. There was a wood and coal stove but it would go out over night and when I got to school in the morning I would have to light a fire. Many days we pulled the desks around the stove and worked until noon when the room had warmed up. 

    There were people in the district who didn't have children. I remember two farm guys who were pretty rough and crude around the edges. They would go through the school yard when they were hauling hay and stop in to visit me. They were harmless but very unsophisticated.

     At that time there were school superintendents who usually made a yearly inspection. This made teachers rather nervous. One day in September I happened to notice a gentleman looking in the doorway. I thought he might be the superintendent and he was. I just kept on teaching and he stood and watched. When there was a little break , he gave me a nod to come outside. What now. We sat down on the step and had a chat. He just wanted to know how things were going. He had a few directions to give me. He had delivered some supplies. He was very encouraging. I've never forgotten Harry Smith who as so helpful in my first year of teaching.

    I usually went back to school after supper to do some marking and prepare for the next day. There was no electricity in the school so I had to light the gas lamp. It was pleasant working in the very quiet of the room. When I finished my work the lamp went out and I walked the half mile home in the dark. In the winter there were huge snowbanks to walk over. Moonlight nights were awesome and often there were northern lights.

    When I came back after Easter. I had a big surprise. The people I was boarding with had sold their farm and were moving. No problem . They decided where I would stay. The second place I stayed was fantastic. What meals! In three months I gained lots of weight.

    The farmer would hire aboriginals to pick stones off his land. They would come to the farm with their horses and live in a tent. One night they came to the house and wanted to go back to the reserve. The farmer didn't want to take them back as he knew he might lose his workers. I didn't know that so I said I would take these guys back. What an adventure! It was later in the evening and was dark. Reserves in those days didn't have roads or electricity. They would tell me to drive to one place and they all went into the house and I stayed in the car. They were visiting and getting clothes and food. This happened for all four guys I had in the car. One guy didn't come back and I picked up a new guy. I got back about midnight. Everybody in the district had a good laugh about my experience.

     At the new place I was sometimes given a very ancient army truck to drive to school. Sometimes I couldn't shift gears and drove the four miles to school in first gear.

   The learning curve in my first year of teaching was steep. I was quite proud on myself and I'm sure I had matured a great deal.

    
   

SERIOUS FAMILY HISTORY

     The morning after my last post the son-in-law phoned to wish ma a happy new year.

      It didn't take long for us to get on the family history topic. Some how or other I let it out that I had a biography in the back of my head.  Now he was on a roll and the next thing you know he had got me enthusiastic about my biography.

     Now much of what's on this blog could be easily used in a biography.  Previously I've written about my Arctic experience,  in particular,  getting there. I did not go into the actual teaching experience.

     Now I'm the first to admit that I'm a random chaotic sort of soul. I know what I want to tell in the first few chapters , but here I am writing about things the happened at  the start of my professional career. I'm also an optimist to a fault so some how or other later on, I should be able to put all the bits and pieces together.

    Sound like a plan? 

    So my first year teaching?  

    I had finished my one year teacher training. Had I applied for a job? No.

    Now many people in my class had applied for jobs and been hired long before we finished the course.  I had to wait until I got my marks and new for sure that I had passed the course. Now it was getting late and about three weeks before school started.

    Fortunately jobs were a dime a dozen so I was hired to teach in a one room country school. Many things were set up. the community just said I would be boarding at Enn's because they needed the money from boarding the teacher

     The school was named Louisville and was 11 miles from one small village and nine mils from another village. There was post office and country store about three miles away.

   The school was old and maintenance and upkeep had been lacking for years.

    I got to the school a few days before school opening and rooted around the place to find things. I found text books and school supplies. I stored these in convenient locations. 

    On school opening day ten little beaners showed up. Yes, ten students. I had three gr. ones,  two grade twos and one each in gr three, four, five, seven and nine.

     Since I had attended such a school I knew how things worked. I made up a time table so that I could conveniently move from grade to grade.These kids had to do most of heir work independently and they were good at it.

    Now I had no music ability at all so these poor kids didn't get any music. 

    So I kept the fire going so we kept warm and we all worked together. 

    Now these kids taught me a great deal. The community was very supportive and gave me much encouragement.  . I felt good about that year and so decided that I would continue in education. I resigned after that one year so that I could go to university.

The Old One Room country School

      This was the fifth post I made when I started blogging. I was disappointed to find out that no one read it so I'm posting it again. When I read this about my life I find it hard to believe that this is my experience in school. It's long ago and far away.Red

     Where in the world would I come up with a name Hiawatha House for my blog ? Did I see something like this somewhere else? Did I have a streak of creativity . Well, actually none of the above .


     I went to a rural one room school for nine years from the mid forties to the mid fifties . Yes, you can think ahead and guess ... the name of the school ...Hiawatha School District #1720. I, like many others who attended such schools look back with fondness to such schools and therefore honor my old school a bit by naming my blog Hiawatha house .


     I looked forward to going to school as we were somewhat isolated on prairie farms and therefore it was a place to have many playmates and fellow students . We were active on the playground before school began at nine AM. Games were played . Activities from the previous day were continued such as building a snow house or fort .There were chores to be done like putting the horse away for the day, starting a fire in the big stove or getting the day's supply of water . All of these things were done with other kids . It was like a very large family as the enrolment was from nine to seventeen students while I attended .The day proceeded with classes , recesses and noon hours.


      Since there were one to nine or ten grades in a one room school, the teacher had to arrange to have all grades organized so that they were active in the learning process at all times . Much independent work was done by the students . Students helped one another . You couldn't help but hear other lessons or activities going on around you . If you were in grade one you could listen to a grade eight science lesson . By the time you got to grade eight you'd heard the lesson seven times ! Was it boring ? No, it was your turn to be involved in the lesson that you had waited so many years for . Teachers changed and the grade eight science lesson changed . Many activities involved the whole school ...Christmas concerts . All students performed and sometimes the little guys performed with the big guys as a school choir . Think how proud the little guys were to be in something with with the big guys . Our ball teams were made up from usually grade threes to nine. We were immensely proud of these teams when we played other rural schools .


     From grade four to nine I was the only one in the class . I proudly claim that I was top of the class for five years in a row . Besides this I liked working independently . I would do my work fairly quickly , and behave myself so I was not noticed . Why? Then I could read . I loved to read . I would quietly chose a library book from the small book case we had and read . Some of the books I read many times . The school had encyclopedias which I would spend hours thumbing through . I'm sure that most of the time the teacher appreciated me getting lost and not being a nuisance . I'm sure some of the teachers were bright enough to realize that what I was doing was certainly contributing to my progress . I would read and have one ear on what was going on in the classroom ...multi tasking!!


     So the country school was a very pleasant place to spend your time . I have always looked back with pleasure at the time I spent in a rural school . Was it a totally successful learning venue ? Not really . Apologies to those who look on country schools as great learning institutions . There were many positive things which occurred , but many things were absent . We learned the basics , but often not much more . I learned to be a good reader and independent , but didn't learn to be assertive or competitive . As a result when I went to a small high school and later university , I found it difficult to be very active and participate in learning activities . I had not learned to discuss , question or write with any degree of competence .


      However , I do look back with fondness to the time spent in a rural school . We were more than a school ...more a large family with community involvement .


     So here's to you Hiawatha school!


     Hiawatha School closed in June of 1955 with only six students attending in the final year .


     There are many interesting books written about the rural school . One author is John C. Charyk. He has written several interesting accounts of rural schools . Try "The White School House" or "Syrup Pails and Gopher Tails ."

Old Time Christmas Concerts in One Room Country Schools

        Yes, I am old enough to have been in a Christmas concert in a one room country school. In fact, I performed in eight Christmas concerts.

       One of my fellow bloggers has touched on these concerts. I like reading local histories. The local history from my area is full of comments about school Christmas concerts. People have many reasons for looking back at these performances with nostalgia. For many kids the evening was extremely exciting. Others took great pleasure in their performances. Others liked the activity of preparing for the concert. Some teachers were masters in producing an excellent concert and getting amazing performances from young kids. Many teachable moments occurred during the preparation for these concerts.  Kids learned music, set design, dance, acting and a ton of self discipline. Kids gained confidence from performing in front of an audience. Kids received positive feedback. As a result of the good old school concert much learning and growth took place. The teacher probably aged prematurely.

       My memories of school Christmas concerts is pretty sparse. I remember being in a small "drill " with my brother when we were in grade one and two. We were in elf costumes that were made from construction paper. Brown paper shoes and green hats. When our spot was on the concert we went out and the music played. During the performance one of us stepped on a thumb tack. We stopped. One little fellow raised his foot and the other took out the tack and then we continued. The piano player had to adjust and play a few more bars for us to complete our routine. Our parents to their deaths always remembered and laughed about our performance. Parents were always excited and proud of their childrens' performance.

     Other things I remember is that regular classes ceased during the three or four weeks of preparation. Sometimes it was boring as the teacher worked with other kids practising their parts. Sometimes I got into trouble while having nothing to keep me occupied.

    Now I was also old enough to teach in a one room country school. I went out to teach in an isolated school before I had my nineteenth birthday. There were ten students in this school. I knew that parents expected the teacher to put on a Christmas concert. I was petrified as had not a clue what to do and had little talent in music and performance. The school board was wise and extremely thoughtful. They came to me well before concert time and said let's not have a concert. We would rather have the kids stick to the curriculum. Whew!!! They decided to have a little celebration the last afternoon of school. They brought lots of goodies and made a big boiler of coffee. All parents and preschool children attended as well as some people in the district who did not have children in the school. The kids exchanged gifts and were given gifts from the school board. Everybody had a great time and went home happy. It would have been very difficult to put on a concert as out of the ten kids three of them were grade one. The teacher in Louisville school in 1958-59(me) learned more than any student that year. These people also gave me so much support that I decided to return to university and get a teaching degree.

     So my Christmas concert experience was from two points of view.  I know that I enjoyed both sides of the fence and learned from my experience. I also have some very pleasant memories to look back on.

     Please feel free to tell me about your Christmas concert experiences. I'd love to hear about them.

Hiawatha House

HIAWATHA HOUSE

     Where in the world would I come up with a name Hiawatha House for my blog ? Did I see something like this somewhere else? Did I have a streak of creativity . Well, actually none of the above .


     I went to a rural one room school for nine years from the mid forties to the mid fifties . Yes, you can think ahead and guess ... the name of the school ...Hiawatha School District #1720. I, like many others who attended such schools look back with fondness to such schools and therefore honor my old school a bit by naming my blog Hiawatha house .


     I looked forward to going to school as we were somewhat isolated on prairie farms and therefore it was a place to have many playmates and fellow students . We were active on the playground before school began at nine AM. Games were played . Activities from the previous day were continued such as building a snow house or fort .There were chores to be done like putting the horse away for the day, starting a fire in the big stove or getting the day's supply of water . All of these things were done with other kids . It was like a very large family as the enrolment was from nine to seventeen students while I attended .The day proceeded with classes , recesses and noon hours.


      Since there were one to nine or ten grades in a one room school, the teacher had to arrange to have all grades organized so that they were active in the learning process at all times . Much independent work was done by the students . Students helped one another . You couldn't help but hear other lessons or activities going on around you . If you were in grade one you could listen to a grade eight science lesson . By the time you got to grade eight you'd heard the lesson seven times ! Was it boring ? No, it was your turn to be involved in the lesson that you had waited so many years for . Teachers changed and the grade eight science lesson changed . Many activities involved the whole school ...Christmas concerts . All students performed and sometimes the little guys performed with the big guys as a school choir . Think how proud the little guys were to be in something with with the big guys . Our ball teams were made up from usually grade threes to nine. We were immensely proud of these teams when we played other rural schools .


     From grade four to nine I was the only one in the class . I proudly claim that I was top of the class for five years in a row . Besides this I liked working independently . I would do my work fairly quickly , and behave myself so I was not noticed . Why? Then I could read . I loved to read . I would quietly chose a library book from the small book case we had and read . Some of the books I read many times . The school had encyclopedias which I would spend hours thumbing through . I'm sure that most of the time the teacher appreciated me getting lost and not being a nuisance . I'm sure some of the teachers were bright enough to realize that what I was doing was certainly contributing to my progress . I would read and have one ear on what was going on in the classroom ...multi tasking!!


     So the country school was a very pleasant place to spend your time . I have always looked back with pleasure at the time I spent in a rural school . Was it a totally successful learning venue ? Not really . Apologies to those who look on country schools as great learning institutions . There were many positive things which occurred , but many things were absent . We learned the basics , but often not much more . I learned to be a good reader and independent , but didn't learn to be assertive or competitive . As a result when I went to a small high school and later university , I found it difficult to be very active and participate in learning activities . I had not learned to discuss , question or write with any degree of competence .


      However , I do look back with fondness to the time spent in a rural school . We were more than a school ...more a large family with community involvement .


     So here's to you Hiawatha school!


     Hiawatha School closed in June of 1955 with only six students attending in the final year .


     There are many interesting books written about the rural school . One author is John C. Charyk. He has written several interesting accounts of rural schools . Try "The White School House" or "Syrup Pails and Gopher Tails ."