Thursday, September 24, 2020

EDUCATION OF A PRAIRIE BOY PART 5

      I will put years 3,4 and 5 together simply because I had the same teacher for those years. 

     First to cover something I should have mentioned in a previous post. When I started grade one in 1945 there was one other student in grade one with me. At the end of Grade 3 she went to another school so I was the only one in the grade. So I was top in my class from gr 4 to 9. Ha! Ha!

    Now the teacher I had for these three grades had almost ten years experience. She obviously liked teaching and she was good at it. In fact, she was a way ahead of her time when it came to teaching strategy. She had field trips. Who else had field trips at that time. We would take our lunch and spend the whole day wondering through the nearby trees, fields, grasslands and wetlands. We had our lunch out in the field which was cool. We each came back with a collection. The collection might include, leaves branches, flowers and insects. The next few days at school we did many different things with our collections. We traced and did art projects. In science we learned the names of some of the things we brought back. We also had to write or draw about our observations.

    This teacher was also exceptional at music. We did much singing and had a few rhythm bands. We also all bought small coping saws and made fancy designs in wood which we would paint and take home to our Moms. My Mom still had one of mine when she died.

    We also went to other schools to play ball. We also had some picnics. 

    In these schools we all ate lunch in the classroom including the teacher. This teacher had her own little house on the school yard and she would go to her house to have lunch and leave us to eat our lunch in the classroom. Well, one day some little guy threw a chalk brush and instantly bedlam broke out. Chalk brushes flew. Many hit the walls so there were chalk brush marks all over the room. Dust? Lots of chalk dust.  We were so involved in this activity that we forgot all about the teacher. She came in the room and stood for a minute before we knew she was there. She had ample time to see who the culprits were. To say the least she was upset and we got the strap.

    Lunch was an important part of a one room school day. Most of the time we ate in the classroom. But if it was nice we ate outside. Kids would pick a favorite place to eat with their friends. Sometimes it was in the shelter of deep grass. sometimes it was in a sunny location. I remember one of these lunches eating the biggest juiciest pear ever. We traded lunch all the time.

    We always had to say grace before we ate. The grace we said or sung depended on the teacher we had. So sometimes it was "Come Lord Jesus be our guest" Sometimes it was "God is good. God is great." And sometimes we sang "Be present at our table Lord."

    I didn't take a horse to school but some kids did. That meant that they had to feed their horse at noon.

   This teacher was on the go all the time . Lessons were taught even though they were brief. 

   I was on my own for gr 4 and 5. I liked being told what to do and then go and do it. I liked to be by myself. If I finished my work I could read. 

    This teacher made sure that pictures were taken and that she got copies for each of us. Somehow she found a commercial photography who would take a school picture. No other school had this. So this photo was done by a special photographer.

    You've seen these photos on another post.






    

34 comments:

  1. LOL, congrats on being top of your class. A good teacher, that is most important. My school was just 3 city block away, so we walked to school. Great photos. Take care, enjoy your day and weekend. PS, thanks for the comment on my blog.

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    1. We walked to school too but it was a mile down a country road.

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  2. What an interesting education you had! I love the way your teacher gave you an appreciation for being outside and encountering the natural world. So many modern kids lack that appreciation, I think.

    Imagine having to feed a horse at lunchtime! That is utterly outside my reality.

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    1. That whole system was not familiar to many people.

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  3. Impressive teacher and photos too.

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  4. It is good to have nice memories at school times and a teacher is very important to it. I was lucky too, to have a nice teachers.

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    1. There's a lot that goes into a "nice " teacher...community, students, facilities, support from school boards.

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  5. You had the best education by having such a great teacher, small class sizes (even down to just one) and plenty of attention paid to you and the other kids. I love hearing of your education, Red. :-)

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    1. The small class size was like family. Big kids helped the little kids.

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  6. I love reading about your childhood days in school there. What a great teacher you had. Love the photos too.

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    1. We were very rural. We had no idea of an urban setting.

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  7. You write so warmly about this teacher and that school. The teacher was a great one by the sound of it. The field trips alone were a fantastic way to learn. Great memories!

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    1. When I look back through my teacher eyes I see how good she was.

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  8. Quite a different way of doing things back then, Red.

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    1. It had to be done that way because of transportation and distances.

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  9. Top of the class! You have such happy memories of school. Weren't you lucky to have such a great teacher! Thanks for these wonderful school stories!

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    1. It's when I look back that I see how good she was.

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  10. Wow. She left you alone at lunch time? You must have been good kids, at least most of the time. I guess she didn't have to be worried about being sued.
    I see the few little girls were vastly outnumbered.

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    1. We were a captive audience so no monkey business. Yes only four girls at that time. when the school closed there were no girls.

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  11. What an interesting school experience you had. Great memories and those photos are priceless. Are you in those photos?

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    1. Yes I'm in the photo behind the teacher's right.

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  12. It sounds like that teacher was a great one. I bet the kids loved her since she gave you variety with field trips and eating outside. I love the pictures!

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  13. Only four girls in the class. Do you suppose that was unusual?
    Your teacher certainly seems exceptional.

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    1. Yes , only four girls. Yes there were examples of more or less of one sex. Some schools had mainly girls.

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  14. You had a wonderful teacher and I enjoyed reading about your one room school experiences.

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  15. You were also bottom in your class from gr4 to gr9! Ha! Ha! By the way, I love that old stove in the corner of your school room. I bet it could pump out some heat in the wintertime.

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  16. A good teacher makes all the difference in the world! I wonder how much your positive school experiences in grade school influenced your own teaching later.

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  17. I just discovered your blog (I have no idea why that took me so long!) and I'm loving these posts about your school days. I can't wait to read backwards and get to "know" you better!

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  18. We always said Grace before lunch in school...I am sure they don't do that anymore. I enjoyed reading your recollections! What did you like to read? :)

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  19. I am enjoying this recounting of your school days, Red, and the fact that you recall them in such detail is even more amazing and wonderful for us when you share these experiences. The photos at the end of this post were great to see as well. You had a very wise teacher to have them taken and shared with her students.

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  20. I'm finding your school tales absolutely fascinating. In many ways I can relate to them because I have lived for nearly 50 years in a remote rural community.

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  21. I really like the photo of you all at your desks. It wouldn't work with a larger class but in this situation it's just fabulous.

    I'm also enjoying your school tales. Grace at lunchtimes and playing in the snow stand out to me as parts of a very different era

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