First and Second Grade

My memories of my first and second grade school days are limited these days. I remember some of the faces, but putting names to them is not possible. I remember the girl who lived across the street was Patsy Wren. She was in my class, and she brought my school assignments each day when I was out for my surgeries in the first grade. We moved from the Heights at Thanksgiving in 1952, and I have not seen any of those kids since.

Back in 1949, Kindergarten didn’t exist, so our first experience of formal education and attending school began in first grade.  There was no TV or teaching materials, certainly no electronics or games. Some of our parents had not completed their high school education before entering the army, workforce, or marriage. Learning the basics of counting and learning the alphabet came before learning to read and write. Homework was a big part of the process.

I loved going to school and being with other kids my age, and learning new things. We lived close to Helms Elementary, and the school was close to everything in the Heights. Two of my surgeries were on my left leg, and that made it difficult to walk at any speed, and running was not possible for many months. When I could not learn to skip, I got laughed at a lot and was kidded about girls running faster than me. At first, it bothered me, and my mom told me that maybe I was better at some things than those who picked on me. When I noticed I was getting better grades, I realized they were not trying to hurt my feelings. That was when I began to learn not to think as a victim just because something makes me feel uncomfortable.

Back in those days, few families living in the Heights had much to brag about. Most of our fathers had “blue-collar” jobs, and many did not own a car. Home-made or hand-me-down clothes were normal. There were no free school lunches, and each family had to buy pencils, crayons, and paper. We learned reading, writing, arithmetic, and about being a good citizen. The girl in the 1950 picture wearing the white belt with the badge was selected as a street crossing guard for the day. It was a “good citizen” award for following the rules and being helpful. We got graded on our course assignments and conduct grades as well.

Discipline was not a problem at school then, because respect was taught as a requirement towards teachers, adults, and other students. A note would be sent home to the parents anytime there was an issue, and included on the report card every six weeks when the parents had to sign the report card and send it back to the teacher. It was understood that adults made the rules and not the kids.

Things were much different back in the old days, perhaps because of those simple rules we learned to live by. We did not have much to fight over, but we had an ample supply of respect for others.