This is a photo of my elementary school. It was damaged during hurricane Sandy and closed from October 2012- September 2013. Our esteemed governor, Chris Christie, - you know the one- spoke at the grand reopening.
As you can see- although this school is a public school, the island population is so tiny after tourist season, that the school has tiny classes. I think our class was the largest ever with 28-30 students. My memories of my school days were primarily of older, crass woman teachers. I had one very young, fun teacher, Ms. Adams, during first grade. Unfortunately, she only lasted one year before getting married and moving away to North Carolina. I remember the first time it snowed she was so excited and she let us go out and play all afternoon. The other teachers- the old bities- were so angry. They did not believe in "fun" at school. My fourth grade teacher, Mr. Jablonski, was also nice and younger. He was the only male teacher at BH elementary.
My kindergarten teacher- Mrs. Elwell, was a stern disciplinarian. She never smiled. I remember that I was talking one day and she moved me to the boys table. That was my punishment- I pretended to be upset with this -but I was secretly happy with my seat adjustment.
My second grade teacher- Mrs. Hazelton, smelled and wore old wool suits everyday. She never let us talk, ask questions and she never smiled. One day, I had a runny nose and I took a Kleenex tissue from her desk after turning in a paper. She put me in the cloak closet at about 10 am and forgot I was there. Around 2:30 pm I just got up and left the school. My house was about 3 blocks away. My mother asked why I was home so early and I made up some excuse. Mrs. Hazelton came to my house about 4:30 pm and explained to mother what had happened. I did not hear her side of the story, but I did tell my mother what happened and she did not believe me.
I did like my third grade and sixth grade teachers. They were also older women-but they did have a sense of humor and liked teaching children. My sixth grade teacher brought me books to read, including the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings. She also did the "blue eye experiment" with our class. It made a great impression on me. ( see the blog from 7/21/13)
My fifth grade teacher, Mrs. Voltire, was the scariest. I think she was an alcoholic. She would intentionally shame children with her words. I remember her making fun of one of the girls for farting. She called her windy. She held up one of my Christmas drawings and ripped it up in front of the class. She repeatedly forbade us to go to the restroom. I peed my pants more than once and had to continue to sit in my seat all afternoon.
Now- what would have happened to teachers like this today? They would not be teaching. Life has gone full circle. Parents listen to their children and go to the school administration whenever there is the slightest impropriety. Teachers are expected to entertain their classes, while teaching all the major standards. No longer are children supposed to sit and write at their desks. Children learn by doing group work, games, projects etc. Teachers are encouraged to continually revise their techniques and motivate their students with new innovative strategies. I don't know which era would produce the best adults, I certainly would not have been so thick-skinned without my dysfunctional early education!
