Ironically, I wrote this over a year ago. BEFORE this SEEMS to have become a political issue. PLEASE, do not let that happen. As many have said, “Children ARE our future”! Please do not be political, just CARE!
Among the many beauties of children are that they start with a blank canvas. How they act, what they learn, their attitudes, etc. are painted and formed upon that blank canvas as they grow. Starting in kindergarten, or even pre-school; the majority of our treasures’ time are spent with teachers.
Over 55 years later, I still remember those artists (teachers) that helped me paint on my canvas. These were simply MY real teachers. You all have your own.
Miss Fenton (Mrs. Watts) What one would expect in a kindergarten teacher. Positive, smiling, encouraging, attentive. All these years later I cannot imagine having a better kindergarten teacher. What a first stroke of the paintbrush!
Miss Roettgers My recollection is of a matronly, sweet lady who TAUGHT us even at this early age. She wore a dress. She looked the part. She commanded the room and EARNED our respect. (Notice, I said that she EARNED the respect.) And she respected us. She treated us like her children. Why can’t more teachers wear dresses, and ties and even sport coats? More on that later. The canvas was beginning to be painted.
On to second grade and a new school. We moved to Palmyra, Illinois for a year, and I was bussed to a Hettick school. Mrs. Fanning continued the image. Matronly, a dress and ALWAYS a smile. It was a difficult year for me. I went from being in a school where, Miss Roettgers taught all three of my older sisters and me, to being that NEW kid. Mrs. Fanning recognized this. She helped me get over my early struggles. She ate at our family restaurant many times even though she did not live in our town. She cared. And even as a seven-year-old, I understood that she was trying to “Make a Difference.”
In third grade we came back to Brighton, Illinois. I walked into my third-grade class an OMG (am I too old to use that term?) and my teacher was a young Doris Day! Well not really, it was Mrs. Gorin. (Marilyn Burk) But I thought she was prettier than Doris Day. But much more than that – she gave me a hug the first day! Do you hear that? Yes, a HUG! Her smile was infectious. Before I even sat down, I knew she cared about her students. I do not remember having any academic difficulties because it was FUN TO LEARN. I thought I was her special student. But sometime later, I realized that we were ALL her special students.
I DID NOT HEAR A SINGLE NEGATIVE, POLITICAL, JUDGMENTAL word. Just encouragement. No boundaries. No “poor me.” What a way to start a canvas.
At some point, I might critique my ongoing Brighton/Southwestern teachers. But my point is that in the first four years of education, where our children spend most of their developing time, my canvas was off to an incredibly positive painting.
I am certain that teachers are still doing this. But I believe their hands are tied. My ex-wife taught high school math in the same Hazelwood, Missouri school her ENTIRE career. She was the type of high school math teacher we ALL wish our kids had. She TAUGHT. And IF their canvases were open and had more
room, I am sure that she perfected them. Unfortunately, by THEN it was too late for some of her students. Regardless of how dedicated she was, she could not erase the canvas that was painted when handed to her.
So please. Help our teachers paint on that canvas we entrust them with. Get involved. HELP the teachers untie their hands. Communicate with the teachers. (I did not say COMPLAIN to them, I said communicate.) Talk to your school Board members. Talk to superintendents, principals, and other parents. Did I say to GET INVOLVED? WRITE the teachers union. Whatever it takes. Let’s get HISTORY back into the classroom. (Merv Cruthis will LOVE this. He was the GOAT history teacher!). History consists of the good the bad and the Ugly. Teach it all, lest we forget….. Ask how YOU can help! YOU dictate how your children’s canvas is painted!
“That’s all I got to say about that.” (For now. )