The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
2000-01 Project of Henderson County Retired Teachers Association (HCRTA)This book continues from last week and was a project of the Henderson County Retired Teachers Association (HCRTA) by president Mary Alice Huntoon of Stronghurst who produced, between Nov. 13, 2000 and March 12, 2001, a storybook of “Memories” from retired teachers in the HCRTA organization.
Ms. Huntoon asked HCRTA members to share things they remembered when teaching. She also included any articles from the last ten HCRTA newsletters where people had shared “Teacher Spotlights” or articles about “Graham School $1.00”.
See: School Days Memories
Having taught Home Economics for twenty-two years at Yorkwood Jr. and Sr. High School, I found there were many things that I could write about.
Like the time a sewing student swallowed a straight pin, or the time I walked into the Jr. High building and saw a sign at the top of the stairs saying “The President has been shot”, or the day I opened the refrigerator door and found a little mouse shivering inside, or like the times the FHA girls cooked and served the FFA Banquets and carried the food down two flights of stairs and dirty dishes back up the same stairs. And then there was the time my youngest daughter carried the pillow for the crown at the FHA/FFA Sweetheart Dance. (She is now forty-two.)
Then there were the times the FHA girls and I went to Section and State Conferences with other students from nearby schools.
Then came the BIG MOVE! Packing up two departments and moving into the new building was a real experience.
We started that fall with no countertops in the food labs and a few days with no bathroom facilities. Potty buses ran every hour to Little York for those who needed them.
In preparation for the Open House of the new building, the Home Ec. Department was asked to make the cookies. Such a GOOD EXPERIENCE for the food classes! 3500 cookies later we all decided that Nabisco could do it the next time.
New innovations in Home Economics were introduced: Individualized Learning found each student selecting their own course of work, completing a set number of units each nine weeks.
Vocational Home Economics found the Food Service class running a restaurant three days a week for teachers and guests in the building.
Then there was the six-day cycle (Schedules for Day 1, Day 2, etc.) I made cards to help us remember which day we were on.
The last several years all seniors were required to take Family Living. We had weddings, carried raw eggs during the Child Care Unit and made field trips to the furniture store, appliance stores and when an egg broke, a trip to the Funeral Home.
Of course there were the trips to the grocery store each week, fundraisers for the FHA, dances, and serving as a class sponsor.
Oh Yes, I almost forgot the Bomb Threats.
Many Many memories were resurrected as I reminisced. The thing I hold dear as a result of my teaching is the fact that former students still greet me with sincere greetings, hugs and comments like”Do you remember when?” My students were all an extension of my own family and so I cheer when they are successful and cry when life hands them disappointments and sadness.
My teaching years began in September 1965 after I had finished my education at Monmouth College.
I was interested in starting a Pre-school and Mr. Leon Clements of the Stronghurst School suggested Kindergarten in the Stronghurst School. Our first year was in the United Methodist Church Sunday school rooms. We had two sessions in a half day: 8:30 - 10:00 a.m. and 10:30 - 12:00 noon. The next year we moved to the Christian Church basement for a morning and afternoon session. In a couple years a room was made available in the elementary wing of the school.
I taught Kindergarten for twenty-three years - started the first all day kindergarten in the area. This had to be every other day - three days one week - two days the next because of the limited space. It is now every day all day and there is a Pre-K program every day. The parents had very little trouble following our calendar. Several schools came to visit our program before starting their all day programs.
It was a joy to take a five-year-old child and ready them for formal schooling. After twelve years of retirement I am back in the Kindergarten Classroom for two and one half hours each day as a reading improvement aide (a Federal grant program).
But the whole Kindergarten program is so much more academic now than it was in the “70’s” and “80’s). Youngsters have more opportunities these days with Pre-K, educational T.V., etc. but these can be learned in playing, socializing and activities carried out in a kindergarten program.
I have certainly enjoyed the years I have had working with children and seventeen of the thirty-three students in the 2000-2001 kindergarten classes at Southern are children of my former students.
I remI remember a student asking me late in the school year if the teacher next door to our room was pregnant. I said, “yes”. Geri said, “I knew you’d tell me the truth”. Bev Brent delivered twin boys in June.