School year’s start brings trip down memory lane
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As another school year begins I am always reminded of my first-grade year and my teacher Mrs. Toni Harris. I believe that my education started at the tail end of a very unique era in American education.
I learned to read from primers that described Spot, Dick, Jack and Jane engaged in various activities. I will never forget the texture and smell of those old books.
There were no fall safe areas for us to play on. We played tackle football and jumped off swings, merry-go-rounds, jungle gyms and other apparatus onto dirt, grass, asphalt and concrete surfaces during recess periods that seemed to last for days.
I remember crawling under my desk for an air raid drill and asking Mrs. Harris, "Why would anyone drop a bomb on Fredonia?" and "Would this really save us?"
A few weeks into the school year it was determined that I was the only student in our class who had never ridden on a train. So a train ride was arranged for me. This may have actually been an enrichment opportunity for me but I was too young to understand. I was dropped off by myself at the train station in Dunkirk where I boarded a train that I rode to Brocton and back. I was picked up at the station about an hour later.
Afterward, I had to write about my train ride and report on it to my classmates.
On Wednesdays school ended a little early and I remember walking by myself from Eagle Street School to St. Anthony's for religious instruction. Can you imagine a 6-year-old being allowed to do the same things in this day and age?
Mrs. Harris was a loving, kind and caring teacher but she spanked children who misbehaved. It didn't happen often but I remember a friend of mine named Scott got it good when he shot a rubber band that hit a female classmate in the eye. Everyone felt bad for Scott but we all knew he had it coming. I mean after all, he could have taken her eye out.
There was a bathroom in our classroom and I remember a little girl named Kelly in my class emerging from the bathroom in tears because she dropped her thermos full of peaches in the toilet when she tried to pour out the syrup. She was inconsolable as she sobbed to Mrs. Harris that her mother would be so mad at her when she went home and told her that she dropped her thermos in the toilet.
Mrs. Harris tried to comfort her and the entire class gathered around Kelly. I felt bad for her as she wailed, " I'm going to get in so much trouble!" So I offered this advice. "Kelly, just don't tell your mom". Mrs. Harris gave a knowing smile and kind of nodded and all was right with the world.
Mrs. Harris was only a year or two away from retirement when she taught my first-grade class back in 1969. I actually saw her more than three decades later at a teacher gathering. I didn't really believe her when she said that she remembered me. I asked her, "Do you really remember me after all this time Mrs. Harris?' She said, " Andrew, of course I remember you. After all. You were a very unusual boy." That convinced me beyond any doubt that Mrs. Harris really did remember me after all those years.
At the Red White and Blues festival I ran into a group of former students that I taught more than 30 years ago. I recognized all four of them. As we chatted I remembered specific details of our our time together in my math classes. Toni Harris passed away more than a decade ago but I remember so many things from my first grade year as if they happened yesterday. And now I remember former students just as Mrs. Harris remembered me. What a blessing it has been to be a part of so many young people's lives and to see them now as amazing adults.
I share these stories in print to remind educators and everyone who works with children and young people of the power that you have. When you work at a school, no matter what position you hold, you can make positive memories for kids that will last a lifetime for them. And you will remember many of these youngsters for the rest of your lives. Have a great year all of you educators and school personnel. Don't forget to enjoy the ride and remember how blessed you are to be doing some of God's most important work.
Andrew Ludwig is a retired math teacher and a retired public school and Catholic school administrator. He currently works as a substitute teacher in Chautauqua County.