Whaat I Learned in First Grade

 What I Learned in First Grade                 

As a six-year old, I, of course, idolized my first-grade teacher, Miss Eicher.  She was young, beautiful, tall, and got down on the floor to play with us.  She taught me how to skip, read  add and subtract, and awarded me the blue ribbon for printing!

  

With all the complaining now about classroom sizes and the need for aides to assist those students who are mainstreamed, it amazes me how Miss Eicher was able to teach 40 students without an aide or any help.  Two of my classmates had learning disabilities and she was still able to handle all of us.  She was with my class the entire day.  She sat and ate with us at lunchtime and patrolled the play yard during recess.  She never left us – she never took a break!  She was exactly what a child needed to fall in love with learning.  Another plus? She gave us each a hug every afternoon when we went home.

 

I loved going to school.  I particularly loved kindergarten and first grade.  The year I was five was a “practice” year for kindergarten in my town.  I loved my teacher, Mrs. Pepin.  She played the piano and we did a lot of singing and playing games.  I don’t really remember actually learning anything such as the kids in kindergarten do today.  I do remember, however, taking out a small rug for our “naptime” and secretly maneuvering my rug so I could be next to Chuckie Handrattie.  Usually Peggy Lehman would get there first and for the next 13 years of school, Peggy always got what she wanted – you know… Homecoming Queen, top cheerleader, dated the football quarterback, etc., etc., etc.  But, I digress.

 

Two things stand out regarding my elementary years:

First item:  Every year, since my last name started with “V,” I was assigned a desk in the back of the room (each teacher went alphabetically, after all).  Within a day or two, I was always moved up to the front of the room near the teacher’s desk.  “Why,” you ask?  Because I talked too much and needed to be monitored, I guess.

 

Anyway, when I was in ninth grade, I was told that I needed glasses and that I probably had needed them since third or fourth grade.  But since sitting in front of the blackboard, I – and the teachers – never noticed that I couldn’t see long distances!

 

Miss Eicher remained my favorite teacher until tenth grade when Mr. Jack Buys moved into that revered spot.  I know the topic for today was asking what we learned in first grade; however, what I learned from Mr. Buys my last three years of high school really helped me go out into the big, bad, cold world.

  

Mr. Buys was not young.  He was not handsome.  He was not tall.  And, he never got down on the floor to play with us.  (And if he did…. he would really have been in trouble… right?)  In addition to teaching me how to type and take shorthand as a Business teacher, he taught us how to act and survive in the dog-eat-dog corporate world of big business.  Besides his degree in Business Administration, he received a Bachelor of Theology degree so I’m sure that influenced the way he taught.  I never heard him yell at a student, get upset, or put anyone down.  (He certainly didn’t throw any pencils or typewriters at his students…. or basketballs such as some coaches do nowadays).

 

He set appropriate standards, had high expectations, and didn’t accept any excuses.  Sure, maybe one had to attend all the Homecoming festivities, play in the game or in the band, work the food booth or go to the dance over the weekend – whatever; but, he didn’t accept those excuses for not handing in your homework assignment on Monday morning.  He emphasized Time Management.  If you knew you had a busy weekend ahead of you, then….. work on your assignments a little bit every night so your homework would be handed in on time.  After all – when one is in the “real” world and you have a big presentation to the Board of Directors on a Monday morning, the Board is not going to be happy if you are not prepared.  You may not get the contract or even get to keep your job.  No one is going to babysit you and remind you when things are due.  So – if one didn’t have 25 pages of shorthand practice to hand in every day, one’s grade went down.  He showed us how taking responsibility for one’s actions – or non actions – made us a better student and a better employee in the years to come.

 

I had some wonderful English teachers throughout high school.  But, while learning how to type and take shorthand were the primary purposes of his classes, Mr. Buys was instrumental in teaching me the nuances of Business English and how to become proficient in writing a proper business letter, a resume, a report with footnotes, and presentations to name just a few.

  

Mr. Buys died in March 2013 at the age of 88.  I wrote to him in the summer of 2012 and asked him to be my guest at my 50^th Class Reunion.  In my letter to him, I thanked him for being the best teacher and mentor.  I told him that I had used my shorthand every day in my working life and that I still use it now as the secretary for my church and as board secretary for our townhome association.  He was not able to attend the reunion as he had just moved into an assisted living facility and his health was failing.  He was the one who told me to not wait until the last minute to do something.  I’m glad I took his advice.