Monday, February 12, 2018

A Memory of Second Grade


          "It does not so much matter what happens. It is what one does when it happens that really counts." Laura Ingalls Wilder

Today I was challenged by a writing prompt by Julie Jordan Scott. It began with a quote from Laura Ingalls Wilder. And then Julie pushes with: Make a list of 5 memories where something significant happened. Write for 5 minutes what you did as a result. I focused on writing on one memory from my list that I believe shaped me as a learner and teacher. It was in the year 1975 in Bozeman, Montana.

It is my first day of second grade at Longfellow Elementary and the school year had already begun. The students were on the carpet and the teacher was in a wooden rocking chair. I cannot recall her name but I remember her face. She was reading a story and paused when we entered. After the office secretary introduced me, the teacher brought me to her, almost putting me on her lap as she placed me close to her. The scared girl inside suddenly felt secure. It was as if her arms had been waiting for me, wanting to comfort me, attend to my insecurities. I have a memory of thinking this teacher must be a wonderful grandmother. While I had been an early reader, attending a progressive kindergarten, I had also attended two schools in first grade in socio-economic-diverse schools in the Los Angeles region of the 70's. This school, this classroom, this teacher showed me a very different way of being a student. Somehow I knew I was in a safe place, that one room school settings like I read in the Little House books may have actually existed. Clearly not everything was perfect in that school I know as an adult. But, I realize that my love for school, the learning and teaching environment, how a teacher had the power to create that space, encourage a love for books began that day. And for those who do not know, I chose teaching, loved teaching first and second grade, creating the lessons and space for learning. School for most of my life was my safe place (until it was not and that is a memory for another day).