50 Years Ago

Fifty years ago, I made the biggest decision of my life—I went away to college. Although I'd had a couple of cousins go to National Business College, I was the first in the family to actually go away to college—to Richmond Professional Institute. (I've blogged before about RPI: here)

How I looked in September 1963.

Going to RPI (now VCU) was probably the best decision I ever made. Majoring in drama education, which meant I'd be able to teach English, speech, and drama, made me more versatile—and employable—than if I'd just majored in English. It was a wise decision.

After I graduated in 1967, I got my first teaching job because Poquoson High School wanted a drama teacher who could also teach English. I taught a speech class and four English 10 classes as well as directing plays. In my second job, at St. Andrews Junior High in Charleston, SC, I taught English 7 but also coached public speakers. When I returned to Roanoke in 1972, I taught English, speech, and drama at James Madison Junior High. I directed plays and coached speakers.

At RPI, Drama Ed majors were required to take History of Theatre as well as Art History, both of which gave me a good perspective on world history. And I learned practical skills, too. Because we were required to take both Costume Construction and Stagecraft, I learned how to sew and do basic carpentry.

Besides taking classes that proved useful, I learned a lot from being away from home. I learned how to take care of myself—to get myself up in the mornings, to plan my time, and to do laundry. We didn't have cell phones in those days—only one pay phone per hall in the dorm. Communication to friends and family was mostly via snail mail.

I also learned a lot from Richmond itself. There was always somewhere to go or something to do, so weekends were like mini-vacations. Transportation was usually by city bus because dorm students weren't allowed to have cars, but I managed to hide my car on the streets of Richmond during my junior and senior years.

A few years later after earning my degree at RPI, I got my masters at The Citadel—the military college of South Carolina. But that's another story.

~

Learn Me Good

Back in the day, when I had to take certain "teacher training" classes at college, we didn't read any real accounts written by teachers about their early classroom experiences. Instead, we had to read incredibly boring textbooks about educational methodology.

The summer before I started teaching, I read the novel  Up the Down Staircase which was a pretty good learning experience for me. I wish I'd had a few similar books to warn me of what I'd face in the classroom—especially true (or mostly true) accounts.

Although I retired from teaching 14 years ago, I still like to know what's going on in the educational realm. Consequently, I recently downloaded and read the ebook version of Learn Me Good. It's a hoot on many levels.

Originally published in 2006, the epistolary novel by John Pearson recounts an engineer-turned teacher's first year teaching third grade math. Instead of written letters (Remember those?), Pearson—er, protagonist Jack Woodson— communicates via emails sent to a former colleague at the company where Woodson had been laid off. Pearson, who notes he changed names, calls the coworker "Fred Bommerson" and the company "Heat Pumps Unlimited." He also says, "This book was inspired by real experiences. A few of the details have been altered or embellished. . . . Nearly everything that I write about did happen at some point."

Having taught middle, junior high, and high school for three decades before taking early retirement, I can identify with what Pearson writes about—testing, uncooperative kids, testing, crazy kids, testing, parents, testing, crazy parents, testing, field trips, testing—well, you get my drift. This is a book that every education major should read before accepting a teaching job. The book is funny as all get out and some of Woodson's students seem impossibly weird, but the book rings true.

Having been married to an electrical engineer for 45 years, I especially liked the emails Mr. Woodson sent to his engineer buddy. A lot of the story is in the subtext.

Pearson, whose sequel is Learn Me Gooder, also blogs at http://learnmegood2.blogspot.com.

If you're a former teacher, a current teacher, a teacher wanna-be, or a parent of an elementary student, you just might want read this book. I give it an A.

~

Pen Women Scholarship

I've been a member of the Roanoke Valley Branch of the the National League of American Pen Women for a couple of years. I enjoy the monthly luncheon with an interesting group of writers and artists and an equally interesting speaker. Because our group promotes education for women, one of the things we wanted to do was encourage a woman to return to college or perhaps enter college for the first time. Consequently, we established a modest scholarship to help with incidental expenses.

If you know a woman who fits the criteria and might be interested in applying, please pass the following information to her:

Roanoke Valley Branch
National League of American Pen Women
Scholarship Information

The Roanoke Valley Pen Women will grant a scholarship of a minimum $100 to a woman age thirty or older who has either returned to college or entered college for the first time, and who is taking one or more classes for credit in the arts, letters, or music at a college or university within 75 miles of Roanoke.

The money is to be used either for supplies (textbooks, art supplies, paper, software, etc.) or for other expenses related to college attendance.

Women interested in receiving the grant for fall 2008 must apply to the Roanoke Valley Pen Women on or before May 2, 2008. The application should include the following:

1. Statement of interest:

• Contact information at top of page: name, address, phone, email.
• A paragraph explaining the recipient’s reason for taking the class or returning to school.
• A paragraph explaining the recipient’s career goals.

2. A work sample in one of the following:

• Letters: an example (2-10 pages) of either published or unpublished fiction (short story, novel excerpt), non-fiction (article, essay), poetry (three poems) or a combination thereof.
• Arts: CD or DVD of jpegs of artwork (paintings, drawings, sculpture, pottery, fiber art, photographs, etc.).
• Music (composer, performer, choreographer): CD or DVD of performance.

Applicants who want work samples returned should provide a self-addressed mailer with sufficient postage.

3. Verification of class enrollment or college acceptance (a photocopy of acceptance letter, student ID, or receipt for payment of tuition).

The scholarship recipient is encouraged to report back to the Roanoke Valley Pen Women, either by mail/email or as a guest at a future Pen Women meeting to inform the membership how the scholarship helped her accomplish a goal.

Send applications to Becky Mushko, 8 Listening Hill Road, Penhook, VA, 24137 or to Peggy Shifflett, c/o Cottage Curio, 622 Colorado Street, Salem, VA 24153.

The Roanoke Valley branch also sponsors an annual poetry contest. Info about the 2008 contest (deadline February 1, 2008) is here.