Jump to content

Today's English Lesson


Flashermac

Recommended Posts

I spent much of the first grade standing in the corner. My teacher - Mrs Williams - was a grumpy old biddy. My mother has since told me that Mrs Williams had just returned to teaching after stopping to raise her own family. I was the youngest in the class - 5 1/2 years old. (Just got in under the birthday deadline.) Mrs Williams told my mother I was too young to be in her class.

 

I'd gone to a private kindergarten at the Methodist Church. (Wasn't any public KG then.) We'd already learned the alphabet and were reading and writing simple words (boy, girl, cat, dog, ball etc). I would get so bored in the first grade that I would draw pictures on my spelling papers. (So long ago that kids still drew pics of battleships shooting down Jap planes!) As soon as Mrs Williams saw my papers, it was right back to the corner for me.

 

She also used to pin a "tattle tail" on any student who snitched on another. They'd have to wear it the whole day. Lots of girls used to have tails stuck on them. And then there was that paddle hanging on the wall ...

 

Schools are different nowadays. :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My early teachers were all gorgeous, a wise minister of education heard reports of the health consequences of inbreeding in various parts of the state and hundreds of young city girls with teaching degrees found themselves posted to isolated parts of South Australia, to the delight of the local lads.

 

For years teaching was a free ride to university, a good pass in "Leaving" (year 11) was sufficient for a scholarship which covered most expenses including board.

 

We were the baby boomers and hundreds of thousands of WW2 refugees as well as people just looking for a better life were still pouring into Australia and school building was a growth industry.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

It was in the 1970s that the baby boom began to run dry in the States. The hippy generation were protesting and doing their thing - and not having children. Schools began to be combined and many were just plain shut down. We'd get a sprinkling of laid off teachers in the Peace Corps the late '70s. Some of them would tell me horror stories, teachers with MAs or PhDs suddenly finding themselves driving NYC taxis to survive etc.

 

I had Brit cousins who emigrated to Oz during the "white only" days. I thought about it myself once upon a time, but the Army grabbed me and decided they needed me elsewhere. :p

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Then how did Julia Gillard get in?

 

Or if you mean the Army, that could be true. All of our lieutenants had volunteered. Only 1 of the 4 had gone to university, and he flunked out after 2 years. :p

 

The operations sergeant (me), company clerk, commo sergeant and supply sergeant were all uni grads - and all conscripts.

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...