52 Ancestors: School Days

Sometimes it's good to take a step back, forget the ancestors for a moment, and concentrate on ME!  So for this blog prompt I'm focusing on my school days - at least what I can remember or have evidence of.  Hey, it's my blog so I can do whatever I want.

Looks like homework (but it's not)
November 28, 1961

I don't have too many specific memories of my early school days but I do remember what teachers I had.  As a kid who moved to a different elementary school almost annually due to a special program I was in, going to a new school with a new teacher is etched pretty vividly in my mind.

Kindergarten was at Schallenberger Elementary, the neighborhood school.  It was around the corner from our house but I don't remember if I walked alone, with Mom, or with big sister.  The day I took this photo (2013) I was all alone as I took a walk through the neighborhood.

Thankfully I have the pack rat gene so I've saved all of my class photos.  So here we are - Mrs. Seery's p.m. class.  All I really remember about this year was laying out our mats on the floor so we could take a nap.  I don't, however, remember if I actually slept or not.  I'm in the back row (might have been the only time I'm in the back), second from left.  There's still a few of these kids that I'm in touch with today.

For 1st grade, I continued on at Schallenberger where my teacher was Mrs. Woolman.  No laughing allowed when you see me in the 2nd row from the top, far right.  What in the WORLD was I thinking with that hair?????

A couple of memories from this year.  First and foremost, my brother was born in November, 1961.  I remember sitting on the little step outside the classroom having lunch when I spotted my dad walking across the playground.  Of course I knew Mom had gone to the hospital the night before to give birth (we spent the night next door) so I was pretty sure what he was coming to tell me.  Please be a girl, please be a girl.  He got closer and closer and I could see a big smile on his face.  And as he approached he said "Debbie (I wasn't Debi yet), you have a baby brother".  What?  I'll leave it at that (my brother knows the story) but I ended up being ever so happy that it was, in fact, a boy.

The other memory was the fact that this was a split class - I was with about half the class in the first grade, the other half was in the second grade.  In California in those days, the deadline to start school was December 2 and my birthday was December 14 so I just missed the cutoff to start school as a 5 year old.  Here I was in a class with 2nd graders and I wanted to do what THEY were doing, not what the first graders were doing.  So midway through the year the school (teacher? principal?) asked my parents if maybe I should skip ahead to second grade since I was more interested in what they were doing.  We talked about it for awhile and I was only too eager to move ahead.  So, I finished first and second grades in one year.  One of my friends and neighbors, John Q., always teased me that I skipped ahead because I knew the big words like THE.

On to third grade where, once again, I was at Schallenberger with Mrs. Mackey.  My most vivid memory of that year was learning to write in cursive - do they even teach that anymore?

And down to the bottom row I go.  That's me, second from right.  There's still some of these kids I'm in contact with today.  Unfortunately, my best friend from that year, Barbara (2nd row from the top, 2nd from right) moved away and I lost contact with her then.

Fourth grade brought quite a change in our household.  My sister and I were both accepted into the Able Learners program (what a stupid name) but they didn't want us in the same class.  So while I went to Willow Glen (which is where I was when JFK was killed), big sister was at Lincoln Glen.  WG was too far to walk so I'm sure Mom drove but I don't remember any of that.  I do, however, remember my teacher, Mr. Fix.

Mr. Fix was quite a character.  The only real memory I have (other than JFK's assassination) is Mr. Fix telling me my last name couldn't be pronounced Leave-y.  I told him yes it could because THAT WAS MY NAME.  He teased that I could either be Debbie Leh-vy or Deebie Leave-y.  And to this day I've never forgotten that.  There I am, bottom row (even when sitting), far left.  And I guess Barbara went to WG with me because there she is in the Girl Scout uniform.

It was time to move again for 5th grade.  Since Lincoln Glen, where my sister went, was closer to home and she had moved on to Junior High, it was decided that I should move to Lincoln Glen.  To this day I wonder why they just didn't start me in LG for two years and have my sister go to WG for her one year.  It was close enough to home (maybe 2 miles) that I could ride my bike on occasion.

Front row again - 2nd from right.  A few from this class I'm still in touch with.  Unfortunately, my dear friend, Pete, (2nd row, far right) left us years ago.  We were friends all through school and even went to college together.

Back to Schallenberger for 6th grade as an Able Learner program started at Schallenberger.  As I took my walk years ago, I snapped a photo of the classroom where our 6th grade was located - that's it on the left.  How is it that I can't remember what I had for dinner last night (okay, it was chicken) but I can remember where my classroom was more than 50 years ago?

And here's the class photo.  Look at that, I'm not in the bottom row.  I'm right next to Mrs. Long.  And I see another friend who has also passed away, Ken S. who is in the top row, 2nd from the left.

As I was preparing for this post I dug out a box of school mementos my parents saved (of course they did) all these years.  I remember dragging the box out of the storeroom as we cleaned out our childhood home but didn't really go through it until today.  Look at all the reports I did!

I did find a lone report card - where did the rest of those go? - but I'll refrain from sharing it.  I guess my good grades didn't really start until my junior high/high school years.

One memory I have is making these folders in 5th grade.  Somehow we made a stamp, decorated some paper, and then made a folder out of it.  Pretty creative way to incorporate art and other curriculum.

And for those who are convinced my memory is completely shot, I remembered all of my teachers' names without looking!

Somewhere I'm sure my individual class photos are floating around - I'll blog about those once I unearth them.