Elementary Teachers

I was in kindergarten twice. It was half day. Fern Melby was my teacher both years. She was a kind women and a classic kindergarten teacher. She had incredible patience and loved children. She never forgot a student and would go out of her way to talk to me long after I had graduated from high school and then college. Mrs. Melby’s husband was the band director at the high school but was retired by the time I got there. They lived on the south side of town and were on my paper route. They were always very generous to me on Christmas.

Since kindergarten was half day the room was used for art with Ms. Iquita one day and Mrs. Evans for music another. It was in the basement room of the older part of the building. That room also served as the lunchroom until they started busing the hot lunch kids over to the high school for lunch.

After being retained in kindergarten I did not have much confidence and my first grade teacher didn’t have much confidence in me either. She was young and got married that year and after that left education, I think for good. I was in desperate need of her attention and support and she didn’t have it to offer or didn’t want to offer it. I don’t think I learned much that year. I have left her name out of this because she still lives in the Mt. Pleasant area.

Mrs. Hoffman was my second grade teacher. Her husband was the high school woodworking teacher. They lived down near the pool and were family friends largely because my Dad and Mr. Hoffman shared an interest in arrowhead hunting. Mrs. Hoffman was strict! She worked hard with me to help me learn how to decode text. The Hoffmans ran the Snack Shack at the swimming pool so I was around them for many years.

I did make up a lot of lost ground in second grade but still went into third grade significantly behind my peers. Mrs. Nelson was my third grade teacher and she was also building principal. Everyone, even the teachers were afraid of her. After a year in her classroom she determined that I should be retained. That didn’t sound so good to my mother and me. Fortunately, she would have nothing of it. She said, “He is already the oldest child in the room!” She vowed to work with me and help me do better in school. Mrs. Nelson reluctantly gave in on the promise that I would attend summer school not only that summer, but the next summer, too. I viewed it as a prison sentence.

My fourth grade teacher, Mrs. Craig lived on the corner of White and Henry streets. She was a compassionate teacher and someone that served as a role model for me. I replaced her as fourth grade teacher at Saunders in 1971. I tried to tell her once the positive impact that she had had on me but I am not sure she understood. At the end fourth grade Mrs. Craig didn’t really think I needed another year of summer school but Mrs. Nelson, the principal, had mandated it.

Mrs. Thompson was my fifth grade teacher but part of the time we went next door to Mrs. Crouse, the 6th grade teacher, for some of our classes. I think Mrs. Thompson taught us reading and social studies and Mrs. Crouse had the science and math. I think someone told me Mrs. Thompson’s husband died in the war. I don’t know for sure. I know she struggled as a teacher and us kids didn’t help much. By now Billy Jackson was a handful and we did all we could to urge him on.

The switch between teachers worked the same way in 6th grade. Mrs. Crouse was a short kindly woman. I liked her and she had a better temperament and much better control over her students. She had a daughter in my sister’s grade. I don’t know anything about her husband or any other family. I don’t think I ever saw her again after 6th grade.

There were others. Mrs. Hite was my remedial reading teacher. Remedial reading class was held on the stair steps between the second and third floor. I can remember Mrs. Hite just shaking her head after working with me. I think I got special recognition for being the kid that was in remedial reading the longest. Mrs. Stansbury was the school nurse. She was large and jovial and someone I was always glad to see. She gave us lectures on health and hygiene.

Although I struggled with some of these teachers they all had a positive impact on me in one way or another. In those days I think they were underpaid and didn’t have the training they needed to deal with kids like me. All in all they did a pretty good job!