100 years ago (give or take a few years) I was a public school teacher on the north side of Tulsa, Oklahoma at Burroughs Elementary School. I married in 1969, finished my practice teaching in Tulsa, and then got my first job in January of 1970, the middle of that school year. My first class was 23 of the cutest first grade children you will ever see. We had a contest on who could teach the other the most that year. They won hands down. I wish I could say that the University of Arkansas’s education program gave me the tools I needed to meet the needs of these 23 kids.
I did what I did by instinct, trial and error, determination and love. For the next 8 years I did the very best I could, getting in trouble because my methods weren’t traditional and were frowned upon, such as my teaching of phonics by making up songs and playing, singing, and dancing with my students. The kids opened my eyes to what they needed and I did my level best to give it to them.
Every year I remember my first class of students, plus the classes that followd. I hope that the kids are fired up to learn by teachers who are giving their all, trying to make a difference.
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