MY BOOK ...............LILAGCS B2- 9

Sunday June 3, 2012

Going To Grade School

Fourth, Fith and Sixth Grades

Fourth Grade (Miss Grieves

Going into fourth grade was a bit scary because the fourth grade teacher was the Reynolds’s school principal, Miss Grieves. Everybody talked about how strict she was.

 It was interesting that Miss Grieves was a very good friend of my Grandma Richs’ and she lived in a house close to my Grandma and Grandpa Rich lived. Before I had a chance to get very scared, Miss Grieves cornered me and ask me to use my bicycle to pick up and return movies from the high school building about 8 blocks away toward the downtown area.

 We would have special movies in the gymnasium about 2 to 3 times a week, That meant I was kept pretty busy and the “movie delivery person”. I was also selected to be the crossing guard at the 4^th street intersection north of the school building.

 I would put on my special orange colored belt and strap and position myself at the corner for about a half hour 3 times a day. It was my job to make sure my fellow students obeyed the rules about crossing the street and to report any automobile violators to Miss Grieves.

 Fourth grade was actually a good year as the first three years had been. All of my duties meant I didn’t have to read as much and I found that was a good way to avoid my reading problem. I was promoted to the fifth grade at the end of that school year.

Fifth Grade (Miss Devine)

 My teacher in fifth grade was Miss Devine. Her reputation was that of a very sober person (never smiling) and a teacher that gave a lot of  study assignments. Shortly after I started the third grade my Grandma Logan (Ben) came to me and told me a new renter had just moved into one of their vacant  upstairs apartments in Grandma and Grandpa Bens’ apartment house.

 She told me that the new lady was a teacher at the school that I attended. Her name was Miss Devine! WOW, that was cool, now I had first hand access to my teacher through my Grandma and Grandpa. I thought “How could I be so lucky?” Well I don’t think it was luck, as many other things in my life were not left to luck.

I remember she as me to sit up in the front row which enabled me to see and hear better. I remember I read slow, but she seemed to be very understanding of my reading problem and I hadn’t said anything to her about it.

I remember that she would ask me to go to the grocery store for her when she needed some small item. Grandma and Grandpas’ house was pretty close to a small grocery store on Main street. Miss Devine would always give me a small treat for running the errand for her.

Nothing too exciting happened in 5^th grade but I was really looking forward to my next grade, sixth grade.

Sixth Grade (Mrs. Ditzell)

 Mrs. Ditzell was the only married teacher I had in grade school. The main thing I was attracted to in sixth grade was the art class. I got some really good grades in Mrs. Ditzell’s class as a result of my art and drawing ability.

Again I was able to avoid a lot of reading that I was able to cover up with my art talent. One other thing I remember is that since I was in sixth grade we sixth graders were the “King of the mountain” …we were the seniors of the Reynolds grade school and we liked that status.

My next year, I would be going to a different school. The Lincoln school or West school as it was sometimes referred to. It was on the West side of Main Street where I lived and only 5 block to walk as compared to the 9 blocks to Reynolds school.