A personal note:
The first schoolteacher I ever had, Minnie Weems, died Thursday a little more than a month shy of her 99th birthday.
Since the Midway School District did not have kindergarten, Mrs. Weems was the first teacher I had when I began my schooling in August 1962, and I was fortunate enough to have her as a teacher in first and second grade. I remember being a bit disappointed when I began third grade and discovered Mrs. Weems was not going to be my teacher.
Mrs. Weems was already nearing the end of her 43-year teaching career when she had in my class. I would say that perhaps having me as a student pushed her into retirement, but she continued to teach through 1970.
I remember that she always had plenty of books available for me to read and quickly realized that I was more interested in reading biographies of baseball players than books of one-syllable words about talking animals.
She was responsible for helping me and thousands of other students get a good start toward lifelong learning.
It would be nice if all first and second graders could have a teacher like Mrs. Weems.
I hope everyone has been fortunate enough to have had a "Mrs. Weems" in their school years. I did, and will always remember them. (there was more than one)
ReplyDeleteTeachers then dressed, looked and acted the part of a professional. There was always room for a student that needed some extra help. Many times that extra help was with clothing, shoes, or other things that their family could not afford.
The good ole days?? Damn right they were.
Thanks for the tribute to Mrs. Weems. She was my second grade teacher and one of my favorites. She and others at Triway were the best role models possible for me as I began my teaching career. We were fortunate to have been a part of that generation's guidance.
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