Evening star., 1942-03-31


get a back-row desk In Miss Kath-
crime Moesser's class and listen to
how a teacher handles the sudden
and dramatic changes in world
geography.
1t made me a little ashamed OF
myself to find how automatically
pushed little seventh graders aside
to get the back-row seat, furthest
away from teacher. The never
changing smell of a school build
ing-it is the same the country over:
combination Of chalk dust, erasers.
blackboards and heavy floor oil
knocked Is years of my age and
before I realized 1t I was acting
exactly as I had In Wheeler's class
in Atlanta long ago.
No sooner had I settled behind
my desk with its little inkwell in
the upper right-hand corner than
I started whispering to the kid next
to me, rummaging around for my
lunch to start nibbling on and
feeling my pocket for a sIngshot.
If had had q mirror in my pocket
I would have shined it in teachers
eyes
But the behavior Of my fellow
pupils Strengthened me up. They
were quiet, attentive, studious and
gave every appearance Of enjoying
school and wanting TO learn.
didn't see a note passed. spitball
thrown or hear one fit Of deliberate.
uncontrolled giggling. When the
hour was up they rose quietly and
left the room instead of charging
the door like individual battering
rams.
The hour in the classroom proved
to me that while many men may
have been born before their time
or after their time, I wasn't one OF
them. was born, insofar as gram
mar school is concerned, just at the
right time. I strictly belonged in
the torture re-teacher-learn- -as-little-
as possible raise -much-cain-as-
you-can-getby-with" group.
The children in this geography
class kept news magazines and cur
rent newspapers in their desk for
reference. I kept toads and sneeze
powder in mine for deviltry. They
seemed to look on their teacher
with affection and respect. I and
every one else in my seventh grade
class except the sissy, who was
elected monitor, looked on all OF
our teachers as scheming, suspicious
old hags who were hired by the
School Board to make our lives
miserable.
Geogra ply today is a subject as
alive as the next second.
A teacher can't get by with a
memorized knowledge Of mountains,
boundaries, principal rivers and chief
products. Things are happening so
fast that a teacher must meld the
old with the new at almost every
lesson.
The class I cluttered up is study
ing Latin America. 1t Is really
studying it and not contenting itself
with learning what zones the coun-
tries are In, the population of the
capital cities and other World AL
manac facts. Young as they are.
the children are alive to the fact
that the good -neighbor policy is
more important than the height OF
the highest peak in the Andes. And.
the names of Cordell Hull and Sum-
ner Welles mean more to them than
that of Bolivar. They realize that
it is nice to know the average mean
rainfall in Argentina. but they would
much rather know why that country
doesn't feel too kindly toward us.
Il don't believe theren be a
failure in my class" the strictly un-
haggish blond and pretty Miss Noes
ser told me. Our schedule hap
pened to call for study of the
Pacific islands two days after Pearl
Harbor. You can imagine how in
terested the children were in that
subject. Australia Is not just a
remote continent to them now. 1t
is the continent where Macarthur
is and from the radio. the news
papers, the conversation of their
parents they realize how important
it is
Recess is over and I am going
home.
And, it feels nice not to have to
carry a note from teacher to mamma
saying. unless Henry's behavior
improves, we will be forced to sus-
pend him"