Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1958-03-16
THEN

III 1870, III cCItOul uullb VI
stone in 1905 to last to eternity,
Miss Emily Williams begins her
second grade class promptly at
Miss williams has had two
years Of normal school, IL of
teaching. She lives with and sup
ports her aging, infirm mother.
At 80, her marital prospects are
dim.
! She leads the class in the nag
salute. and the singing of "Aner-
ica." She calls the roll, and most
answer there" OF present" Two
boys, of course, answer "presi-
dent" and Miss Williams signs.
The sounds rise in a high-ceil-
inged room, past walls of brown
oak wainscoating and creamy plaS-
ter. In one corner is long pole
to open the tall windows. The
front of the room is dominated by
a long slate blackboard and, over
it. Stuart's unfinished portrait Of
Washington, two pictures of lilies
and rabbits and the letters of the
alphabet, in carefully measured
penmanship.
Nigidly facing front, desks and
chairs are bolted down and braced
with elaborate black iron work.
Each desk has an inkwell in the
upper right corner, pencil slot,
open shelf underneath for books.
contraband gum. And. carved in
wood are the marks of those who
have passed before.
Announcements by Miss Will
liams: Red Cross pennies will be
collected tomorrow =. Now about
snowballs. Adults have complained.
Throwing snowballs at adults will
have to stop. 1t is disrespectful.
1t reflects on the schools good
name.
Hereafter" Miss williams con-
cludes. ANY student found throw
ing snowballs at adults will be re-
ported to the principals Office ="
The ultimate punishment.
1T is time" says Miss Williams
at 9:10.. Ito open your arithmetic
books to page 81" The pupils drill
on addition combinations. They
drill orally and in writing and in
either case posture, neatness, uni
formity become part of the lesson.
The Sum of
"The sum Of 7 and S is r."
1.-THE sum Of and 8 is 16." :.
Reciting, the student stands to the
right of his desk, feet firmly on
the floor, leans forward slightly.
both hands firmly on the book. no
part of his body touching his desk.
In the written drills. they are
reminded by Miss Williams to
write name and date in the upper
right hand corner. leaving a half
inch margin. and to place the
numbers firmly on the lines.
9:52: Whispers in the third row.
Girl giggles. Teacher to giggler:
"Helen, suppose you tell the whole
class about the joke SO we can all
enjoy it," Helen bushes. mumbles,
falls silent. Glass laughs at her.
This is the punishment intended.
1913: 1T is time to open our
readers to page 49," Each child
reads aloud a sentence about fairy
princes and talking foxes and
other creatures.
1O:45: Drill on families of
words" In her precise Palmer
method handwriting. Miss Will
liams writes on the board, which,
when, while, where, whittier. why"
Using a long pointer. she asks
what these words have in common.
Hands stab the air. Tommy
thinks they all have five letters.
-. Alice sees they all begin with
wv" Hands wave desperately
until Gerald ends the suspense:
They all begin with VIII"
Nov, how does 'wh' sound?"
asks Miss Williams, and the class
whews. Nov let us pronounce
the words together - and the
class blows back fresh to strong
winds.
11:O5: Its time for physical
training. Stand on the right side
Of your desk breathe deeply.
We should always breathe so that
our chests are fully expanded.
Now when I say /, inhale deeply,
2, exhale. Stand up straight.
Billy, your shoulders are dropping