“Keep working at the social living, Tracy it will mean much in anything you undertake to do. There are always people to deal with. Try to do it fairly and happily.”
I’m sure I have repressed it, but for the life of me I cannot remember any specific “issues in the area of “social living” that year. Of course, her advice regarding dealing with people fairly and happily has the ring of an eternal truth.
By the 5th reporting period, my hard work was clearly evident. I now had three Very Goods, having added Science to that much sought after box. However, my “personality development” was still going through a bumpy patch. “The way to make and keep friends is to be consistently friendly. Be slow to criticize,” Mrs. MacLean suggested, then closed on an upbeat with, “you have many points in your favor, use them wisely.”
Finally, as I skipped out the door on June 6, 1951, looking forward to another busy Florida summer in the sun and now as a Boy Scout, to enjoy the many activities at Camp Echocotee, I had ended the year somewhere between Very Good and Satisfactory, on average. Mrs. MacLean, bless her, wished me “best wishes… God has blessed you with a very good mind. Try to use it wisely.”
Such good advice rang true for an 11-year-old, and for the somewhat older person that boy became. Mrs. MacLean was wrong about one thing: I was listening. And, I have certainly tried to live up to her expectations and to follow her advice over the years.
Grandson, William, achieved distinction in a far different mix of courses than were offered in the elementary curriculum many years ago. Language Arts is now Honors English, and a foreign language, French. Orchestra complements Physical Education to develop both mind and body. Honors Social Studies, Honors Science, and Mathematics, round out his curriculum.
It would be challenging to compare William’s studies with the curriculum of long ago. Too much time has passed, and there are few objective bases for comparison. I do believe our basic education gave us all the background and tools we needed to move forward in and with our lives.
In Eight grade, two years later, I had a choice of two foreign languages, and Latin, in addition to English. To this day, I remember the Pledge of Allegiance…in Latin.
It is also hard to compare our teachers for many of the same reasons. But again, I remember so many of them as knowledgeable, dedicated and truly concerned for our future welfare and success. With that in mind, a belated, but heartfelt thanks to North Shore teachers, including: Mrs. Stevensen (First Grade), Mrs. Gurr (Third Grade), Mrs. MacLean (Sixth Grade), and to Mrs. Collins (Librarian, and Charles’ mother), for their support, encouragement and dedication to our futures.
It does seem clear that in those post-WWII years the strongest focus and emphasis for elementary education was on helping young people become better people–and citizens–and, to nurture the social skills needed to develop friends, relate better with others, and to work well in a social environment. After all, as Mrs. MacLean’s warning rings in my ears to this day: “there are always people to deal with.”
© Tracy D. Connors 2015-2023 All Rights Reserved
Suggested Citation:
Connors, T. D. (2015-2023). 72 reports that changed and shaped our worlds [Dr. Tracy Connors explores and compares his Sixth Grade report card with a contemporary student.]. In A Southern Boyhood. Retrieved from BelleAire Press: http://www.belleairepress.com/tracy-connors/southern-boyhood/72-reports-that-changed-and-shaped-our-worlds/