A "Pet Peeve"

I was sitting here wondering just what would be a good subject to "vent" about today, and I was reading today's local paper. There it was, on page C7, in the Letters to the Editor, one of my Pet Peeves. And, of course, that stirred me up good This particular pet peeve covers a lot of territory, so bear with me, here goes.

I would not want to be a kid (especially a teenager) today for anything. They have so much more stressful, mentally taxing lives than when I was a kid, or even when my girls were kids. When I went to school, there was no such thing as "Kindergarten" except in the largest schools. We started in the first grade, not knowing how to count, how to recognize our letters, or with no idea how to write or print. We might know our colors, but only if our Moms were really on the ball. We finally learned to write cursive letters when we were in about the third grade, and it was then that we first used a pen and ink. Of course there were no such things as "ball point pens" then. Those didn't come into existence until about 1941 or l942. We actually had to dip our pens into the bottle of ink, and then write. Could sometimes get kinda messy, and boy, the stories that could be told about that. We had "penmanship" classes until we finished the eighth grade - again Oh, the stories. And now there is discussion about the possibility of dropping cursive writing as a school subject altogether. We had eight grades of grammar school and four grades of high school. No "middle school" or "junior high school". We "graduated" from the eigth grade, and we were not "promoted" to the ninth grade. All the girls in the 8th grade had to take a sewing class, and I almost didn't get to graduate because I hadn't finished hand hemming my dischtowels. I also almost didn't graduate, because I could not pass my test on the US Constitution. The only reason I finally got by that one, they never did get around to giving the test again, so I guess you could say I graduated from grade school "by default". By the time we finished grammar school, college was about the last thing on our minds. No one was asking us what college we planned on attending, or what career we planned on persuing. Shoot, we were just kids - not to be worried about such things when we were only 13 or 14 years old. That was time to be a "kid" and enjoy life. The major difference between grammar school and high school was the fact that, in grammar school we had the same teacher for almost all of our classes - usually someone special for music and sewing. In high school we were introduced to choices in some of our classes, and sometime to four or five different teachers every day. Of 160 kids in my high school, I think we had about 7 or 8 teachers. The math teacher taught some of the science classes. The music teacher taught girls PE, Chorus and Spanish. The coach (of all the sports) taught shop. Yes, one coach was for all the sports, and the practices for the sports were held during school hours. Some of those kids lived 15 or 20 miles from school, and out of that 160, only about 4 or 5 drove their own cars to school. One year, the term started with no teacher hired for the commercial classes, so one of the senior boys who was really good at the commercial classes, was our teacher for the first month or two. No one was worried about college applications, or entrance exams, or SAT tests, or anything like that. When I was about 14 or 15, they intoruced an experimental subject into our "Social Studes" class - driver's education. Yes, that's right, driver education. There were two phases - the first being driver education, where we learned the rules of driving, and the road. Then, if we passed the test for that, and were over 15 1/2 years of age, we could take driver's training, which was actual behind-the-wheel training. Passing this class, and the corresponding test, tntitled us to apply for our drive's license. But me, I had to be different. I passed the driver education test (100 questions) at 100 percent, but I was not old enough to go on. So for reasons of another story, I didn't get my license until I was 17 years old.

In about the end of July or early August, you see all the "back to school" sales, and in stores like Walmart you see the "school needs lists - depending on what school the kid is going to be going to, and what grade - of all the things he/she will need. Such things as pencils, ball oint pens, notebooks, writing paper, color crayons, erasers, felt tip pens, rulers, protractors, and even back packs. Whan I attended school, and even when my girls were going, all these things (except maybe the backpacks) were provided to the kids by the schools. I doubt if many of the families could have afforded the items, even had they been required. When we got old enough to participate in the instrumental music program (7th grade) the school provided the instruments, and you usually wound up playing whatever the school had to offer. More about that later. We had a pretty nice orchestra (string instruments included). Would you believe that the lady who was my music teacher in the 7th grade (l942) is still alive and lives in Yuba City?

I was in the last class to graduate from high school without a cap & gown. The boys wore suits, white shirts, and ties. The girls wore floor length formals. And, I think we might have been the last class to graduate from that high school "stone sober". I was told that the next year, several of the class were so drunk they could hardly walk down the aisle. Anyway, things were a lot different then, than now.

And when my oldest daughter went to high school, there was still a pretty strict dress code. I don't believe girls were wearing slacks to high school then, let alone shorts or blue jeans. They did allow what were called "skorts". They were fairly short skirts. At least that's what they looked like from the front. But actually, they were shorts with a skirt in front. That was about as daring as the girls got. And, no such thing as "flip flops" for girls or boys either. On Fridays (or game days) the boys on the teams had to wear slacks, white shirts and ties, even to their own schools, and on the busses to the games. Four years later, things had taken a complete turn around, and it was almost a case of "anything goes". Oh, how times have changed.

When I started this post, I referred to a lettter in todays Letters to the Editor, that got me so stirred up. The writer was asking what happened to the "teachers' pride" he referred to the increased pressure to score high on tests, to the fact that teachers are more concerned about "dress code". I'm not sure, but I think the school she was referring to is one that has gone to a form of uniform, to more or less, standardize the type of clothing, for two purposes. One, to eliminate some of the types of clothing children were trying to wear, and two, to eliminate the wearing of "gang" colors - you know what I mean, handkerchiefs (plaid) around the neck, or on the head, or certain style or color of shirts that would associate them with gangs. She also was asking what had happened to the choirs, bands, and drill tems. In her words, "No money or no desire?" She was trying to remind the teachers of why they are there in the first place. Yes, I sometimes have that same thought - what has happened to today's teachers? Then, I stop and think. I'm not too sure how much of it is the fault of the teachers. I think many, if not most, of them still want to teach, so the student can learn; but with the way things have been going in the last few years, I have to admire anyone who even wants to be a teacher in today's society. It is not just this past year, and the current economy - it has been going on for several years. Costs have risen, and who has to suffer? The kids. What I said above about supplies, is a typical example. Then they cut out rooters' busses to the away-games; then they started cutting down on class field trips. One after another, extracurricular activities for the students have been cut. "Budget" is always the excuse. And now, with the economy the way it is, things must be more and more difficult for the teachers to provide for the students. California has long been one of the poorest states is meeting the standards for high school graduation, and every time I hear that some other school program (staff, supplies, activities, etc.) is being reduced or cut, my blood just begins to boil There's got to be an end somewhere, but where.

Well, I think I have "vented" about enought for one day. Anyway, I did kinda get it off my mind - not really, but at least now you know one of my "pet peeves"- one that really riles me up.
So, bye for now, catch you later -