I'd like to explain part of the reason why it was such a surprise to me to find out our classes were segregated in Grade School.....
Fifth Grade.
I was in Mr. Dietzer's class. (All the girls swooned over Mr. D.).
Eggheads like Vicky and Allen S. were in this class.
If that was the extent of it, maybe I would have noticed the fly in the ointment.
But it wasn't.
I sat next to a guy that shall remain nameless for reasons almost immediately obvious. His first initial was S.
I don't know how old S. was.......
two years older than the rest of the class?
Three?
(Maybe Four?)
Shy......Tough........ Nice guy.......
Stank!
Body odor was bad.....breath was worse.
Time for the History lesson, and S. has no textbook.
I'm reasonably sure his family had no money for textbooks......
he wore the same clothes to school every day.
Mr. Dietzer would say, "S., pair up with someone so you can read along."
S. would look around, a little embarrassed.
My classmates, swell folks that they were, looked the other way and whistled a little tune to themselves.
(At least they didn't put fingers in ears and hum "Lalalala"!)
I always felt sorry for S., and scooted over so he could invade my airspace.
And always.....ALWAYS, I was immediately sorry that I had done it.
He had pathology goin' on in that mouth.....
Breath so bad it brought tears to my eyes.
Breath so bad it may have taken a couple years off my life.
I joke now......
it wasn't a joking matter then, and it isn't now for kids that poor.....
those that obviously don't have parents involved in the tiny details of their lives.
S. couldn't read.
Mr. D. would call on him to read, and I prompted him through the reading to get it done before the hour was over.
I can't guess at what his I.Q. was.......it's incidental......
it wasn't stratospheric.
So, in that class we had the eventual class of '65
Co-Valedictorian,
(was the other Co-V. also in that class? I can't remember),
and some poor guy with B.O.,
the worst Halitosis I've ever experienced,
who was functionally illiterate.
How was I to know I was in a Segregated classroom?
It sure didn't seem like one.
(If you're interested, the original post is here.)
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6 comments:
GB....I don't think we were "segregated" until 7th grade. I remember taking a test giving by Mr. B in 6th gr. Matter of fact it made such an impression I still remember a couple of the questions. Can you believe that when today I can't remember what I had to eat last night? Anyway, on the first day of school in the 7th grade we all went to the gym. He called out the names for the 1st section and those students left and went to their homeroom. Then the 2nd section; etc. I WAS HEART BROKEN. All of my friends were gone in the top sections. I had worked hard on my grades and loved school since day one; but no more. I cried and begged my mother and dad to let me to another school. That didn't happen and I carried on. But my grades didn't matter any more to me. I was so embarrased.
I really to this day don't know what happened back then as far as those tests go. I do remember having math races at the blackboard with A.Smith. I thought he knew the answer before the teacher gave the question!! HA
Hope I didn't bore everyone with this....but that was the was it was (for me anyway!)
GB...My yearbooks are lost. I think they are with Jimmy Hoffa in PT's garage. So, it's hard to come up with certain names for me and also see what my classmates wrote in my yearbooks...DARN!
Interesting, BMG.
As I have said, I was totally unaware of the process, so you may be right about the separation beginning at 7th Grade.
My impression is that Grades were not the determinant as to which section you were in. I think it was some sort of "aptitude" that was indicated by the tests we had taken in Grade School. My grades, by the time we started Jr. High, were substandard. Yet I apparently ended up in what is pointed out as one of the "upper sections."
I hope others can shine a little light on this subject.
I don't think I had a clue as to anything even being called segregation back then, or what it was. I must have lived in my own little world.
I never thought to question any great leader about anything or even knew if I could.
I pretty much took everyone at their word.
I do remember the intelligence tests every couple of years and even enjoyed them. I always did well on them.
I know when I went to my classes, there were all levels of intelligence going on in there though. I never felt like I was being seperated or anything.
The only time I would have even thought segregation was in so many of my classes, the boys in sports were given preference over the girls and were given special treatment. I felt the girls were overlooked in many areas. That is just my opinion.
I guess I lived in the age of innocence, but it served me well.
I remember our senior year when Indiana Bell came and tested us, I must have done okay then since they hired me before I graduated.
I think our pressure back then was alot less than what these kids face now.
They start them so early in kindergarten, pre kindergarten and pre school, my question is,
When do they get to be kids???
Kids have to have the time to be kids, no worries, no pressure, just fun.
No wonder they have so many problems with the kids nowadays.
Mr. Dietzer's class....now that brings back memories! Do you remember that our first semester we were in the Shop Building? I think it was after Christmas break that we got our spankin' new sparkly classroom. I loved it. I remember that when it was too cold to go out that winter at recess we had a jacks tournament! Whoopee...even some boys joined the fun.
Awww Yes, Mr. D.
I didn't have him, but I sure can remember his plesant smiling face. He always had such a positive aura around him.
Another teacher I thought did alot for us was Mr. Hillenburg in the 6th grade.
He got permission for us to have a long recess on Fridays and all the classes played vollyball and tether ball.
I hope those two men know how much they did for our lives and how much we appreciated them.
Some teachers just stand out. We were lucky with these two.
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