I was digging through some boxes of old papers and photos in the basement looking for a particular item when I stumbled across my class pictures from my first few years of school in Denver. For all you readers who are younger than dirt, way back in the day, schools had Picture Day where they took the individual student photos like they still do today, then at some point in the year there would also be Class Picture Day, where they would call each class to the cafeteria one at a time, place us on risers and take a picture. I don't have any class pictures after the Denver years. I'm not sure if they didn't do this in the south, or if my parents just didn't bother buying the photos.
Here's my Kindergarten class from Shaw Heights Elementary School in Denver.
I had a red plaid dress with a white collar that I always wore with red tights. For years I looked at this picture and thought that was me all the way on the left in the front row. Then one day I really looked at the people in the photo and realized I was wearing a light blue dress that day and sitting on the second row, second from the right. That little girl on the first row could be my twin, though.
Here's my first grade photo from Juchem (pronounced Yo'-kum) Elementary School.
Okay, now I get why I was so confused! That's me in the red plaid dress with the white collar and the red tights, on end of the first row. I was undoubtedly sick. I spent a lot of time in hospitals throughout my elementary school years and that's my "I'm not feeling so good" look. I had three teachers I thought were beautiful, and Mrs. Hasty was one of them.
We moved a lot because of my dad's job. I went to 11 schools, and by first grade I'd already made my first school transfer. I was lucky enough to be able to stay at Juchem Elementary School all the way through first and second grade.
I was feeling better for my second grade picture. I'm at the right end of the first row, wearing the pink dress and sweater. I loved that dress! My mom made it for me; one of the few dresses I had as a child that wasn't a hand-me-down from my older sister. The dress was a darkish pink and Mom added a heart-shaped pocket out of pink and white striped fabric. Then she made a pinafore out of the striped fabric. It buttoned in the back and had slits in the side to thread the ties on the dress through. I still have that dress in a box somewhere. My little sister wore it and my daughter wore it.
At some point during third grade we moved to Montbello, a suburb of Denver. My first third-grade teacher didn't like me for some reason. She was one of those teachers who had her pets that she was nice to, and to everyone else she was as mean as a snake. She actually had big floor pillows that she let her favorite students sit on and she gave them candy and let them eat it in front of the rest of the class. She was particularly mean to me and I was the least offensive child ever, so I can only guess my mom had butted heads with her. When I transferred to Montbello Elementary School, my new teacher, Miss Walton, was so beautiful and so nice - I loved her! I remember she taught us
The 57th Street Bridge Song by Simon and Garfunkle and whenever the day started dragging, she'd have us all singing,
"...feeling groovy!" Miss Walton was Mrs. Johnson by the time we left Montbello and moved to Texas when I was in 4th grade. (My Texas 4th grade teacher, Mrs. Rogers, was the third beautiful teacher I had.)
What I love about this picture is that I'm standing next to my best friend, Heidi Vieregge, right smack in the middle of the picture, and neither of us had told our parents it was class picture day because we wanted to wear our favorite dresses. As you can tell, we were not girly girls. In fact, if it had been allowed back then I'm sure we both would have been wearing blue jeans and tee-shirts, but it would be a couple more years before girls could wear pants to school (and even then it had to be a pantsuit). Heidi's favorite outfit was a comfortable, faded play dress. My favorite was a purple corduroy jumper that I loved to wear with a red shirt and red knee socks. Has there ever been a child who didn't think at some point in their life that red and purple was the most wonderful color combination possible? I love that the photographer didn't try to hide us two ragamuffins in the back of the class. My mom was not happy that I "forgot" to tell her about picture day!
I think out of all the teachers I had at Shaw Heights, Juchem, Montbello, Schanen and Sanders Elementary Schools, Miss Walton was my favorite. She made such a happy classroom environment that I smile whenever I think of her.
Who was your favorite elementary school teacher?
Comments (16)
We still do the class picture - but few people buy it. Poor Miss Walton! Forced to sit on the lowest riser! I always insist on standing in the back.
I remember pictures like these!! I remember favorite middle and high school teachers.....not sure I had a favorite in elementary school.
I hope they took another shot with Miss Walton standing up, or at least looking towards the class -- the photog needed a lesson in posing group shots! I do love the little ragamuffin in the middle with the purple and red outfit! My kindergarten teacher's name was Mrs. Spinney. By that time I had lost one or two front teeth -- you can imagine the family jokes about how I said her name!
I was home schooled for 2nd grade, and for third to fifth I had Aunt Trudy at a tiny missionary kid school. (We called all adults Aunt and Uncle in the missionary community.) Aunt Trudy was okay but a couple of minor incidents of unfairness helped make me cynical about authority figures for the next three decades.
Mrs. Wehrle in 6th grade was my other public school teacher. It was also a good year.
I remember picture day. Only elementary school though
Favorite elementary school teacher? Easy, Mrs. Lewis in fourth grade, she was a scientist at heart and taught us a lot about that and did experiments with us and had weird song and dance routines for something to help get ideas across.
My teachers were Mrs. Jackson, Mrs. Voorhees, Miss. Parmlee who became Mrs. Amundsen, Mrs. Bertsch and Mrs. Geoghan. I guess maybe Mrs. Bertsch was my favorite. Mrs. Jackson used to accuse the wiggly little boys of having ants in their pants, which kind of horrified me to hear a teacher talk like that. (I was a very sheltered child.) My mother tells me her first name was Lovey.......really.
I loved all of my elementary teachers except Mrs. Baker.
Every time you post older photos I am tempted to do the same.
@TheTheologiansCafe - And every time, I urge you to do it.
WOW! You have these pictures. That is so cool. I don't have anything like this from my childhood. My favorite elementary school teacher was Ms. Franklin, third grade. She is the only one whose name I remember. All I remember from the second grade is standing at the board with my nose in a circle on the chalkboard, standing in the trash can, and being tied to the teacher's desk with jump ropes. She had an interesting theory of punishment. In the fourth grade I was so afraid of the teacher that I wouldn't raise my hand and ask to go to the bathroom. I peed in my pants sitting in my desk. I have no memories of fifth grade. I remember throwing up at my desk in the first grade. We moved between fifth and sixth grade and then again between seventh and eighth grade.
@C_L_O_G - I remember standing at the chalkboard with my nose in a circle! They must have taught that in teacher college. I was such a shy and obedient child, I can only think it was my evil first 3rd grade teacher who found some reason to punish me that way.
Confession: I got caught passing notes in 5th grade and had to stay after school and write lines. That was the only other time I got punished for anything in school.
@saintvi - You're probably right....I guess it is in chapter 3 of the EDU 100 textbook. lol
I love those!
Purple and red is such a good, cheerful combination.You look like the girl I'd have picked to be friends with! Hehe! I would have killed -killed I say - to wear red. My sister alwats got the red clothes and I has green and sometimes black or navy... My favorite teacher in elementary school was Mrs. Armstrong in 5th grade. She let me work independently and I was able to read at a high school level - hehe! I got to read all sorts of books like "The Hobbit"
My pictures would be too embarrassing to post. I do not photograph well. I never liked my teachers. I guess Mrs. Hiel was pretty good. She use to let sit under the table or sometimes her desk during nap time. Now that I think about, she probably put me under her desk to keep me contained.