Sunday, September 11, 2005

South Hills Country Day School (it hasn't been the same since)

At the age of four, my mom enrolled me in the South Hills Country Day School. I found my yearly report in an old box of childhood stuff and reading it, I realized that the teacher had me pegged pretty well even then, and I have not changed a whole lot since that time. For example:

"Does nice work in all types of constructive play. Very capable of doing delightful work with paint but is still too busy experimenting with all of our equipment to concentrate for long on one piece of work. " Could this have been ADD? I still exhibit signs of a short attention span with everything except flower arranging and blogging!

" Loves music time. Carries a melody delightfully". (That's twice already she used the word delightful). That has changed, as NO ONE would describe my singing that way now, but I do still love nearly all types of music.

"Judy has an excellent vocabulary and expresses herself well". I like to think I still do. Of course, I cuss every now and then, but I intersperse the cussing with some big words just to keep them fresh in my mind.

Under the category "Ability to play with others": "Is in the process of adjusting. Consideration of the group will grow." Hmmmm....maybe. Sometimes I still try try to control things, so maybe I have not grown much here.

In the category, "Ablity to face situations": " It is not easy for Judy to conform to group rules. She understands but disobeys in order to gain attention. This comes from being an only child and the constant center of attention at home. Sometimes sullen. Faces most situations squarely - sometimes fits her stories to suit the needs of the moment." LOL! My husband would often say I am sullen, I suspect, and he thinks I change my stories to fit the moment (but I don't), or that I cry on cue to make him sympathetic (which I don't).

And here is the kicker: "Disliking the job of cleaning up, she has no problem persuading others to do her tasks." LOL, again. I remember a kid in this class who was being mainstreamed. I don't think they called it that in 1945, but he was 5-6 years older than the rest of us and classified as learning disabled (yes, I know they called it retarded back then. Such a horrible term). Joe was especially eager to please, mainly as a way to be included in the group. He proved time and time again that he would do anything I asked of him; such as putting away the toys I had been playing with, rolling up my sleeping bag after nap time, and pushing me on the swings at recess. He even ate the snacks I deemed too putrid to consider.

Since then, I have learned how to put away my own messes and clean up after my family, but I often wish I had a "Joe" to help me now. I wonder what ever happened to him?

The thing I remember most about the time at this school was that during rest time, we had to remove our shoes and slip into quilted "napping bags". I always removed my socks too, which was a No-No, according to the teacher. The rationale was that bare feet would be unsanitary, but I could not stand to lie in that sleeping bag with my socks on. The feel of it was something akin to that horrible sound you get when you scrape your fingernails on the blackboard. I just couldn't take lying there, day after day, with my socks on. So every day, about 5 minutes into the "nap" I would slide my hands down into the bag and take off my socks - and everyday the teacher would yell at me and make me put them back on. I finally learned to do it so surreptitiously that she was unaware - and did it everyday for the rest of the year. I really do think she was very happy when it was time for me to move on to the first grade!

I am well aware that this is the fourth anniversary of 9/11. I was going to post photos of the WTC taken over the years on our trips to the city, but I decided not to, since you have all been bombarded with those images time and time again. The most important thing we can do today is remember those who died due to terrorism perpetrated by cowards and evil men. We must never forget, and we must do all we can to make certain it will not happen again.

25 comments:

Jon the Intergalactic Gladiator said...

That's neat how you have those saved. I don't have mine from way back, but they would say stuff like "Jon is smart but he needs to pat attention."

Michele sent me!

kenju said...

Jon, my later school reports always said "she daydreams too much", and "doesn't work to capacity"......LOL

Anonymous said...

Good morning. I love to look back on old papers and report cards from my childhood. Noltstalsia...

Michele sent me.

rashbre said...

Interesting to see the papers and reports. I think my equivalent is somewhere in our garage - which is in need of major overhaul.

I see you are from N.C. I'm a Brit who has visited Charlotte and Raleigh. I remember the last time I was in Charlotte being amazed how much the city had grown!

Michele sent me.

Kim said...

Good morning! Michele sent me!

poopie said...

Heh...you sound a whole lot like me!

OldHorsetailSnake said...

I like the way the teacher blamed your parents for your being "sullen." (She's an only child, don't you see? Get busy, Mom and Dad.)

Anonymous said...

Hey there, Michele didn't send me this time--I just came back because I wanted to! I think my favorite story is the one about you not taking off your socks at naptime. I would also get in trouble then too just because I would refuse to actually go to sleep--I always wanted so badly to be the Wake-up Fairy, but you had to be a good naptaker for that job, so I never got it :( I'm obviously scarred for life!

brendalove@gmail.com said...

"This comes from being an only child and the constant center of attention at home."

Wow, if a teacher wrote that on a report card nowadays, can you imagine the parents' reaction? The teacher would probably get sued or something!

Jean-Luc Picard said...

Great post, Judy! Report cards can be a great laugh.

Here via Michele.

ribbiticus said...

i would have liked having comments like those written on my report card. nowadays, teachers just seem to be content with just giving you the grade for that quarter and nothing else. sigh...here by way way of michele. :)

amarkonmywall said...

Ah- obstreperous from the get-go. I knew it. Creative from the beginning. I knew it. I'm always impressed with how personality persists over time. Glad yours has, too!

Jamie Dawn said...

So, you were a bossy, messy manipulator, and you sang as you inflicted false stories on people. (Tee-Hee)
Isn't it the funniest thing to read about yourself as a little girl. At least you were "delightful." And you still are!

Jamie Dawn said...

Michele didn't send me. I don't know who Michele is.

Unknown said...

It is amazing how freely a teacher could tell a parent things about a child. These days, a teacher would be in a whole lot of hot water if they said This comes from being an only child and the constant center of attention at home.

Funny post!

Anonymous said...

I do love going through old school reports, they're always amusing!

Anonymous said...

Jeez, that sounds familiar... ;)

And on your other topic, may the cowards that think they are terrorists step off and realize that they ultimately will never help their cause by hurting other innocent people.

carmilevy said...

Hi Judy. Thank you for reminding us how important those early years comments from teachers are. My wife is a Kindergarten and 2nd Grade teacher, and she treats her report cards with such reverence, literally sweating every last detail to make sure that she is fair and thorough.

I loved your comments on the comments. Priceless.

TLP said...

I enjoyed reading this very much!
I read "clever" as the answer to each item. You were a smart little kid!

TLP said...

I enjoyed reading this very much!
I read "clever" as the answer to each item. You were a smart little kid!

dena said...

I adored reading this. I love that your teacher wrote such a detailed account of your life at school. I wonder if she knew she was creating a such a wonderful treasure. I don't think many teachers give such accounts.

visiting from michele's this evening.

The Mistress of the Dark said...

My turn to visit you. I don't think I ever had a report card that ever had any progress written on it like that. I feel cheated.

Here via Michele.

Oh and I have the photoblog post done now.

srp said...

I don't remember if we had many comments or not. I know my folks always paid particular attention to the "Conduct" grade. Somewhere, in a box, in an attic or storage, there must be some of my report cards. Someday...

Peter said...

Hi Judy, I don't have any of my old school reports, which is a blessing, as I don't recall being a good student or very interested in school, sad huh?
Among the WTC photos you mentioned do you happen to have any when it was being built? I have a desire to do a history of the WTC sometime and haven't come across any of its construction.

Kay Dennison said...

LOL You were a lil' dickens as my granny would have said. No one thought of me as delightful -- I was a little tomboy who thought sitting still was a waste of time.