4th Grade
This year my son starts 4th grade. It seems like a big leap to me. From primary grades to intermediate grades. He gets to go on the big kids' playground at school.
My fourth grade teacher was Iona Banks. I always meant to go find her and tell her what an influence she had been on me, but I didn't do it before she passed away.
In fourth grade I felt like I could do anything. I loved to learn and somehow Mrs. Banks encouraged me to learn as much as I could about everything, That was the year I grew mold in my room, and asked for a microscope so I could study things scientifically. I remember going around the house and finding things to put under the microscope to study.
I also learned about airplanes. I remember sitting out in the hallway reading books and writing reports on military airplanes. My interest may have been sparked by Tim Brandenburg, who was the cute curly-haired boy I crushed on, but I learned that I could read books - hard books - and learn on my own. In retrospect, I must have been done with my work and that's why I got sent to the hallway. (I'm hoping I wasn't bad like I was in first grade when I had my own "office.")
I also wrote a play that year. Something about Santa Claus.... I remember that I got to cast it and perform it for the class and for parents before we went on holiday break. I know I edited that play, and worked on the words carefully. I found a copy of the play some years ago and have it out in storage. Some day I'll find it again and share it with my kids. I wonder if they will be at all impressed. I wasn't the best speller and I remember Mrs. Banks sending me to the hallway again with the spelling bee study book. She challenged me to learn all the hard words, and tested me on them.
That was the year I thought I could draw! We made a class book and illustrated our poems and short stories. We also had a contest for the cover drawing and I won! I drew a picture of an Eskimo holding a spear.
Now that I'm a teacher, I have a lot of questions about that school year. Did Mrs. Banks make every student feel as capable, as smart, as inspired as she did me? How did she manage to have students working on different projects, at different levels within one classroom? Of course, times were simpler than in some ways, Mrs. Banks didn't have to worry about making AYP or implementing tiered support within her classroom. But something tells me that, even if she did, Mrs. Banks would still have managed to make me feel like a learner, like a person with potential.
I hope my son has as great of a fourth grade year as I did. To me, what he learns isn't nearly as important as how he sees himself as a learner. I want him to feel smart, and capable, and excited about learning new things. I want him to discover the joy of reading about something and wanting to know so much that he's willing to work and work at finding out everything he can.
We'll meet Jed's teacher at the ice cream social tonight. I'm anxious to see how this one measures up to Mrs. Banks.
My fourth grade teacher was Iona Banks. I always meant to go find her and tell her what an influence she had been on me, but I didn't do it before she passed away.
In fourth grade I felt like I could do anything. I loved to learn and somehow Mrs. Banks encouraged me to learn as much as I could about everything, That was the year I grew mold in my room, and asked for a microscope so I could study things scientifically. I remember going around the house and finding things to put under the microscope to study.
I also learned about airplanes. I remember sitting out in the hallway reading books and writing reports on military airplanes. My interest may have been sparked by Tim Brandenburg, who was the cute curly-haired boy I crushed on, but I learned that I could read books - hard books - and learn on my own. In retrospect, I must have been done with my work and that's why I got sent to the hallway. (I'm hoping I wasn't bad like I was in first grade when I had my own "office.")
I also wrote a play that year. Something about Santa Claus.... I remember that I got to cast it and perform it for the class and for parents before we went on holiday break. I know I edited that play, and worked on the words carefully. I found a copy of the play some years ago and have it out in storage. Some day I'll find it again and share it with my kids. I wonder if they will be at all impressed. I wasn't the best speller and I remember Mrs. Banks sending me to the hallway again with the spelling bee study book. She challenged me to learn all the hard words, and tested me on them.
That was the year I thought I could draw! We made a class book and illustrated our poems and short stories. We also had a contest for the cover drawing and I won! I drew a picture of an Eskimo holding a spear.
Now that I'm a teacher, I have a lot of questions about that school year. Did Mrs. Banks make every student feel as capable, as smart, as inspired as she did me? How did she manage to have students working on different projects, at different levels within one classroom? Of course, times were simpler than in some ways, Mrs. Banks didn't have to worry about making AYP or implementing tiered support within her classroom. But something tells me that, even if she did, Mrs. Banks would still have managed to make me feel like a learner, like a person with potential.
I hope my son has as great of a fourth grade year as I did. To me, what he learns isn't nearly as important as how he sees himself as a learner. I want him to feel smart, and capable, and excited about learning new things. I want him to discover the joy of reading about something and wanting to know so much that he's willing to work and work at finding out everything he can.
We'll meet Jed's teacher at the ice cream social tonight. I'm anxious to see how this one measures up to Mrs. Banks.
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