It is definitely that time of year. Back to school time!! The buses started rolling through my neighborhood again on Monday. Most of my friends have sent their children (or college kids) back to school and I have read several posts that have included back to school thoughts and photos. I’ve enjoyed them all. I’ve blogged before about my own children going back to school and our best memories there…so, today I thought I would post a bit about my own school memories. If nothing else, the photos are interesting. And there’s my hair! Oh my. By the way, do you remember getting dressed up for picture day? Look at my brother in his little suit jacket!!:)
Growing up, it was me and my brother. We are only 16 months apart and so were only one grade apart going through school. Elementary school – which for me was first through sixth grade – was wonderful. There was one bus that brought in about thirty kids from…well, I don’t know where. But for the most part, the school was all neighborhood kids. We all walked to school (on our own), knew (almost) all the other the families, and spent the day with our friends. My mom was a stay-at-home – as were all the moms – and she (literally) welcomed us home every afternoon with snacks and milk. Life truly was good.
My brother had, shall we say, the “larger personality” of the two of us and, although I was older, I was often known as “Scott’s sister.” But, honestly, I was fine with that. We each had our own classrooms, teachers, etc. ,and both did well in school. Those early years were wonderful years for me!
And then came the “middle years.” Right before I started eighth grade, my family moved about an hour further out. Out to the country, as we called it. Of course, this meant a new school, new friends and new everything. My brother and I attended the same school (they were called Junior High Schools back then) and some of our teachers began to overlap. Being “Scott’s sister” began to be more of a challenge. I was not a wallflower by any means and don’t even know that I was always compared to my brother…..unless, it was me who was doing the comparing. However, my brother was smart, athletic, talented and very popular. I always felt challenged to “keep up.”
Yes, this me around that age – I think ninth grade. Junior High was seventh through ninth grade. Apparently, I was uber excited about my Christmas gift here. I actually remember what it was but we won’t go down that rabbit trail. Some (I might even say most) of my best school memories during this time were because of a very special teacher. Miss Tomlinson, my AP English teacher. What a tremendous difference this lady made not only in my school year, but in me personally. Each of her students were individuals – and she not only taught us but also treated us as such. Each one of us were, in her opinion, full of potential with our own wonderful talents and abilities. In her class, I was not simply someone’s sister. She helped me not only discover my own talents but also helped me learn to believe in myself. She was a wonderful person and gifted teacher, and made a life long impression on me. Never underestimate the influence of a great teacher.
One fun memory. I enjoyed working on the school newspaper and did so for quite awhile. Imagine my surprise when Miss Tomlinson asked me to be the editor of the paper. Me?? The team player who was plenty comfortable just following the leader – not being the leader! I could not imagine being the editor. And I turned her down. Or so I thought. She was confident that I could do this job and, eventually, she gave me that confidence and I took the job. Not only was it alot of work but came with lots of fun, extra (out of class) privileges. I even would leave school to walk the paper downtown to be printed by our local newspaper. It was so cool. I was so cool:)
Having s
omeone (other than my parents and grandparents) believe in me, not just as an editor but as a student and as a person – especially during those wonderful middle school years – was huge. It made a difference in me that lasted for years. Speaking of my grandparents, they definitely were the head of my fan club. If I had a fan club. With their love and encouragement, and teachers like Miss Tomlinson, I not only survived middle school but actually seemed to “blossom”!
Were the middle school years the best? Maybe not. But they weren’t horrible. The beginning of high school was not the worst either. I had my own set of friends and was not constantly in my brother’s shadow. Life was pretty good. Until twelfth grade. It was definitely the worst of my school years. We moved. Again. But, I am not going there. It was a loooong time ago and I will just stick with the good memories.
One last picture. This was probably eleventh grade. I am, of course, the one with the hair. It was actually very popular. My nod to Farrah Fawcett perhaps. It was just so incredibly thick and took sooo long to wash and blow dry every morning. But I stuck with it! I would love to know one of your favorite teachers. Can you remember the names of all your elementary school teachers? I sure can. If you know a great teacher – tell them thanks!! And thanks for reading some of my memories.
What a great post. I really enjoyed reading your memories of school. I liked most all of my teachers, even the ones that most kids seemed to hate. Thanks for sharing your memories.
Thanks much, Cathy!
I loved walking down memory lane with you and love the pictures. Even though we were in school at different times (I went through the 80’s to late 90’s) I feel like we have a lot in common during those times. The older more popular siblings and being on the school newspaper to name a few. I look back at my school pictures and laugh at my hair cuts. One year I had the short Dorothy Hammel hairstyle and many years I had it permed. Nowadays the style is boys is the mullet haircuts and girls wearing ripped jeans and crop tops.
Dawn, memories of the school newspaper? That is fun! Do they still do those in school? I have no idea…but I always enjoyed it much more than the yearbook crew. I have to say I’m not a huge fan of mullet haircuts. There is a reason those went out of style!!
Hi Jennifer, I think you are the Jennifer that has commented on my blog. I really enjoyed reading about your school days. I had 3 older siblings that were very successful in school and I had a lot of teachers through the junior high and high school years that felt they needed to tell me that I wasn’t like them. Chuckle. I did have some great teachers for which I am very thankful. Cute photos from the past. If you visit me again could you leave your blog address in your comment so I can find you easier? I see I can’t subscribe to automatically see when you have a new post. Thank you in advance. Blessings…
Ellen – I am so glad you found your way to my blog…and sorry I did not make that easier. I am never sure how the comments come through – with my name? blog address? Who knows…but thanks for making the effort!!
Hi Jennifer~ What wonderful memories! I loved the pictures, you still look the same… Very beautiful! The pictures of you and you brother are priceless… don’t you just love those school photo’s?! You are lucky to be blessed with thick hair, it’s gorgeous. No wonder you are such a good writer – editor of the high school newspaper is an awesome job! What a great opportunity for you at that time in your life!
I remember grade school, somewhat. Junior high, 7th and 8th grade are a little fuzzy. High school has a few good memories, but it wasn’t the best time for me. I got married, to Bob, my husband, when I was a senior, I had a month left of high school, and did great, despite what my parents and everyone else thought I would do. I guess I just needed stability, and Bob gave that to me. School obviously wasn’t my thing ;0) But, I love other’s good, positive memories of their school days! I am a firm believer in a good education and know many good teachers, like the one you had, we need them in our school rooms! I actually taught kindergarten, which was a wonderful time in my life, I just loved it!
After school starts here, life get quiet outside. We live in a farming community, so grain is being cut and straw is being baled. Farmers are getting ready for the potato harvest, and my own garden in starting to show signs that fall is indeed right around the corner. I hope it’s beautiful in your part of the world! Fun post to read! Hugs, Barb
oh my goodness, Jennifer, I remember those blue and white paper frames around school pictures. those were the days! thank you for taking us down memory lane today as the next generations get to take their next big steps forward in a challenging world.
and yes, I was the one with the hair, too. my dad used to kid me that i had to walk through the door sideways.
Very fun post to read- to get to know Young Jennifer, if you will, a little bit. My sister had a much more engaging, outgoing personality than I did. She was very popular. I was a little jealous of her, truthfully, but mostly proud to be the little sister of someone popular! Love your hair in those pictures- very impressive! And the story of the adults who believed in you and got you to step outside of your comfort zone to be the leader of something really neat.
Thanks Maria! My hair was certainly…impressive. As in, it left an impression alright:) Always glad when you stop by, my friend!! Thanks.
Enjoyed your photos and memories. My mom also was a stay-at-home mom. That photo of you at Christmas reminds me of some photos of both my sister and I with that same reaction! Your living room with the fire place and wood paneling looked similar to my living room growing up.
Ohh to think back – good memories and some bittersweet. My family, even my younger sister and my half brother have all passed. I’m the only one left. So when I look back, I miss them and those simpler times.
Thanks for sharing. Lovely post.
Debby – so glad you stopped by and that you enjoyed not only some of my memories but some of yours as well. Hard to imagine being “the only left”…I still have my brother but we are the two left. Sobering, for sure. Thanks for you nice thoughts….have a great weekend, Debby.
Jennifer, reading here this morning was like reading about my own school days. I attended school in a three room schoolhouse and I do remember each of the teachers names…Mrs. Thorn, Mrs. Connor, Mrs. Russell. All three of them were really good teachers, but Mrs. Russell (my fifth and sixth grade teacher) was the one I would compare to your Mrs. Tomilson. I was always shy and lacked confidence, but she helped me grow in that area so much during the two years that I had her. Junior high my favorite teacher was my science teacher (and I did not particularly care for science)but Mrs. Core loved each of her students and believed in them. I corresponded with her for years after I graduated high school and was married. There are two teachers from high school that really stood out to me…Mr. Brooks (sophomore geography) and Mr Weber (senior POD teacher). Both of these men were such gentlemen and took the time with their students, regardless of what the student’s background was. They both encouraged me to always do my best. Thank you for sharing your memories that have triggered all of these memories for me. xx
I was so fortunate to have lots of great teachers along the way and since we live in a pretty small town I was able to keep up with many of them for years far beyond the ones where I was in their classroom. I had to switch schools in 3rd grade– my sister and I went from a very small, private, catholic school to what felt like a huge public school (I’ve since realized that our public school was actually pretty tiny too but larger than the private school!). It was a tough transition at first but it was nice to have a larger variety of students to pick some friends from.
Such a great post. Being back in our hometown has forced me personally to remember things, lol. Wishing you a beautiful weekend.
My elementary years were much the same. Such a happy carefree time! I went to Jr. High which was just 7-8 and then highschool was 9-12. I have mostly happy memories of all of my school years, except perhaps 7th grade. My highschool was enormous and you had to find your place. I was part of our church youth group and we were close knit which really helped in the teen years.
What an interesting post! I really enjoyed my teenage years at school. In fact, I am meeting three of the friends I met there on Friday – we’ve known each other for 55 years. How can that be?