Schools Then and Now

When I was a kid back in the 1940s and 50s the California schools were known to be the best in the United States.

Grammar school went from Kindergarten through Eighth Grade, although Kindergarten wasn't required and due to the unexpected influx of kids from the post- World War Two baby boom, some children weren't able to attend Kindergarten. Some first grade classes were held in nearby churches, libraries, or other public buildings and might have as many as 42 students. Lots of new schools and classrooms were built during that time.

Once adequate classrooms were available we normally had 32 students in each classroom.

The only homework we had before High School was studying for a test or completing something we hadn't finished in class. We had two ten minute recesses in the morning, an hour free for lunch, and PE in the afternoon. As well as the academic subjects, our classroom teachers taught PE, art, and music. Every classroom had a piano and being able to play it was a credential requirement.

The schools provided all the books, paper, pencils, etc. students needed.

Of course girls always wore dresses or skirts to school.

Once a week a group of mothers would come in and prepare a hot lunch, usually hot dogs, which kids could buy for a small amount of money. Otherwise we all brought our own lunches in tin lunch boxes or paper bags and, if the weather permitted, we ate outside in the schoolyard.

Children behaved well in school most of the time. We sat quietly and seldom talked in class without raising a hand and being called on by the teacher. If kids didn't follow the rules they'd be kept in at recess or after school and required to write the same sentences about proper behavior many times. California schools did not allow corporal punishment, but if a kid misbehaved so badly that parents were contacted they would usually spank their child at home.

The same text books were used for years, so the schools didn't have to keep buying new ones. Of course there was less history, a lot of scientific discoveries hadn't been made yet, and only basic arithmetic was taught in grade school. But what we did need to learn, we learned well.

I wonder if a child from the 1950s and one from today were to time-travel and take each others' places in school which one would do best. They'd both certainly have a lot of adjusting to do.

Fantasy World - Or Not

I came from The Land of the Walking Dead. It consisted of The Island That Wasn't, The Island That Isn't, and The Unknown Island.

That sounds like something from a fantasy novel, doesn't it? But it's actually true.

I used to live in Alameda, in the San Francisco Bay Area. Back in the 1800s they called it The Land of the Walking Dead because the water table was so high there could be no graves and all bodies had to be buried in nearby Oakland.

Originally the main island was a small peninsula extending into San Francisco Bay, but near the beginning of the twentieth century a channel for boats was dredged through making that part of the small city into an island. I call it The Island That Wasn't.

Bay Farm Island was originally an island but the area between it and Oakland was filled in so it's now actually a peninsula connected to Oakland. There's only a short bridge connecting it to the rest of Alameda. So now I call it The Island That Isn't.

Coast Guard Island is the third part of Alameda. Most of it is taken up by the United States Coast Guard Base and it can only be reached from the rest of Alameda either by water or by driving across a bridge to Oakland, then crossing another bridge a few blocks away. Most residents of Alameda have never been there, so I call it The Unknown Island.

Okay, I must admit my writerly imagination has been active here. If you were to use your imagination to describe your home town what might you say about it?

Learning Styles

I am a visual and Kinesthetic learner. If I only hear something I probably won't remember it, but if I see it or write it down I'm less likely to forget.

There are three basic learning styles and most people have one dominant one. In my case, it's visual, but using a physical action like writing uses the Kinesthetic style. That's my second one. And auditory is my least effective one. I guess I'm not a very good listener.

But all three learning styles are equally valuable, so having any one of them dominant is fine.

Kids do best in classroom situations that allow them to use their primary learning style, and adults find it helpful to know what their dominant style is since that helps them predict what they'll do best.

Do you know yours?

I found out about a link to a website with a quiz that will help people discover what kinds of learners they are.  And don't worry, it's not at all difficult. Just scroll down and follow the arrows from the things you choose.

Here's the link:  http://www.onlineeducation.net/2013/05/28/types-of-learning

Magical Mea

Last year I posted a review of Magical Matthew by Penelope Anne Cole. A sequel to that book has just been released. The title is Magical Mea and it's about Matthew's little sister who got magical powers when he lost his.

Unlike her older brother, Mea is sort of a brat. She uses her magic to get attention and thinks it's funny to fool people and make them upset.

If Mea were the only character in the book kids wouldn't want to read it, but the plot shows her brother and his friend Lily trying to stop Mea from causing trouble.

Since Mea is magical and they aren't, that's not an easy thing to do.

But Mea gets into a situation where her help is needed. Will she finally discover the joy of using her powers for good?

One thing I especially appreciate about this book is the way Lily is portrayed as an ordinary girl in spite of the fact that she uses a wheelchair.

Magical Mea will be a good book for kids experiencing sibling rivalry. While not everyone has a younger sister or brother with magical powers, lots of older brothers and sisters can identify with Matthew's efforts to stop his little sister from causing problems. And they'll find the ending reassuring.

Of course kids without little brothers or sisters will also enjoy the book just because it's fun.

The Ins and Outs of Air

 As with the other books in his series, The Sum of Our Parts,  Bill Kirk has done a great job with The Ins and Outs of Air. This book gives lots of practical, scientific information while being entertaining.

While it's intended for 8 to 12 year olds, the rhymes on each page could be read aloud to younger children, perhaps even Kindergarteners, and the information in the Factoids on each page might be informative to older Middle Schoolers.

Of course Eugene Ruble's illustrations are accurate and informative, too.

When I was a child I had severe, chronic asthma and would have found The Ins and Outs of Air helpful in understanding what happened inside me.

But the book isn't only helpful to kids with breathing problems or others who want to understand those. Any youngsters who are interested in science and how our bodies work would appreciate this book. Like the other books by this author, it would be valuable for schools to have in their libraries.

I think every pediatrician's office ought to have copies of all Bill Kirks' The Sum of Our Parts books in their waiting rooms.

And the details might even keep kids who read it while riding in cars so interested that they'd forget to ask, "Are we there yet?"

Wizard's Hall

In the late 1990s I read the first Harry Potter book before it became a best seller and enjoyed it. However it didn't seem better than lots of other books for kids. I assumed one of the main reasons it sold so well was because, unlike most fantasies, it took place in a school instead of a setting like the Middle Ages. That allowed kids to identify with it.

But this week I read Wizard's Hall by Jane Yolen. This book was originally published in 1991, years before Rowling's book and it's also a fantasy that takes place in a school setting. It's well written, the plot was original, the characters are believable, and it has all the features that make a book good.

So why didn't this book become a best seller? It has gone into a second edition, but never became as famous as the Harry Potter ones. Yolen is an excellent writer who has had lots of other books published so obviously hers must sell well, but she hasn't become an icon like J. K. Rowling.

I wonder what made the difference. Any ideas?

Disasters

Earthquakes. Tornadoes. Bombings. Floods. Shootings. Bridges collapsing. Tsunamis. Wars.

Is it just me, or do disasters seem to be happening more often lately?

About a year ago I blogged about natural disasters here:
http://onwordsblog.blogspot.com/2012/07/disasters.html 
but lots of the bad things that have happened lately are caused by humans.

Of course we hear about things that happen far away much more quickly than we used to because of the internet, so we probably weren't as aware of distant disasters a few decades ago.

When I felt the earthquake last night I went online to Facebook from comments there I immediately learned where and how strong it was.

Thanks to the internet, we can have fast, frequent, personal contact with lots of people who live far from us.

It's a good thing that people are more united than they used to be so we can be friends with those who are different from ourselves. Prejudices haven't gone away, but they're less prevalent than they were in the past.

The quick communication allows us to help each other, too. People all over the world make financial contributions to relief agencies and send supporting messages to others dealing with the problems. Those who travel to help people who need assistance can arrive quickly because they know about the need immediately.

Yes, we have lots of bad things happening, but it's a good thing that people all over the world are learning to care about each other.