The Worst School Day Ever

1969 was a memorable year for many reasons: a new president was inaugurated (Nixon), humans first walked on the moon, the NY Mets won the World Series (worst to first in one year), and I had to attend school on a Saturday.

Saturday school, ugh. 

Can you imagine?

The combination of snow days, holidays and an, extra (leap) day meant the last day of school would be on a Monday, so the teachers union worked out a deal with the administration to end the year on a Friday instead. The teachers agreed to work one Saturday in the spring of my 4th grade year.  

Obviously, the lunchroom people, custodians, bus drivers, crossing guards, and administrators all had to be on the same page. Not ending on a Monday must have been really, really important to everyone.

On the appointed day, instead of watching cartoons, including the new Batman/Superman Hour, catching frogs, climbing trees, or riding bikes with my friends, we waited for the bus to take us to school.

Once there, they divided the kids into two groups: the “good kids” and the “bad kids.” I suspect it might have been about who was doing their work and who wasn’t, but I’m not really sure. I remember pleading my case to be placed in the “good kids” group but it was to no avail. Apparently, I was a "bad kid."

The “good kids” basically played outside most of the day, except when they went to the cafeteria to watch a movie. My group stayed in one classroom and did work all day long. When we got to go outside it was for a normal recess, not the super-long outdoor time the other kids got. We did not get to watch a movie. 

It wasn’t fair. I could see and hear my friends running around outside while I was doing work. They played kickball, red light/green light, freeze tag, red rover and everything. They were having a blast. For me, it was like torture.

Do I sound bitter?

Yes?  

Yes, I am. After all these years, I’m still a little mad about going to school on a Saturday. It was the worst school day ever. 

The Book Wall

 As you probably know, I enjoy reading. I read all kinds of books, both fiction and non-fiction. Naturally, I read a lot about science, but if you look over the books I’ve posted near the door of room 22, you’ll see a wide range of topics - science, music, memoir, history and historic fiction.

I’ve been on a little bit of a reading roll lately.  The posted books are the ones I’ve read or listened to since Christmas. It helps to read really good books - they go faster and you really, really want to turn to the next page and keep going. Believe me, I’ve slogged through my share of books that were not very good and each page was an accomplishment. 

Even if I find a book is not very good, I’ll often finish it anyway - for two reasons: It may turn out to be worth my time and energy anyway, and, because I don’t like to give up (but I do sometimes).

I think I started reading a lot in middle school. I remember spending a lot of time in the library. I have a really distinct memory of walking home from school reading Reach for the Sky: The Legless Ace of World War 2 by Paul Brickhill. I was so captivated by it, it’s a wonder I didn’t wander into traffic. (It’s also on that very short list of books I have read more than once.)

I promise you can find something to read, or listen to if you hunt a little. There have been about 150,000,000 books published, soooo I’m pretty sure you can find something on literally any topic you might enjoy. 

Pick up a book - it can take you to the other side of the universe, far into the future, back into the past, introduce you to amazing people, and take you to magical places right here and now.