Quote:
Originally Posted by Eugene Church
My Life in the Early 1940s
My first grade teacher was Mrs. Nelson... she was a really nice old lady... she must have been 70 or so... I remember learning to read with Dick and Jane readers... "See Dick and Jane... See Dick run... See Jane run"... later on they greatly expanded the ensemble to include the dog Spot... then I greatly increased my vocabulary... "See Spot... Spot is a dog... See Spot run."
Hey, I know it sounds dumb... but darn it... it worked... it taught my generation to read darn well... even the poorer students could read fairly well... we didn't have high schoolers reading at elementary levels when they graduated.
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I grew up in the 60s, but I remember that I also learned to read with these Dick and Jane books. I don't know if the other schools used these books, too. I am not from the US, but I was fortunate to be enrolled by my parents in a progressive school, which was also the most expensive school in our city. It was owned by a couple who studied in the US and followed an American-based curriculum called Calvert Method.
It the best thing that my parents did for me. Although I was not a really studious boy, in that school I developed a love for reading, which served me in good stead later in life. (My wife says I devour books). Its progressive, liberal arts curriculum gave me also a good exposure to English Literature, World History, Geography, Poetry, Painting, Sculpture, Architecture and even Greek Mythology (yes,even as kids we had classes in Greek Mythology, which was of my favorites), among other things. Needless to say, it also honed my English speaking and writing skills, too.
Of course, we just did not study all day. It was also there that I learned to play basketball, which is the most popular sport in our country. Playing, by the way, when I was a kid, meant playing outdoors with other kids. I wonder if kids today still do that. My nephews and nieces are so glued to their smartphones, tablets or laptops, so much so that they don't really play with other kids outdoors anymore. Sad to say, this is typical of kids today...
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