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Popped over to Harmony Club this morning to see what Deb was up to.
She had had an e-mail.
"You know the type....list your whatever. This was a 'list you first' list. So here goes. Those readers that are bloggers can follow suit on you own blog."Thanks Deb for the idea.
My First Boyfriend??????? My First Kiss?????????????
I think I'll give those two a miss.
But I do remember my First School and my First Teacher.
I have already put this little picture up before. I have loads of old pictures of me as a kid but this is the only one in uniform.
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The school was called Brunnaker, in Northfield Road, but was in fact in Kings Norton.
My mother proudly marched me off to the Co-Op to get my new uniform.
The Co-Op only sold three colours of caps and blazers in those days
"Navy Blue"
"Bottle Green"
and the one for this school was
"N****r Brown"
Now why on earth have I typed 'asterisks'...?
The Co-Op wasn't a racist organisation, the school had no racist leanings.........I certainly saw nothing wrong with singing "Eeny Meeny Miney Mow"...etc. as a child.
Anyway back to the first school and my first report.
It was called a 'Terminal' Report.
This sounds as if I was about to be expelled or go down with some dreaded disease!!
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Spring 1949
It was not a good report, but then I was probably not a 'good little boy' in those days.
I can't imagine why my mother kept it, but she did and I have a little bit of my past to ponder over.
"Bernards' work has been rather disappointing
this term as he has not tried very hard
in most subjects. However he has
made progress, especially in reading.
He must try to develop a sense of
responsibility towards his work and not
always be wanting to play.
Conduct. Fairly good."
My response..."All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy"
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And Times Late - 2 (I wonder if they do this today?)
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I have something similar all packed up in boxes thankfully so I can't replicate it... but one outstanding phrase which stuck with me all my life... Sage does not always give willing obedience... lol xx
ReplyDeleteWell Sage, I'm glad you have it safely packed away, and that it has not been thrown out in your de-cluttering.
ReplyDeleteI think 'not giving willing obedience' is a good thing. I think more people should challenge what they are told to do rather than meekly accept everything. Even more so with this present government.
I was a good student. I was fortunate that most subjects just came easy to me. However, the haunting comment that was always present on my reports..."too quiet".
ReplyDeleteMy daughter followed in the 'too quiet' and when I would meet with her counselor and hear that comment I'd say, "I was that way in school, as well". To which I'd get the response, "You? You are joking, right?"
I've changed.
I had similar reports. "must try harder" "Elizas work disappointing this term"
ReplyDeleteOh weren't you cute! I hated school, the only thing I was good at was art. As a grammar school, we were nudged towards either teaching or the armed forces, neither of which appealed to me.
ReplyDeleteI liked the outdoors and when my teacher saw that I had ticked both "forestry" and "pig farming" (the only careers on her list that I was remotely interested in), she slid my form to the bottom of the pile and never bothered me again hee hee
I love that bit Deb..."Too quiet"..so I took up piano tuning!
ReplyDeleteBeing quiet is the best way though. They say "Empty vessels make the most noise".
Eliza, I got the "Must try harder" when I got to 'big' school. It always amazed me that however hard you tried they still said the same!
Funny you should mention art Kath, that was my best subject. A's all the way......but I was studying science, you know Physics, Chemistry etc and I was always being told art was no got to me.
So.....you must be partial to a bit of ......smoky bacon?
....for 'got'....read 'good' to me.
ReplyDeleteYou sound like my brother was at that age. My parents told the teachers they weren't giving him enough work to keep him occupied ;-)
ReplyDeleteLove the picture, I must dig out one of me from a a similar age.
Well, I guess I was given lots of work to do.....it was just that I was always looking forward to going out into the playground.
ReplyDelete"Too quiet - so I took up piano tuning" hehehe. Interestingly, within the route of this conversation...my degree is in visual arts. I started out teaching painting and photography to high schoolers (ages 14 - 18). Piano tuning is my second career.
ReplyDeleteWell I never. I didn't know that.
ReplyDeleteI can see I shall have to 'try harder' at art and photography .....and not be wanting to always go out to play.
I was always 'top of the class' at art (and woodwork) but was advised that there was no career prospects in either. So I did science!
My first husband was a professor of sculpture and would give the following statistic to his graduate students: Only one tenth of one percent of the students graduating from graduate school (6th year college)in the arts will ever make a living solely from creating art.
ReplyDeleteExactly right Deb....shame.
ReplyDelete