Poets United Wednesday Motif challenge is nostalgia,
so of course my thoughts go back to the one room
school I attended Grades 1 through 8. Though I don't
have a photo of my school, the one pictured here is
nearly an exact replica.
It was a little one-room schoolhouse
Where I learned to read and write
There were no indoor facilities
But we did have electric light
The teacher sat at his desk in front
Near the bench for recitation
The pot-bellied stove stood at the rear
In our house of education.
When teacher rang the morning bell
We came in from playing tag
To start each school day morning
Pledging allegiance to our flag.
In desks of various sizes
For we were grades one through eight
We worked hard at getting lessons
To progress at rapid rate.
We were taught to be competitive
And to always do our best
To bring the best we had to give
To any given test.
At recess we played softball,
Cops and robbers, fox and goose.
And even on the playground
We learned the simple truths.
We learned honesty, compassion,
Integrity and pride
The tools of successful living
That must not be put aside.
In today’s education system
Modern conveniences are rife
But I’ll take my one-room schoolhouse
Where the teacher taught us life.
What a wonderful poem. I love the last line because I believe that's what we should teach our children - life. It sounds like you had such happy learning days.
ReplyDeleteA most heart-warming write, Beverly ❤️
ReplyDeleteOh! Yeah, nice look back
ReplyDeleteHappy Wednesday
Much love...
Happy school day memories !
ReplyDelete"Where the teacher taught us life".....what wonderful memories. You were a lucky girl.
ReplyDeleteOh yes, what a wonderful experience!
ReplyDeleteI loved, loved, loved your recollection. I always thought that going to school in a one-room schoolhouse would have been a wonderful experience. Children of all ages working together, learning together, helping one another. You were very, very lucky!
ReplyDeleteHave to learn fox and goose! Those childhood games were the best!!
ReplyDeletehow i wish everywhere teachers teach life, at least they should have the opportunity to do that...alas, this is not to be...you were indeed a lucky soul dear poet...
ReplyDeleteHow intriguing to read your poem, after reading this story about a one-room schoolhouse in California:
ReplyDeletehttp://capitolweekly.net/california-tale-one-room-schoolhouse/
What a wonderful story and poem. Your poem seems flawless in its rhythm and rhyming. The teacher would have had their hands full in such a classroom with no peers on site.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sweet reflection. It was a different time, a simplier time...how things have changed....no one would have guessed the changes, I'm sure it isn't easy on the kids today. But the road back has disappeared, and there is no way to go back, so we grapple with the new challenges the kids face, without knowledge of the world they will face...change is happening all the time. But your one room school house is a nice memory...the library where I grew up, was so like that, a tiny building, two small rooms, and I would ride my bike there, and speand all day, reading books.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful read! I agree, we have lost the essence of teaching and learning in amongst the modern technology, the myriad of conveniences and degenerating standards of behaviour and morality. We can only hope that the cycle will complete its turn and we shall go back to the values that you speak of, Bev.
ReplyDelete