Recently, the son of my 1st Grade teacher, Mrs. McKinney (that's my teacher, not the son), reached out for submissions for a book he wanted to put together for his mom since she is retiring this year after 102 years of teaching.
Some things you should know: First, she is fairly short in terms of measurement from the floor to the top of her head when she is standing. Honestly, I don't know exactly. Maybe around 2' 6"? I was always certain that Bilbo Baggins was much taller than she was.
Secondly, she was my teacher in 1978. In first grade, I thought she was old. That's really funny since she couldn't have been a day over 75 at the time. She taught my next several brothers, as well. When I was in her class, she team-taught with Mrs. Schofield. There was a reason the school was doing this. As a first grader, I didn't care what the reason was. And today, I still don't know why. But I am glad. It was the source of many great memories.
Third, the First Grade Circus was an annual event. And by event, I mean a really, REALLY big deal. A major production. If you haven't heard of it, it's because you didn't live in the foothills of Provo back then and you missed out. I'm serious about the missing out. There were rope jumpers and rope climbers. Strong men and monkeys. Clowns, MCs and, most importantly, bears. Ask anyone who was in it what music they remember from it. Most likely, they would start humming or singing the "interlude" music Mrs. McKinney played on the piano.
I could not find my class picture, or else I would insert it here...I found every grade in elementary but 1st. (And by "I found," I mean "my mom found").
This is my (slightly edited) submission:
I had some good college professors. And I had a couple of really great High School and Junior High teachers. But none of them compare to the influence
and memories created by Mrs. McKinney.
She was team-teaching with Mrs. Schofield at Edgemont Elementary.
And her being special was more than just because as a first grader I was her same height. She cared about me and I knew it. I
knew I was loved and watched over when I went into her classroom. And I am sure
it wasn’t just me who felt that way.
From “Getting to Know You” to the First Grade Circus, I
loved first grade. It's all about the experiences Mrs. McKinney provided for
us. At the risk of plagiarizing Mr. Fulghum, it was more than the 4th Grade Reading mentors provided
for us. More than ABCs and 123s. And whatever else I learned in first
grade. What I learned most about in first grade was to enjoy being at school. To
treat others fairly and kindly. To my mind, it was a great supplement to all
the things I was being taught at home.
I loved being able to be featured in front of the whole
class and have my whole family as “Show and Tell” for the day. I even
remember certain snippets of other kids’ families in their “Getting to Know
You.”
I remember walking through the halls at Christmas going from classroom
to classroom looking for an inn with a room available. I was Joseph. A girl played Mary.
I was one of the “Solo Bears” in the “If You Go Into the
Woods Today” number in the First Grade Circus. Mary (from above) was the other. I mean, how much fun was the circus? Each of my
little brothers looked forward to their turn to be able to do it. We
all remember what parts we had in the circus and still love singing the
“Interlude” music that Mrs. McKinney played between each set. I won't comment regarding whether or not we skip, too.
I also remember Mrs. McKinney pulling my first tooth.
I was crying over it and she just helped me calm down and pulled it out.
Mrs. McKinney will always be one of the greats. How
can you fit so much awesome into such a small package?
To demonstrate to her how greatly my artistic skills have improved since first grade, I have done this drawing for her:
