A Teacher I Will Never Forget
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My first year in elementary school Dad received orders from the U.S. Navy to serve on a ship stationed in Brooklyn, New York. We had started off the year in Charleston, South Carolina, moved to Valdosta, Georgia for a couple of months and then on to Key West, Florida. Each place we lived involved attending a new school, brand new teachers, new housing and making new friends. This assignment would take our family out of the Deep South to the far north in Bayonne, New Jersey.
When my parents enrolled us in Horace Mann Elementary, they were told we'd be set back a grade level; the southern schools were "backward" and we wouldn't be able to keep up with the work. Set back meant each of us would be demoted one year in our schooling. Being only in the first grade, it meant I would be starting all over the next school year in grade one. Naturally that irked my Dad who was raised in the south attending and graduating from schools in Southern Georgia.
Dad made a special trip to the school in his Naval Officer's uniform and appealed to the principal of the school. He was able to convince the principal to let us stay at our grade levels for the last few weeks of school on the condition that we were able to keep up with the work. And thankfully, we did.
When the new school year began I was assigned to Mrs. Cassell who would be my second grade teacher. Naturally the lessons eventually turned to reading aloud and that's when the trouble began. My Southern upbringing led to pronunciation of words like 'the' as 'thee' instead instead of 'thuh' like the local kids pronounced it. Mrs. Cassell in her kind and thoughtful way gave me ongoing encouragement leading me gently along as I learned a new way to speak.
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Bayonne New Jersey - 
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There were many other lessons Mrs. Cassell would share that stuck with me throughout life. I remember a kid in our class named Larry whose clothes and personal appearance depicted a difficult day to day struggle. Larry didn't have a mother; she had passed away when he was very young.
Back then, kids could buy a carton of milk for mid morning snack for four cents a day, twenty cents for the week. But for twenty five cents you would get a pretzel rod to go along with it. Mrs. Cassell noticed right away that Larry and several other kids never bought milk even at that bargain price - that was a lot of money when you were really poor.
That old building was pretty chilly and drafty, so when the milk came, we put our cartons on the radiator to warm them up. While we waited for the chill to leave our milk, Mrs. Cassell would break the pretzel rods in half, neat and even, as if marked and measured. She'd pass them out to every child, whether they bought milk or not. Not one person in the class complained.
I never took the opportunity to thank Mrs. Cassell for her kindness and for being such a good teacher. We moved again right after the third grade started. That time it was back to the southern schools where I would need to change my speaking habits once again and resume the drawl I'd finally left behind.
I hope where ever she is by now, that she feels my gratitude for the lessons she taught me, for the belief in myself she engendered and for the ability to adapt and overcome. How different my life might have been if I'd never been encouraged nor learned to read. Thank you, Mrs. Cassell.
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No kidding, Will. We were in Charleston for a couple of months, then Valdosta with my Grandmother while we awaited new orders from the Navy, then Key West, then New Jersey where I finished the first grade. Quite an education in itself.
I, too, loved my third grade teacher, Mrs. Weedin, who read Box Car Children to us and taught us the 46th Psalm back when you could still read the Bible in school. Oh, the good old days.
Thanks for the compliment and comments Will. Always a pleasure to see you here.
I attended school in the little SC town of Williston and also in Augusta Ga. There were seven schools before I finally graduated high school!
College was much easier.
I remember when my youngest son had a teacher like this and he grew and developed more that year than any other in a very positive way. It just happened that he needed this kind of teacher at that time and I'll always remember how special she was. Great hub. Voided/rated up.
Sadly, I never had any really memorable teachers like that. However, my second grade teacher was my first crush. Ah, Miss Stolowitz. I'll never forget her.
I loved this. Although my second grade teacher was Mrs. Whittier. A plump grouchy old lady. You mentioned accents... HMMMM try being from Boston and talking to anyone....LOL
Very nice. Thank you for sharing your memories and this teacher.
Oh this was lovely and Trixie sat there waiting for you to come home was beautiful !!!
A lovely hub and i am so glad that you shared this one with us.
Take care
Eiddwen.
Will from Williston. How about that? There's a Williston in Florida too where my ancestors lived. And Augusta GA is certainly the deep south. Sounds like your schooling was like mine, but the moves continued into college as well: Miami Dade, Hillsboro CC, Vero Beach CC, USF then UTD before (eventually) finishing.
Pamela99, Thank Heavens for wonderful teachers who can help guide young people to love learning. Your son is lucky to have that experience at school. It can really change their entire direction and lives. Thanks for sharing that positive outcome and for stopping in. I hope you are doing well. xxx
Robwrite - Well, sometimes a crush serves to keep your attention focused on the subject matter. hehe. I'll bet your attendance was excellent.
Mrs. J.B. - So you say "Paak the caar in de gaaaraje"? I would never have imagined it. How cute. I fell for someone (from Southern California) whose family was from New York. So dey tawked like dat. Funny how opposites attract. Hey, whas ammada you? Thanks for dropping by.
Micky Dee, So nice to have you visit this hub. How're things going at the grocery store?
And to the lovely Eiddwen, Trixie was my first dog ever arriving on my 4th birthday. As the youngest child, she was like a sister to me once the others went off to school.
Trixie would sit on the window ledge in our second floor apartment of that building (the fuzzy picture above) and knew exactly what time to expect us home. She was a valued member of the family and stayed for 13 years.
Thank you all for stopping by and for reading this hub. And Thank You Mrs. Cassell - RIP
Thank you for sharing your wonderful memories with us.
God Bless
And thank you for your service to our great country. Nice of you to drop by. May God bless you too!
You bring back memories. Try coming from the UK to southern Alberta... You think your accent earned you a lot of teasing? Then a year in Colorado after Alberta, and I didn't know the pledge of allegiance (or anything else according to the school.) Then back to Alberta... Little wonder I now have one of those flexible accents that changes in accordance with my surroundings. Yet I wouldn't have changed it for the world. Lynda
Ah yes, Lynda, we learn to adapt to our surroundings or else. Your education would have been quite trying moving between countries and languages. It's little wonder any of us survive the days of our youth and the unkind labels and judgment of those in charge. Naturally, I wouldn't trade it either. Nice to see you today. Hope you are well.
It's great the way you let us all into how it was for you with Mrs. Cassell and her kindness, which made all the diffrence to your well being.
Great sharing. The photos really tell their own story. Thank you.
A great teacher can really make the difference, you know? Mrs. Cassell was among the best. Thank you, chspublish, for stopping in to read and comment. Kind regards to you.
a beautiful hub of your memories, thanks so much for sharing with us
God Bless
Very nice hub. I love a nice walk down memory lane. Good write.
Thank you Vietnamvet68. God Bless you too!
Ms. Bobbi! You are a sweet one. I appreciate your nice comments.
Thank you both for stopping by and for reading this hub.
Thanks for the beautiful share. We can't forget them isn't it, Mrs Cassell, most specially.
Prettydarkhorse, you're welcome. And thank you for stopping by to read this story about Mrs. Cassell. She was a great teacher.
I think a person is very lucky if they remember one teacher who inspires them nowadays. Education has become very cold and I think teachers are discouraged from being creative and warm. If a a teacher is nice to you a child never forgets. I loved your story which clearly shows your love and admiration for your father but I have one question ...Mum's name is scratched out...why?
Hello Goyakla, Yes, teachers have a difficult job just maintaining order in today's classroom. There are so many restrictions against being warm or even offering a hug without fear of harassment suits. What a difference encouragement can mean to a child.
I've replaced the other picture with one where the names are showing. Sometimes I get paranoid about privacy and take stuff out. Then later I put it back. Oh well. No reason other than that. Mum is featured in other hubs as is Dad.
Thanks you for your nice comment and for reading this hub so carefully.
Very sweet hub. I've had a few great teachers myself, and some not so great too.... Hmmm maybe I'll write about them. I think you may have inspired me! Awesome hub, voted up.
Thank you emilybee. It was so nice to meet you here. I'll look forward to reading your hub about your teachers. What an awesome responsibility: to shape the minds of the young.
I very much enjoyed this journey with you. You must have been very proud to be the daughter of a ship's Commanding Officer. I enjoyed seeing the old pictures.
Perhaps we all have memories of a particular teacher that changed us for the better. I do. Mr. Plumb in the sixth grade, the first male teacher I ever had.
Hi James - Thanks for taking the journey with me. The old pictures brought back such nice remembrances of those times when the ship was in port. We were oblivious to the significance of his command at out ages. We grew up smelling diesel fuel, you know.
Mr. Plumb in the sixth grade. Those were some of the best times, back then, when learning was encouraged. I loved my sixth grade teacher so much - she was great - Mrs. Price. What great days. The Pledge of Allegiance, The Lord's Prayer (oh yes) and the Star Spangled Banner. What a combo.
Great photo's and a very inspiring story of growth, and learning to love one's elders more too. I have some teachers I will always remember very fondly too. Thanks much for sharing with us here.
What a wonderful tribute to Mrs. Cassell and to you. I love your pictures too!
Fluffy77, Our teachers really shape the minds of our children. So glad you have some fond memories of yours. And learning to love one's elders is key - as you pointed out. Thank you for your comments here.
Truckstop Sally, You are a sweetheart. The pictures really brought back some old memories. I wish I had a picture of Mrs. Cassell as my mind's image of her is foggy. Thanks for coming by.
A really nice tribute to a teacher who must've been what all teachers should be! Your photos were great and bring back so many memories. Of course I remember Pat Boone as I was a teenager when he was popular, such a good looking, clean cut guy! Thumbs up on this one!
"Writing Love Letters in the Sand" was one I'll always remember as sung by Pat Boone. We attended a birthday party at his house for one of his 4 ? girls and I remember we each got a nice "book" of Lifesavers. His wife taught Sunday School at the church and he was the songleader.
I hope everyone has at least one teacher that they truly feel appreciative toward. They are so important as we develop the skills we'll be using the rest of our lives.
Thank you for the nice comments and for stopping here.
What a beautiful story! Great photos too! The Trixie photo stole my heart. I can't imagine how I would have handled moving as a child, but I had many friends that did.
It is always nice to have a fond memory of that one teacher that made a difference isn't it? I have more than a couple that I will never forget.
Always a fan of your diverse hubs - happy to follow. Thank you for sharing!
I'm glad you found a teacher that was special and influential to you. Thanks for sharing the personal memories and photos! How precious! As a current educator, I find a lot of encouragement in that.
Thank you for the visit MissOlive and for the sweet comment about Trixie. I still miss her.
Teachers can really leave a positive influence on us.
So nice to see you here and sorry for the long delay in responding. I thought I had already sent a response. I follow your writing too. Keep up the good words.
Peg
Thank you Freemarketingnow. I look forward to reading more about you here on HubPages. So good to hear from an educator on this sort of Hub. There were so many who helped shape my ideals. Many thanks to people like you.
WillStarr Level 8 Commenter 14 months ago
What a coincidence. I also attended many schools, including South carolina and Georgia. In fact, the Mrs. Greene I mention in my profile was a South Carolina teacher.
My third grade teacher read to us from classics like Tom Sawyer every day, and we loved it so much that it was rare for a kid to miss a day.
Nice Hub Peg, and look how pretty you were and still are.