Forever Young?

I have an approaching birthday and realize that I may not be “young.” As my granddaughter tells me stories about her first grade class, it takes me back to my early school years. I don’t have as cool stories as do those decades older, but I did grow up in an almost “Little House on the Prairie” time in a small town—a far different era from today.

Our little school had three classrooms: first and second grades were together; third, fourth, and fifth grades shared a room; and sixth, seventh, and eighth grades made up the “big kids” room. In the basement were the cafeteria, music room, and boiler room. I never knew what the last one was or if it had a “boiler” (whatever a boiler is). The basement had windows with wells that always collected leaves in the fall and flooded during storms or excessive rain.

The school was surrounded by a large grass lawn with great shade trees and several areas of playground equipment. There were large sidewalks for roller skating. The playground equipment was nothing like the elaborate play systems of today, but they were fun. We used waxed bread sacks to make the metal slides lightening slick, but today I guess slides are plastic and don’t lose their slippery-ness. Good thing! Today’s bread wrappers wouldn’t work.

School, in my memory, was a wonderfully fun place; but it was a disciplined place. “Paddling” was still allowed when needed, but used infrequently—only for ornery boys testing to see how far they could push the rules. Mostly, it just didn’t occur to us to disobey our teachers. Obedience was expected at home and at school.

Each teacher seemed hand-picked for their age group. My first/second grade teacher was a mother hen expecting much from her chicks. She loved us, hugged us, and instilled in us that we were worth way too much not to excel.

My third-fifth grade teacher was a scary—no nonsense type. She, too, expected and demanded much, but praised accomplishments liberally. Even the unruly boys learned to behave in her room.

My sixth-eighth grade teacher was also the school principal. I remember him as being a good teacher, but again one who expected much. He taught us a broad variety of subjects from “orthography”(my most valuable course) to current events and everything in between. We had no science equipment, etc., but found ourselves well prepared for the transition to high school. Friday afternoons (if we had met his expectations) was our favorite time—“Hunt cities.” With an atlas for each student, we played a racing game to find obscure towns and rivers on the maps. We became great map students.

We did without perceptible educational benefits, and yet almost all students from that small school excelled. Is that true of modern schools? What’s missing in today’s schools following several decades of “advancement”? Could it be that God was welcome then but forbidden now? Could it be that His principles for families, raising children, work ethic, and respect have been left behind in the name of progress? King David said, The fool says in his heart, "There is no God." Psalm 14:1 It would appear the fool has spoken.

Bob Dylan, on the other hand, said:

♫ May God bless and keep you always
May your wishes all come true
May you always do for others
And let others do for you
May you build a ladder to the stars
And climb on every rung
May you stay forever young

May you grow up to be righteous
May you grow up to be true
May you always know the truth
And see the lights surrounding you
May you always be courageous
Stand upright and be strong
May you stay forever young

May your hands always be busy
May your feet always be swift
May you have a strong foundation
When the winds of changes shift
May your heart always be joyful
And may your song always be sung
May you stay forever young

Forever young? Hmmmmmmmm, I like it!