School in the 1960s was a combination of what we saw as ancient teachers who instructed our mothers and relatives – FACTS are FACTS! – and an introduction to innovative ideas from a student teacher who came out of the university for a semester. The old-school teachers taught facts and memorization. The exciting new teachers had a broader base in mathematics and science. Although we had some wonderful literature and art teachers in our midst, the math and science teachers were lacking.

There were no computers or calculators. All the calculations had to be done by hand. We still had slide rules in science! The early calculators were large and expensive and most of the rural areas didn’t have the equipment. I finally bought my first calculator which only did basic computations in my second year in college. It was a Texas Instruments SR10 which cost over $100.00 (a lot of money for me when you considered I made $2.50 an hour at my part-time job and gasoline was $1.00 a gallon)!

Since my primary education years, the drill and practice routine continued through high school. While I think some of these exercises are important, math and science must be as exciting to the student as the arts were in those days.

My curious nature kept me excited about all subjects, so I embraced and loved the research side of things, especially after high school. I competed in the local and state science fairs for two years in high school. The trip to the State Science Fair was great because you got out of school for the week! Although I never won first prize, I placed third in my area for my project, Crystals and Crystallization, and got to meet all the kids who were just like me! It was an exciting time. Years later, when I saw the movie October Sky, I would remember the feelings Homer had in participating in science in the making! Those were my people.

Years ago, I talked to my mother a lot about my dreams and read the things she had collected over the years. I read voraciously and would live in the library if I could. In one of my primary report cards, my mother commented that I would always bring my books home and read them to all members of my immediate family and my mother’s sisters who lived on the same road. Each time I went to the library and checked out a book, I would run up the road and read it to the aunts. They were my mentors during those primary years.

I was also in the band (since fifth grade) and played the clarinet. We had a small orchestra and performed concerts each year during Christmas and at the end of the year. Thinking back to those days, I was simply good at reading music and had rhythm. I don’t know if I could have gone on and created musical compositions or studied music as my lifetime achievement. But today, I have attended concerts put on by the middle school, high school, university, or even to the Denver symphony and relived those blissful memories in the performances these amazing people can give to us. My appreciation for music is the same even if I lapsed in my own practice.

In the Deep South (in my day), things move a little slower, unless you are living in a major metropolitan city. In my neck of the woods, I was a small child in a large world. I lived out in the country, far away from even the small cities, where my girlfriends lived. If I wanted to go anywhere for parties, I had to beg for rides from them or someone who could drive. This became disconcerting when I had dedicated events at school. It was up to me to get there most of the time.

I remember that I really disliked social studies and history – these classes were simply a lot of fill in the blanks. The athletic coaches usually taught these classes, and they weren’t always the best choice for these subjects. There was no excitement in learning about dates and battles and learning facts for tests. I didn’t get great grades in those junior high years (but who does?). I wanted more and would not revisit these subjects with any interest until my senior/adult years. (My husband says I am like every old man talking about books from the world wars. It is one of my current fascinations, and it is not just about the dates! But, more on that later!)

What I do remember of my junior high years was that it was a period of awkwardness and socialization. When the hormones kick in, the brain functions on a totally different level! Our parents were not as prepared to deal with these subjects, and we believed that they never really understood what we were going through.

Today, these feelings are still there. Children are just going through them in a very loud and public way. They turn to the media because sometimes parents just don’t know how to listen to them. They become more isolated because of this same media and their lack of social skills. They believe the media presence instead of the adult. Most parents have been given a certain societal mold by their parents of what their children should conform to. Realistically, parents must change their thoughts and learn to accept what is put in front of them and what their child is becoming. However, having said all of that, I do think parents should also be given a little more credit than what we gave our parents. They are more informed today due to that same media and open discussions. So, this cranky old one would like to give you young people some advice. We sometimes have more knowledge about these subjects than you give us credit for! It’s okay to listen to us about some things that are important to you.

It is my hope that we recognize what teenagers are going through today and have open and honest conversations about who they are inside. Acceptance is hard if your child is different than the norm. It takes time, but you can do it if you are open-minded and don’t let your past cloud your judgement. So read, learn, and talk about these subjects before they leave the nest. I send love out to the universe and hope you can all reach the stars!

-Stay tuned about socialization and more on math in Part III!