All of us have vivid
memories of a teacher. I was fortunate
to have many, many great teachers that made long lasting impressions on me. If
you attended Grove Schools in the '50s-'60s, the name Mrs. Ruby Browning means
something to you. She stood in front of hundreds and hundreds of elementary
students and I would dare to say, made a huge impact on most. I was in Mrs.
Browning's last sixth grade class she taught before she retired. It just so
happened that it was also the first year in the T.J. Melton Building, which is
now the lower elementary. The building was ultra modern in 1972-73, with open
classrooms to the central hallway. (I think they have been enclosed now with a
fourth wall and door) We may have had a modern take on a classroom, but our
teacher gave us old fashioned education. Things that I still use to this day.
Mrs. Browning taught us
how to memorize poetry. She wrote out the poem in its entirety and then erased
a word or two a day. We recited it every day after lunch until we only had a
few prompt words on the blackboard. Then she erased everything, and we stood there
and delivered, word for word, Trees,
by Joyce Kilmer. Maybe this isn't a big deal to you, but there have been many
times that some of our old gang gets together and all at once we start into one
of the poems we committed to memory in 1973. I have used that memorization
method many times ever since.
Mrs. Browning loved to
travel. Her lessons were sprinkled with personal stories of her experiences from
around the world. I remember with excitement when she set up her slide carousel
and took us to the Middle East, a part of the world I didn't know existed. She
had traveled to Iran and Iraq. She clicked through her photos of the people,
photos of the buildings. I even remember she had a picture of a man relieving
himself on the side of a building! We giggled, but she made a lesson out of it
about differences in cultures, and what conveniences we daily take for granted.
She opened my eyes to traveling to
learn, not just to vacation. I can also recall an assignment she gave us asking
us to write a report on a place we would like to go.
I clearly remember writing
about wanting to visit the Sistine Chapel in Rome. I had read about Michelangelo
in my Weekly Reader newspaper, and I wanted to see that ceiling. Michelangelo's
Pieta had recently been damaged when some crazy jumped the rope and started
hammering her face. The repairs were reported in the Weekly Reader, and I
wanted to see that statue. I have no idea what destinations other kids wrote
about, but I know when I finally stood in front of that piece of art, and
looked up at that ceiling, I had a sense of completion. It had taken me quite a
few years to get there, but I thought of Mrs. Browning and that report.
Our Oklahoma educators
have certainly been in the news. They are our children's daytime parents, they
are role models, and they are the source of inspiration that most likely will
direct many young people's paths. I haven't forgotten Mrs. Ruby Browning, and I
wish I could thank her now.
