Focusing on the Mid-Century
And
Denny’s Life Memories
I recently did a Lifestories World Events Workshop that focused on the Civil Rights era of the 50s and 60s. While we had a good group discussion, our Illinois experience with this issue was limited. This group of 10 were all very young back then, but we all remembered being shocked and appalled at the level of vitriolic hatred expressed toward the black population as we watched on the evening news as innocent children our own age tried to attend school. Our group was all white and, at the time, we were individually blissfully unaware of the struggle for equal rights in the south. Thank goodness a strong group of leaders, most specifically Martin Luther King Jr., came along to raise our consciousness about this issue.
Denny’s story of the 60s was much more light-hearted. He recalled his first teaching assignment, right out of college. He was an English teacher in a Junior High School. He says he clearly remembers each of these, his first students, and could “call the roll” even today.
Two things were at the forefront of his students’ minds in the mid-60s. The boys were obsessed with the space race and many proclaimed their passion for becoming astronauts. They could name each of the astronauts and knew which flight they had gone on and what the outcome was.
The girls, on the other hand, had a less scientific obsession. Mainly—The Beatles. Denny claims they would use their cursive writing practice time by writing “John, Paul, George and Ringo” with appropriate flourishes over and over. The principal once walked unannounced into the classroom and Denny responded when asked what the students were up to, “Oh, they’re practicing their penmanship, sir.”
He finished his story by noting, “These students are all in their 50s now…seems impossible.”
And
Denny’s Life Memories
I recently did a Lifestories World Events Workshop that focused on the Civil Rights era of the 50s and 60s. While we had a good group discussion, our Illinois experience with this issue was limited. This group of 10 were all very young back then, but we all remembered being shocked and appalled at the level of vitriolic hatred expressed toward the black population as we watched on the evening news as innocent children our own age tried to attend school. Our group was all white and, at the time, we were individually blissfully unaware of the struggle for equal rights in the south. Thank goodness a strong group of leaders, most specifically Martin Luther King Jr., came along to raise our consciousness about this issue.
Denny’s story of the 60s was much more light-hearted. He recalled his first teaching assignment, right out of college. He was an English teacher in a Junior High School. He says he clearly remembers each of these, his first students, and could “call the roll” even today.
Two things were at the forefront of his students’ minds in the mid-60s. The boys were obsessed with the space race and many proclaimed their passion for becoming astronauts. They could name each of the astronauts and knew which flight they had gone on and what the outcome was.
The girls, on the other hand, had a less scientific obsession. Mainly—The Beatles. Denny claims they would use their cursive writing practice time by writing “John, Paul, George and Ringo” with appropriate flourishes over and over. The principal once walked unannounced into the classroom and Denny responded when asked what the students were up to, “Oh, they’re practicing their penmanship, sir.”
He finished his story by noting, “These students are all in their 50s now…seems impossible.”
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