Mr. Reese was my fifth grade teacher. He was the first male teacher that I had and the teacher that every fourth grader hoped that he would get. All of my other teachers had been “women”. I was happy that I was finally getting a “man” teacher. Don’t get me wrong, I liked all of my teachers, Miss Smool (Kindergarten), Miss Haskel (first grade), Mrs. Davies (second grade), Mrs. Stewart (third grade) and Mrs. Henderson (fourth grade). But I believed having a male teacher would be a new pinnacle in my school career.
Mr. Reese took a couple of my classmates on week-end outings to see cool things. Kirk and Floyd got to go with Mr. Reese on a couple of day trips. I understood why he might have wanted to take Floyd because, as far as I knew, Floyd lived with his mom and a couple of sisters. Having a man do special things would be good for him. Kirk had both a mom and a dad so I didn’t understand why he needed to go. Maybe it was because Floyd and Kirk were good friends and Mr. Reese thought that it would be more comfortable for Floyd if Kirk went along.
I thought that he should have taken another classmate. I believe that his name was Ralph. (I could have this name wrong.) He wasn’t a good student. He was tired all of the time. He didn’t cause problems. He just didn’t do much of anything. One day Mr. Reese lit a lighter under Ralph’s seat to “put a fire under him”. It didn’t work. I thought that Ralph needed someone to help him, but I didn’t know who or how that would happen. When I became a teacher I remembered my classmate and did my best to help all the Ralph’s that came my way.
Mr. Reese bought a new car that year. It was a brand new, never released before, black and white, Ford Edsel. He was very excited about his new purchase. The American public was not as excited and the Edsel was out of production within a couple of years.
Fifth grade was a right of passage year. Girls were recruited for the “Safety Squad” and boys for the “Safety Patrol”. The safety squad received arm bands that they wore around the upper part of their arm. They stood in the school hallways to deter running and to make sure that students followed an appropriate safety pattern has they traveled throughout the school at the beginning and end of each day.
Safety patrol members wore safety belts across their chests and had rain ponchos for inclement weather. I was a member of this vital organization. We worked outside. We were stationed on most street corners to help students walk to school in a safe manner. I had three different posts during my two years of service: the corner of Edgeworth and University, the school playground, and the prestigious “in front of the school” post.
My corner post was straight forward. I put my arms out to stop kids from crossing the street when cars were approaching and let them pass when traffic had cleared. At the end of each day’s tour of duty, a voice would yell from up the street, “Ooooff Duty! Ooooff Duty!” This was our notice that we should come to school, or go home, depending upon the time of day. We served at our post before and after school and during lunch because most kids walked home for lunch.
My second post was on the playground. My job there was to insure that students used the equipment properly, treated each other appropriately – no fighting – and enjoyed their time in a safe manner. One day the kindergarten sister of one of my friends asked me to bend over so that she could tell me “a secret”. I liked secrets so I complied. As soon as I was in cheek shot, she kissed me. I instinctively pushed her away. I had been violated and wanted her to know that her advance was not appropriate.
When I got off duty I went to my classroom and Mr. Reese told me that Mr. Levins wanted to see me in the office. I knew Mr. Levins, the elementary school principal, but had never spoken to him on official business. I wasn’t sure why I was summoned, but I knew it was important because Mr. Levins was an important man.
The first thing he asked was, “Did you push Ellen Bastion on the playground this morning?”
“Yes, sir.”
“That is not an appropriate action for the member of our safety patrol.”
“I know sir, but it was just a quick reaction. She kissed me and I pushed her away.”
“She kissed you?”
“Yes, sir and I just reacted. I didn’t hurt her. She didn’t even fall down.”
“Well, Robbie, I understand how you feel but I can’t have members of the safety patrol reacting like this. If this ever happens again, just walk away.”
“OK”
That was it. Ellen ratted me out to her teacher, her teacher told the principal, the principal contacted Mr. Reese, and I had to go to the office. Ellen didn’t tell the whole story, just the pushing part.
My “in front of the school post” was my most important assignment. I was the guy that got school started and made sure that it ended appropriately each day. I arrived early to school to make sure that the American flag was raised each morning and lowered after the closing of each school day. I was also the guy who started the “Ooooff Duty” at the end of each shift. I watched the school clock through a window and started the “Ooooff Duty!” chorus throughout the school attendance area. One by one each boy yelled the dismissal signal from one block to another, from corner to corner, north, south, east and west, until everyone knew that their shift had been completed. I was assigned that post even after I pushed “cheek kissing Ellen” on the playground.
Other big take aways from Mr. Reese’s class include: volcanoes, Juan Batista, and shot-gun shells.
TBC