I dont know if there are any other Public Junkyard alum on here, but if you attended PJ between the years of 1960-66 you will doubtless remember Miss Crosby. I had Crabapple Crosby for Grade 3 and a few things stand out in my memory. One Monday she pulled out a packet of flash cards, and went through them methodically. After going through them in order for 2 days, she shuffled them up then presented them at random. Since teachers were still allowed to beat students back in the day, the following Monday she would cruise the rows from the back to the front quizzing individuals on their numeric knowledge. She carried with her a long wooden pointer with a rubber tip (you will doubtless remember the on to which I refer) and students had to have their hands flat on the surface of the desk palms down. She would come up behind you, just out of your peripheral vision and address you by name. When she asked 9X6 you were expected to burst out 54 Miss Crosby right smartly. Failure to answer in a timely manner earned you a crack across the knuckles with the wooden pointer. By the time she got to me, I was squirming in my desk, and when she said Christopher, 7X9 I practically wet my pants as I blurted out something like 63 Miss Crosby, I swear its 63. I recognize now that its a cruel teaching method, but man do I know my Times Tables! The only other thing I remember about Crabapple Crosbys class was the Elmers school glue that came in the tapered bottle and was a pale golden brown color. Miss Crosby would always refer to it by its older name. I would get a shiver up my back when she said class take out your mucilage. Oddly enough thats what was on my mind when I woke up this morning. Mucilage............eeeeeccchhh!
Posted on: Sat, 13 Dec 2014 16:06:06 +0000