A quick review: I've made no secret of the fact that I hated 6th grade. I was stuck in a horrible, decrepit old building. No library. No cafeteria. A paved alley was our playground. It was a fire trap that was condemned by the state a few years after I had moved on. My teacher was an OK guy, but stuck in the past. He was nearing retirement. The passion and the fun were gone, and there was no joy in that classroom. It reminded me of those black and white "Leave it to Beaver" classrooms, where smiling was outlawed.
Foundation established.
A couple of weeks ago, I had a blog entry about my follies in the school band. Well, one thing led to another. It started an exchange of several messages with my 6th grade music teacher, who was not connected to the band.
Let me tell you something. This woman was a ray of sunshine in an otherwise dismal and tear inducing school year.
STEM is important, but she was living proof you do need arts in a school curriculum. Those music classes got me through the year.
