Mnemonics

Do teachers still use these handy prompts?

“George Epson’s old grandmother rode a pig home yesterday.” Miss Zolner, our third grade teacher, taught us this phrase to help us spell the word “geography”….a word I can’t look at even today without thinking of that old grandmother riding a pig!

It made learning fun, putting some humor into basically no one’s favorite subject. I like to think that some of these good old practices are still in use.

So much has changed about education. I’ve been involved on the professional side since the 1960s. So many, many changes. Some were good; too many were not.

I remember when phonics were out and sight reading was in. That brought us a decade of school children who couldn’t spell. It’s a wonder they learned to read.

Then we had the whole ‘self esteem’ fiasco. Yes, children who feel good about themselves tend to perform better. And that performance enhances their self-esteem. But which came first: performance or esteem? The schools got it so wrong. Praise for accomplishing virtually nothing did not create higher performing students. It created students who were clueless. And yet, schools clung to this mis-guided philosophy for decades. Maybe it’s still alive out there. Shudder.

How much better to have brought in tutors to catch children up on work they had missed or not quite learned. Think of the self-esteem that could have built.

Well, old teachers are just bursting with ideas. You should hear us when we get together! One thing we pretty much agree on: we couldn’t teach today. Everyone seems to be against teachers. These are the people who want your children to do well; to read; to do math; to get involved in school and in life. And there they are, caught in the middle of angry parents; angry school boards; non-supportive administrators; and a public that has no idea how to manage a classroom (or even, frequently, their own children).

Pray for our teachers, please. Where would we be without them?