My diary -April 1-3, 1973
- Susan Fisch Good
- Jul 31
- 3 min read
April 1, 1973 Sun.
Dear Smiley;
April fools day. We went with the Hingst to Los Ranchos in Granada. Pretty neat. Afterwards we went to Hingst. Doug showed Beck & I how to ride a minibike so we rode most of the afternoon! NEATO!! Dave’s back from camp-out. He seems to have fun. He’s out like a log right now. Got to memorise Spanish poem! YEAKS wish me luck. Reading on “Black Sheep.”
BYE!!!
Note: Memorizing poems in English or Spanish was stressful as we recited it in front of the whole class. I know now how to control my breathing so I am not so nervous, however then I was a clueless, stressed mess!
April 2, 1973 Mon.
Dear Smiley:
I did that stupid poem. Julio got me nervouser tapping his hands making rythm. Well its over. Gym is sorta fun today. I read on “Black Sheep.” Got to study for Julious Caezar test tomorrow. Wish me luck. Wrote Myra & Missy. Going to write Grandma & Grandpa. Got letter from Pat.
BYE!!
Note: Julio probably wasn’t aware that he was doing it but it is always easier to have a scapegoat. On the other hand, he might have done it to annoy me.
When I taught sophomore English, I had them study Julius Caesar. They didn’t enjoy it either!
April 3, 1973 Tues.
Dear Smiley:
Spanish teacher bawled me out for doodling! PWEK!!! History we got into an argument on whether you should discipline children. I think a good spanking hurts noone but others lilke Nancy think its dreadful. Chiu worked with me in the fresco (Charlie in Panama). Its tiring!!! Test on Julius Caesar mas o menos. Watched T.V. Went outside. Only girls out not really fun.
BYE!!!
Note: Oh how we change our way of thinking. I thought spanking was ok back then but once I started teaching high school and they had the paddle system I was firmly against it. Some of the principal or coaches had holes in the paddles which made it worse. I thought it was barbaric.
I didn’t spank my children and I developed the look that my mom used on us. It was mostly effective.
April 1, 1973 Sun. (David’s Diary)
Dear Snoop,
I woke up at about 8:00. Slept well. We cooked breakfast, French toast. Swam and passed mile swim. Later we climbed another mountain. More people went this time. Bill and Allen were the ones that went last time and not this time. It wasn’t as fun but it was dangerous. There was one 50 foot drop off. We got home at 5:00. Went to Hingsts. I rode their men bike a bit. I’m tired. nna sleep.
Note: I remember the drop off. Felt like you’d disappear if you fell. I also remember making French toast. Lots of good memories with the Boy Scouts. Passing the mile swim pertains to earning the mile swim merit badge. We also learned how to remove our long pants, tie knots in the legs, fill them with air and use them as flotation devices.
April 2, 1973 Mon. (David’s Diary)
Dar Snoop,
Today was alright,-good. Sunburned. Slept on my belly. David goes on bus now. The bus driver forgot about two kids. Later had to take them home.
At school, rumors of campout spread fast. I’ve got to read that Spanish book report. Steve got on my nerves a lot. Not much else happened
Good Night.
NOTE: Looks like a typical school day. Not sure which rumors were spreading. Probably had something to do with our shenanigans!
April 3, 1973 Tues (David’s Diary)
Dear Snoop,
Today was pretty good but was a boring day. For tomorrow I have an English test, a science test, Math homework, and Spanish test. That’s all. I have to hand in the Colliers encyclopedia and the tickets. Today I didn’t study much. I read report of Engfish, read science and part of Spanish book for report. I played Dad in two games of chess. I won both times. Mom and Dad have movies(??) tomorrow so they decided to sleep. Dad was so mad…he forgot...and slept in his...
NOTE: Unfortunately, I can’t make out the bottom half of my journal page. Interesting that I had the Colliers Encyclopedia with me. When’s the last time we used an encyclopedia!? How times have changed.
Wow! Who is that kid in the picture? So many years ago! I can remember there was a spot at Jiloa you could only get to by boat. There was a sort of cliff you could climb that had two or three levels that you could jump or dive from into the water. We would do it over and over. The highest spot was extremely narrow and once the rocks got wet, they became very slick. I remember slipping off of it one time and falling sideways. As I hit the water, I had my eyes open and could see that I missed hitting the rocks at the bottom by just inches! Our scoutmasters were Maine guards from the…
Do students still have to memorize poems? The one chosen for us was “Thanatopsis” which was a bit of a strange choice 8th graders…. The teacher stressed that in reciting it, you must address everyone in the room so she stood in the back waving her arms back and forth so we would scan the crowd. She also used a ruler to tap our feet into the proper position before we began. As you can imagine, these ‘helpful reminders’ played havoc with our concentration—-and also caused several outburst of semi-hysterical laughter. Susan, this all happened in a room you later taught in!
Always a fun trip down memory lane!