September - The North Star Monthly

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8 September 2012 The North Star Monthly For Liz Williams, a lifetime of Kindergarten lessons By Donna M. Garfield The end of August and the beginning of September represent one of the most important times in the life of a five- or six-yearold child. The mention of school brings many feelings ¬– excitement, the chance to ride the yellow school bus, to finally be a “big” kid, a trip to the store for new things, an outfit, sneakers, backpack, and lunch bag. For parents, it is the beginning of a new chapter as they let their little ones go off to a different environment in the hands of a teacher. In 1956 in the Lyndon area, there was no pre-school. Kindergarten was a big step for both children and parents. Photo albums in many families show children on their first day of school in their new clothes. Some children remember those first days filled with tears as they left their homes. Parents remember those first days filled with anxiety until SCHOOL DAYS... We dare you to browse their children returned home again. For many of the Lyndon children, Liz Williams was their first teacher. On a warm summer evening at a picnic table behind her house, she leafed through a scrapbook of pictures and articles from her career as a teacher. She still remembers many of the names, who they married and whether they stayed in the area or moved away. You can sense the responsibility she felt and how important it was to her to see that each child started off well in school. Liz created a warm and happy classroom atmosphere filled with bright colors, tables and chairs for the children, shelves with hooks underneath for hanging jackets, and names printed over the hooks so that each child had a place to store his or her things. Liz still maintains a calm demeanor, and you have a feeling that her classroom Back Packs We have a large variety of prices & styles Outstanding Sportswear Selections from Columbia, Woolrich and Carhartt • Bibs • Sweatshirts • Jeans • Shirts • Shorts • Casual Pants Johnson Woolens Camping Equipment & Supplies Official Distributor of BOY SCOUT Supplies Caplan’s OVER 90 YEARS 457 Railroad Street • St. Johnsbury, VT 05819 • (802) 748-3236 was orderly and organized. She has a good sense of humor, and it would be easy for children to love her and love going to school every day. In her early years of teaching, college students would come and observe her techniques. Her classroom was called a demonstration room. “Back in those days, the school board also came and visited your classroom and invited you for dinner,” Liz says. “I had all my students come for supper in my trailer, two at a time that first year. I had almost 30 students because it was first and second grades.” Every year before the start of school, Liz would visit each of her incoming students and their families at their homes. She felt there was great value in doing this. It gave the child a chance to meet her and vice versa. The children and parents could ask her questions, and she had a chance to learn about each child on an individual basis. “You understand the children better by visiting “When was the first time you learned the value of your own Travel Consultant?” Let Sandy, who has over 30 years of experience arranging all types of travel (vacation and business), be your travel consultant. them in their homes,” she says, “and they are better prepared because they have seen you in their atmosphere before they get to school.” Liz taught for 36 years and then worked as a substitute. Being a part of the Lyndon school community and also living in town, she is a familiar face to many of the people she taught, sometimes even extending to the next generation. Liz was born July 16, 1933 and grew up in the village of Saxton’s River in the town of Rockingham. She wanted to be a teacher and planned on attending Keene State College. “I came to visit a friend up here and loved the area,” she recalls. “We went up by Willoughby Lake in the middle Sandy Delude Outside Sales Consultant If you would like Sandy’s assistance, please contact her at: Sandy@pennypitoutravel.com NH: 603-856-7362 • VT: 802-881-5260 of the winter, and I have been here ever since.” She attended Lyndon Teachers’ College (now Lyndon State College) where she met her husband, Roland. They married on Aug. 15, 1955 between her junior and senior years. Roland was born in Craftsbury and was attending college on the GI Bill. There was a trailer park at the college with about 12 trailers, and that is where they lived for several years after they married and she started teaching. “Mr. Wakefield, the superintendent, hired me to teach at Pudding Hill,” she says. “I would have to be my own janitor and have all eight grades, but there would only be a few kids. Two weeks later he came back and said if I preferred, I could have first and second grades at Lyndon Corner School with 30 kids, but I wouldn’t have to be my own janitor.” She chose to teach first and second grades at Lyndon Corner School (now the site of Antiques and Emporium). The next year, she moved to Lyndonville Graded School (currently the town and village offices) and became the first kindergarten teacher there, teaching only children who lived in the village. There was no busing, so children walked to and from school. After eight years, parents in the town of Lyndon wanted a kindergarten, so another teacher was hired to teach the town children at the graded school. Liz taught kindergarten in the morning. “I had to teach something else,” she says, “so I taught music to all eight grades in the afternoon and 10or28or53 MILES Xtra Innings Performance Better Performance for Life Adrian Guyer, CSCS, NSCA CPT Owner & Founder 198 Eastern Avenue St. Johnsbury, VT 05819 Hours: Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday 9-4 338 Highland Avenue, Ste 1, Newport, VT 05855 Hours: By Appointment (802)748-4852 (800) 838-4327 SCENIC September 29 TH 2012 peachamlibrary.org Come pedal through the “most photographed town in Vermont” during foliage season and experience firsthand what draws people from all over the world. 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www.northstarmonthly.com June 2012 9 put on operettas and graduations.” She taught at the graded school for 17 years. At that point, the school system was changed, and grades K-3 went to the Campus School (across from the Lyndon Institute track and football field). Grades 4-5 went to the Corner School and grades 6-8 stayed at the Lyndonville Graded School. The town and village kindergartens were combined at the Campus School. Liz taught at the Campus School for 17 years. Then the newly built Lyndon Town School on Lily Pond Road was opened, and she taught there for one year. Liz easily describes a typical day in her kindergarten class: “We had a gathering where we would say the Lord’s Prayer and salute the flag. We did patriotic things; everyone had a chance to share something. There was free play where every child was doing something different, snack time, cots for quiet time, music, and show and tell.” She read to them every day. Most children at that time did not know how to read before they started kindergarten and most did not know the alphabet. “One or two would learn to read in kindergarten,” Liz says, “but I was a firm believer that play was a kindergartener’s work. They learned social interaction, how to share, and get along. It was fun. They learned to print their names. They learned to write numbers and letters and make little booklets.” When the children learned the alphabet, they would bring in one item for each letter. One week they would bring in something starting with the letter “A,” the next week “B,” and so on. Students learned letters, numbers and the sounds letters made. They played activities and games that encouraged all of these things. They placed items on bulletin boards and hung up pictures around the room. “We talked about different people in the community,” she remembers, “and what they did, such as a fireman, postman, and policeman, and took walks around town, went on field trips, and had speakers come in.” The children made maple syrup and cider and put on programs at the Darling Inn. Liz taught Mother Goose rhymes, had special activities for Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas, and presented programs of poems, songs, and dancing. She had student teachers and parents who came in and helped whenever she asked. “When we were learning our colors,” she says, “I painted the keys of one octave on the piano and the children would learn to plays songs as they learned their colors.” Liz did not believe in kindergarten graduations. “I always feel we try to make our children grow up too fast. I want them to be children for those years from birth to teenage.” Teachers were required to take classes for continuing education credits, depending on what their interests were and what programs would help them in the classroom. They attended teachers’ conventions, and Liz was treasurer of the state kindergarten association. Now she is treasurer of the Retired Teachers’ Association for Caledonia and Southern Essex Counties. She also belongs to Delta Kappa Gamma, a women educators’ group. Roland also taught school. He began in East St. Johnsbury and then taught at the St. Johnsbury Center School. “From there, he went to the St. Johnsbury Junior High and started probably one of the first special education classes in Vermont,” says Liz. “Then he went to Lyndon Institute and taught in their special education program. When he retired, he started classes for people who had not finished high school.” Liz retired in 1992 and served as a substitute for 10 years until Roland became ill, when she retired completely. Liz and Roland have three children. Their daughters, Deborah and Mary Beth, live in Florida, and their son, W. David, lives in Lyndon and teaches science at Lyndon Fenoff & Hale Construction Inc. For all your Construction Needs Large or Small Custom Homes • Remodeling • Addition • Roofing • Siding • Decks Painting - Interior or Exterior, No Matter What Size • Fully Insured 1085 Rte 2 East, Danville, VT 05828 • 802-684-9955 Trent Cell 802-535-9108 • Nate Cell 802-535-7303 • Fax 802-684-3414 Do you have a chronic health condition that is affecting your life? Any adult with one or more chronic conditions can participate. A friend or care giver is welcome to attend with you. Registration limited to 18 people, 10 person minimum. Please check the session you’d like to attend. Tuesdays, Oct. 23 – Nov. 27, 2012 1:00 to 3:30 p.m. Tuesdays, Jan. 8 – Feb. 12, 2013 9:30 – Noon Community Connections Classroom 55 Sherman Drive, St. Johnsbury Institute. They have six grandchildren. Liz has always had music in her life. As a child, she was in all the local musicals and used to play the clarinet. She also plays the piano and organ although she says, “I don’t play them very well.” She is known for her singing, which the members of the First Congregational Church in Lyndonville continue to enjoy as she has been a member of the senior choir for 50 years. Liz taught junior choir for 25 years at the same church. “I go to the Pines and play and sing church services once a week,” she adds. “Then I go with Teresa Vasko and Leone Gale on Thursdays and we sing fun songs.” On Aug. 14, 2010, Liz officiated at the wedding of Becky Armstrong and C.J. Aubin, who both had her as a kindergarten teacher. Becky and C.J. met in 2005 at the Caledonia County Fair. He was with the fire department and she was working at the gate. Their first Christmas together, they bought their tree at the Williams’ farm. When Becky and C.J. decided to get married, they wanted something unique and someone who had a personal connection to both You will learn: • how to deal with frustration, pain, fatigue, and isolation • exercise techniques for maintaining and improving strength, flexibility, and endurance; use of medications • how to communicate with health professionals, family, and friends • nutrition and healthy lifestyles… and more! And you will receive: • A 300-page booklet and relaxation audio tape. NAME ADDRESS Would you like to change your life for the better? PHONE TO ENROLL CALL 802 748-7395 OR MAIL THIS TO: PAM SMART NVRH, PO BOX 905, ST. JOHNSBURY, VT 05819 A FREE PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS Looking forward to your health. A FREE PROGRAM FOR PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC CONDITIONS of them. They thought of Liz. “Oh, I can’t do that,” Liz remembers telling them. “I’m not a justice of the peace.” But Becky told her she could. By completing a registration form and submitting $100 to the Vermont Secretary of State, she could be approved as a temporary officiant. The authorization from the Secretary of State is valid only for a specific wedding and only for a certain amount of time. “So I did it,” Liz says with a smile. “I used a lot of kindergarten things in my service.” Becky adds, “She talked about sharing and being polite and related things we learned in kindergarten to marriage.” The wedding photographer, Randi Morse, took a picture of all those at the wedding who had been students of Liz either in kindergarten, music class, or first and second grade. Thirtytwo of the attendees, including the bride and groom, posed for the photo. Becky says, “There were even more than that but not everyone got in the picture.” Dancing is another activity that has been a part of Liz’s life. “During the years I was at Lyndonville Graded School, I used to teach ballroom dancing,” she remembers. “They wanted to do all that modern stuff. I said, ‘You do mine and we’ll do yours.’” So they brought records and practiced dancing. “At Lyndon Institute alumni dances,” Liz says, “people have come up to me and said ‘Thank you for making us learn how to waltz, foxtrot, and polka.’ That made it worth it all.” Her favorite book is the Bible, which she reads every day. Another favorite is All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten by Robert Fulghum. His book contains essays dealing with basic ideas learned in kindergarten that should be continued into adulthood thus making the world a better place. Liz used many of these ideas in her classrooms. Her advice for young parents is to spend time with their children and keep them away from the television. “I think the kids pick up a lot of the bad things and not enough of the good things on TV,” she says. “Read, read, read to them. Spend a lot of time with them. Set a good example. Love your mate. Show them love. Raising children takes a lot of patience, time, and hard work.” Find us on Facebook.
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