2 Be Kind and humble ( The Shoe story)

My how times fly and things change. So many memories and they don't come in chronological

order. Thus scattered bits of my mind come through and I run with that thought.

This memory is about a kind teacher I met in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan in my first year of teaching..

She was in her last year of teaching. A very supportive lady, white hair, wise eyes and full of many

stories.

She said anytime I needed help just ask her. Well, what did I need help with right, nothing!! So what if 

she had taught for years and had seen it all.  I was full of myself. I was trained, I was ready and I felt

I knew everything. As years went by, I realized she subtly had taught me a lot. She was smart enough to wait to tell me what had worked for her without me asking .  She told me of her experiences of working with students in her stories about her past. What she found that worked and what didn't.  Sometimes I tried her ideas, some worked for me, some didn't and some just needed a bit more of my adjusted approach. 

One such time was her first job in a one room schoolhouse on the prairies with a class of  Grade1 to Grade 8, approximately 35 students, She didn't know how she was going to deal with so many students and so many different grade levels. She needed a job and this one was the only offer she got.  Her parents couldn't support her forever. So, there she was in a single room with an old jacket heater, putting wood in every morning to warm the room up. Farmers brought her water from a well and wood from their stock pile. The rest was up to her.

She was billeted with families of children who were in her class.  One family was very religious, with three girls and they all slept in a loft with hay under their mattress and blankets.  They would eat supper, read from the bible and then it was lights out.  Early bedtime and no privacy.  Another farmer

would pick her up in two to three weeks and it would be a new living arrangement for her. Sometimes she would feel like she was part of the family and at other times like a burden. One family she mentioned ate a lot of greasy style food and she got very sick, but she persevered. It was a very challenging and difficult year. She went to church, as it was expected and no private time with men as she must uphold the very expected reputation of her position.

Come the end of the school year , she was given some happy and some sad news.  The townspeople

were very happy with her work and she was offered a contract to teach for another year. To which she was quite ready to accept, except the School Superintendent said, "You will need to think about this, as

there is no money to pay you for your work".  Still, since she had no other future plans, she  agreed to take the job  on one condition.  She simply must have new shoes as her only pair was ruined  by walking in mud and snow all winter.  The Superintendent agreed. A man who made and repaired shoes made her new shoes paid  for by the townspeople with  a side of beef, a pig , some chickens, eggs and homemade bread. The leftovers from this barter system, she took home to her parents for the summer.

She taught another year there and then moved on to a teaching job in the city.

She reminded me of how difficult things can be, how kind people were to her and the humble gift these

people gave for a year's wages teaching their children.  She got a lot of experience out of that year

and always felt she was rewarded for her hard work.   My first pay check was $600.  She always

said be grateful for what you get for your efforts because that's what shapes you into the person you

Become.  She was right. I am grateful for the many different positions I have held and all the experiences I have been through, good or bad. The positive out of each job has always  been what I carry with me to the next position with children. Be kind , be humble, be grateful for what you receive.    Faith always