Growing Up, What Was The Coolest Thing Your Teacher or School Ever Did?

So while watching a YouTube video about a similar event, I was reminded of our school's experiment, when I was only in 1st grade.

So my 1st grade teacher's name was Mrs. Apple, if you can believe that! 

On the minus side, Mrs. Apple was a very stern lady with cat-eye glasses and a teased, frozen hairstyle, who would pinch you on the chest, on the thin skin of the sternum - with glee - if you misbehaved, or she'd paddle you if you were really bad. 

She looked very much like this lady, except much older, her hair was a bit longer and flipped up on each end - fully plastered that way to the point of immobile, after hairspray - and she wore tweed jackets and skirts or a cardigan with that ruffled shirt.

I never got pinched or paddled, mind you, but it was memorable when other students did!

Because there's virtually no muscle at your sternum, just skin, nerves and bone - so it hurts like a b---ch!

(In fact, a "sternal rub" is used by physicians in attempt to rouse people from unconsciousness for this reason. Also, ask anyone who's ever had open-heart surgery, where they crack your sternum open to get to the heart - the most painful part for months afterwards is the sternum area.)

Whoever got pinched immediately cried out and dropped to the floor - so I made up my mind I'd never say a freaking word in that class, sit up straight, do as I was told, and never talk to my friends unless she gave permission. Wouldn't you? 😂

(I also never told my parents,  It was 1st grade and I just thought this was just how school was, and actually -  it was, back then - plus my parents had enough going on at home.)

Come to think of it, I had a lot of very stern elementary/middle school teachers, many of whom were stereotypically German, growing up in suburban Cincinnati - Mrs. Keller, Mrs. Orndorff, Ms. Finkbeiner, Ms. Feinauer.

*NOT that all Germans are stern* - Ms. Orndorff wasn't so much, but she was younger and even laughed occasionally - but the others unfortunately did not help that German stereotype, let's put it that way.

Also my 4th-grade teacher, Ms. Feinhauer, though mostly stern, also at least laughed occasionally, and also read us Judy Blume's younger stuff like "Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing," and  introduced me to "The Chronicles of Narnia," and let us play records and dance indoors on rainy days during recess to the "Grease" album 😂

But back to Ms.Apple ....

Now, on the plus side, if you did well, Ms. Apple made a big deal about it and rewarded you. There was no hugging, of course, but patted you on the back, smiled and told the class how well you'd done. Mind you, she smiled, but never really with her eyes, but at least it was a smile.

She also taught us our letters and how to eventually write in a very unique way - by having us mold them with modeling clay first, before later teaching us to write.

Not cutouts, but actually rolling and forming them with our hands, eventually making words ... 

This was not only fun, but very effective - our class was way ahead in reading and writing before other students our age!

(Not that my handwriting today is any proof, but I at least learned this way.)

And no - you weren't allowed to actually play with the clay until after she approved your letter and moved on to another student, nor talk to others or sing little songs as you did it, or else you'd get "the pinch." 😂

I'm not sure if we were way ahead because of the unique modeling-clay way she taught us or our fear of being pinched in the sternum or both!

Anyway, our school as a whole decided to do a little experiment, which I believe was actually Ms. Apple's idea because she was in charge of the pins and got very excited about it, which was contagious.

I think they don't do this as much now, because if the materials ended up in the oceans, that would be a very bad thing for ocean wildlife.

Regardless, at the time, every student got a helium balloon, and we tied a laminated tag on it with our name and our school's address and phone number to contact when the balloon was found - and then we released them all on the playground, one day and watched them float away.

We had a giant map in the hallway of the school, so that when the school was contacted, a colored pin would be put in that location with the student's name attached. (The map was encased and locked in glass, of course, so nobody could mess with it. 😂)

My particular balloon was never found, but over 100 others were, as far north as Canada and as far south as Florida, and as far west as Nebraska.  (I'm thinking they never made it over the Rockies 😂)

Super cool way to show us how big the world really is, as well as familiarize us with basic science principles, as well as weather patterns, right?

Not to mention, unify us as a school regardless of background.

Very cool!