I would like to dedicate this Chapter to all the teachers who have inspired me to become a First Grade Teacher.
Preschool and Kindergarten
I don't really much remember what Preschool and Kindergarten entailed. I do remember the name of the school, a friend I had there and the way that one of my teacher's physical attributes defined who she was.
The school's name was Weatherly Heights Baptist Nursery School. I would go for two or three half days a week. Mrs. Hoodless-I believe that was her name-was my teacher. She was a very nice teacher. She was tall and slender and wore these brown glasses. She had really big brown hair, just to the shoulders, which curled under slightly. She would smell like summer and her smile was like that of a rainbow-bright and cheery. She had a real southern accent, which sounded so sweet. I remember helping her out a lot, and she would be delighted that she had such a great helper.
During those days in my Early Childhood Years, I had a friend named Brooke, whom I swore I would see later in my life, but she said she had no recollection of me about five years later. I can barely remember those days, but do remember that she was my friend and she went to school with me there.
One would wonder why my parents would sent me to a Southern Baptist Nursery, since I was brought up Roman Catholic. At the time, my Dad was still not Catholic, so on some Sundays I remember going to Sunday School at this same school, while my parents were upstairs in the church listening to God's word.
The church was beautiful! It had really high ceilings and it was very blue. There were huge stain-glassed windows which would let this white light inside. There seemed to be a strong pleasant aroma of flowers and the pastor's words were gentle in nature. I don't really much remember what he talked about, but I do remember that after Sunday School, sometimes the children would go meet their parents in the congregation. My parents seemed pleased to see me when I would join them, as they would be holding baby Maria, and I would join her as her big sister.
First Grade
After Kindergarten, I switched schools to this Catholic School named, Holy Spirit Catholic School which had an adjoining church named, Holy Spirit Catholic Church which my parents and I would be a part of for the next six years of my life. This was also the school that Topher went to, so I knew a familiar face, as he was also in my class.
However as Topher moved away, I had other boys in my class, whom I thought were kind like Topher, but ended up being so mean! Their names were Garrett and Jodi. Oh, I hated those two boys! Really they were so cruel to me, but in a way that boys are usually cruel to girls they love bullying. By bullying, I don't mean that they stole my lunch money or pushed me around the playground, but they had a way of always making me look guilty when they were the ones that started the problems.
At the time, I had these really long pigtails in my hair. My mom would give me two of them, one on each side almost everyday. That was easiest for her at the time, because she was pregnant with Eddie and Maria was in preschool, so my hairstyle had to be simple. Well, my most "beloved" teacher would place us in "boy/girl" order in our desks. She never put me next to Topher, but instead she put me between the two "stupid" boys Garrett and Jodi. They thought I was so cute, and really knew that Mrs. Passinissi loved me so much!
One day as Mrs. P was teaching, Jodi and Garrett had a plan to be funny. Jodi pulled, my hair on one side. I yelled, "Ouch!"
Mrs. P said, "Marissa, stop yelling in the class."
I told her, "But, Mrs. Passinissi, Jo..."
She said, "I said be quiet!" So I was quiet. Then Garrett pulled my hair on the other side even harder.
I yelled, "OUCH! Stop that!"
Mrs. P said, "Marissa, I told you to stop yelling out loud! Because you don't need to listen, go stand in the corner."
I said, "but Mrs. Passinissi, Ga..."
She said, "You need to argue with me? I said go now and stick your nose in the corner. I cannot have any children, especially ones that know how to behave to be disrupting instruction time. When I tell you to, you may sit down." So without any further arguing, I did as I was told.
About five minutes later, she had me join my reading group. Jodi and Garrett were in the top reading group and I was placed in the bottom reading group. As I sat down, they snickered at me, which made me feel so angry-like I wanted to rip their heads off. Then Garrett told me, "You are so stupid because you yelled in class, that she put you in the dummy corner! Ha! Ha!"
Then Jodi chimed in, "...and you are a dummy because you are not in our reading group. We are the Number One Blue Jays, and you are in the dummy Robin reading group." He was right. Only the really slow dummies were in the Robin Reading Group. In the middle were the Cardinals and then the Blue Jays were first.
I would show them. So, I decided to take all my reading workbooks and textbooks home, including my "Robin" phonics book. I started reading the stories with my Mother, and answered all the questions. I would work ahead, because I told my Mom, "Mommy, I want to be in the Blue Jays reading group, so I will work more pages okay?" She did not care, so I did just that.
After one month, I would be placed in the Cardinals. Mrs. Passinissi was shocked! She said, "Marissa, your reading is much better! I am so proud of you, but you need to stop screaming in class."
I told her, "Mrs. Passinissi, I don't scream on purpose, Jodi and Garrett pull my hair! Really, I love school so much! Don't you see that when you see me and hear all the teachers say, 'Good Morning, Miss Marissa! You always have a smile on your face.' ?" (You see, those crazy boys started doing other things like moving my chair before I would sit down and chase me hard on the playground, when I moved to the Cardinal group.)
She said, "No, Jodi and Garrett would never do something like that, especially to make you yell out loud like that. Plus, now I expect so much out of you. Your mother told me that you were such a good child and that you would always do as you are told. I don't honestly see that, my dear."
Oh, that made me so angry, so the next month I drove myself harder and by the second semester, I was a Blue Jay. Topher was also in the top group, but unfortunately, I was not his princess anymore, he had other "girlfriends." So, I would just chase him on the playground at recess time and he would chase me back. We were only friends at school then. So chivalry died in him, once we started First Grade.
However, for some reason or another, either my Mom had a discussion with the teacher, or Topher still protected me, or my teacher's attitude about me changed, the rest of First Grade went really smoothly, except for my incident on the "Monkey Bars."
I don't remember her name, but apparently, like I have mentioned before, I seem to attract all the trouble makers in my life. One day, she and I were hanging upside down on the Monkey Bars. We were told by the teachers it was okay if we could feel the ground with our hands, but not to go up any farther. The teachers on duty did not move around on the playground. Instead, they seemed to gather by the entrances and sides of the playground and talk and drink coffee.
So, my little girlfriend and I decided to break the rules and she said, "Hay Marissa, let us go up higher and hang upside down."
I told her, "No, we will get into trouble. Plus we cannot touch and if we fall down we could hurt ourselves."
She said, "Stop being so good! You know it will be so much fun!"
Reluctantly, I agreed. So, we carefully maneuvered up to the top of the round half-circled Monkey Bars, and she hung over first. She said, "Wee! This is so much fun! I feel like I am flying and I can really see the sky! Weeeeeeeeeeeee!" She was able to pull herself up and said to me, "Your turn, Marissa! Try, really it is so much fun!"
I started to hang over and at first I was scared, but as I let go of one hand, I started feeling the excitement of letting go all together. She was supposed to make sure my legs would be held, as I wasn't sure I would be able to lock into position like she did. Unfortunately, I slipped, and "Ohhhhhhh!" I caught one bar but somehow I landed directly on my chest. I started crying so hard, "Waaaa waaaa waaaa!" Tears were rolling down my cheeks.
The teachers rushed over and asked, "Oh, Marissa what happened? Are you okay?? What did you do??"
I replied, "I am so sorry. She and I were hanging up high on the Monkey Bars, and I lost my balance.. Ahhh Waaaa Waaa Waaa!"
They said, "Who, Marissa. Who is She?" I looked around and "She" had fled! I don't remember her name, and at that same time, I could not remember her name. I was traumatized. So, they brought me to the Nurse and I had to hold ice on my chest, because there was a big bruise. They called my Mom, and she rushed to school to pick me up.
Of course, I got the lecture on the way to see my Dad at the hospital-my Dad was a Pediatrician. "Marissa, how many times must I tell you, 'You win or lose by what you choose!' I have told you time and time again, you don't need to play with the trouble makers. Who is this girl? What is her name? What grade is she in?"
I said, "Mommy, I am sorry. I don't remember her name, but OOOOHHHHHH it hurts so much!"
She said, "Okay we are almost there."
When we got to the hospital, where my Dad was patiently waiting, we went into the Pediatric wing. He helped me undress and sure enough my whole left side of my chest area was bruised badly. They gave me an x-ray to make sure that I did not have any cracked bones. He brought in another one of his colleagues and his colleague told him, "Ed, you need to know, she does not have any broken bones, but she has damaged the breast tissue. It may not heal properly and when it comes time for her to develop, she may only develop a little. Whereas, her other side will look a lot bigger."
Daddy's little girl was hurt, and he could not do anything but wait and see if this injury affected her teenage years. Of course, my Dad has always been laid back about such things and did not show much emotion, except for a smile, kiss and a hug and said, "Thank God! You will be Okay! No broken bones."
Of course, my Mom was ready to pass sentence for the worry and the disobedience to my teachers. My Dad said, "Let her write a letter of apology to her teachers. I will send a Doctor's note with her to school. She is not to play in PE for at least a week or so. Also, she is not allowed to play with that little girl anymore."
I wasn't that sad, because like all little fickle girls, that one that got me in trouble soon was "friends" with another little girl, and I became friends with Danielle and Desiree. We would have adventures in the future, but I learned something very important that day. First, always listen to your teacher when she says something in regards to your safety. He/She are professionals when it comes to keeping you safe. Secondly; Be careful to choose your friends wisely, "Misery seeks company."
Preschool and Kindergarten
I don't really much remember what Preschool and Kindergarten entailed. I do remember the name of the school, a friend I had there and the way that one of my teacher's physical attributes defined who she was.
The school's name was Weatherly Heights Baptist Nursery School. I would go for two or three half days a week. Mrs. Hoodless-I believe that was her name-was my teacher. She was a very nice teacher. She was tall and slender and wore these brown glasses. She had really big brown hair, just to the shoulders, which curled under slightly. She would smell like summer and her smile was like that of a rainbow-bright and cheery. She had a real southern accent, which sounded so sweet. I remember helping her out a lot, and she would be delighted that she had such a great helper.
During those days in my Early Childhood Years, I had a friend named Brooke, whom I swore I would see later in my life, but she said she had no recollection of me about five years later. I can barely remember those days, but do remember that she was my friend and she went to school with me there.
One would wonder why my parents would sent me to a Southern Baptist Nursery, since I was brought up Roman Catholic. At the time, my Dad was still not Catholic, so on some Sundays I remember going to Sunday School at this same school, while my parents were upstairs in the church listening to God's word.
The church was beautiful! It had really high ceilings and it was very blue. There were huge stain-glassed windows which would let this white light inside. There seemed to be a strong pleasant aroma of flowers and the pastor's words were gentle in nature. I don't really much remember what he talked about, but I do remember that after Sunday School, sometimes the children would go meet their parents in the congregation. My parents seemed pleased to see me when I would join them, as they would be holding baby Maria, and I would join her as her big sister.
First Grade
After Kindergarten, I switched schools to this Catholic School named, Holy Spirit Catholic School which had an adjoining church named, Holy Spirit Catholic Church which my parents and I would be a part of for the next six years of my life. This was also the school that Topher went to, so I knew a familiar face, as he was also in my class.
However as Topher moved away, I had other boys in my class, whom I thought were kind like Topher, but ended up being so mean! Their names were Garrett and Jodi. Oh, I hated those two boys! Really they were so cruel to me, but in a way that boys are usually cruel to girls they love bullying. By bullying, I don't mean that they stole my lunch money or pushed me around the playground, but they had a way of always making me look guilty when they were the ones that started the problems.
At the time, I had these really long pigtails in my hair. My mom would give me two of them, one on each side almost everyday. That was easiest for her at the time, because she was pregnant with Eddie and Maria was in preschool, so my hairstyle had to be simple. Well, my most "beloved" teacher would place us in "boy/girl" order in our desks. She never put me next to Topher, but instead she put me between the two "stupid" boys Garrett and Jodi. They thought I was so cute, and really knew that Mrs. Passinissi loved me so much!
One day as Mrs. P was teaching, Jodi and Garrett had a plan to be funny. Jodi pulled, my hair on one side. I yelled, "Ouch!"
Mrs. P said, "Marissa, stop yelling in the class."
I told her, "But, Mrs. Passinissi, Jo..."
She said, "I said be quiet!" So I was quiet. Then Garrett pulled my hair on the other side even harder.
I yelled, "OUCH! Stop that!"
Mrs. P said, "Marissa, I told you to stop yelling out loud! Because you don't need to listen, go stand in the corner."
I said, "but Mrs. Passinissi, Ga..."
She said, "You need to argue with me? I said go now and stick your nose in the corner. I cannot have any children, especially ones that know how to behave to be disrupting instruction time. When I tell you to, you may sit down." So without any further arguing, I did as I was told.
About five minutes later, she had me join my reading group. Jodi and Garrett were in the top reading group and I was placed in the bottom reading group. As I sat down, they snickered at me, which made me feel so angry-like I wanted to rip their heads off. Then Garrett told me, "You are so stupid because you yelled in class, that she put you in the dummy corner! Ha! Ha!"
Then Jodi chimed in, "...and you are a dummy because you are not in our reading group. We are the Number One Blue Jays, and you are in the dummy Robin reading group." He was right. Only the really slow dummies were in the Robin Reading Group. In the middle were the Cardinals and then the Blue Jays were first.
I would show them. So, I decided to take all my reading workbooks and textbooks home, including my "Robin" phonics book. I started reading the stories with my Mother, and answered all the questions. I would work ahead, because I told my Mom, "Mommy, I want to be in the Blue Jays reading group, so I will work more pages okay?" She did not care, so I did just that.
After one month, I would be placed in the Cardinals. Mrs. Passinissi was shocked! She said, "Marissa, your reading is much better! I am so proud of you, but you need to stop screaming in class."
I told her, "Mrs. Passinissi, I don't scream on purpose, Jodi and Garrett pull my hair! Really, I love school so much! Don't you see that when you see me and hear all the teachers say, 'Good Morning, Miss Marissa! You always have a smile on your face.' ?" (You see, those crazy boys started doing other things like moving my chair before I would sit down and chase me hard on the playground, when I moved to the Cardinal group.)
She said, "No, Jodi and Garrett would never do something like that, especially to make you yell out loud like that. Plus, now I expect so much out of you. Your mother told me that you were such a good child and that you would always do as you are told. I don't honestly see that, my dear."
Oh, that made me so angry, so the next month I drove myself harder and by the second semester, I was a Blue Jay. Topher was also in the top group, but unfortunately, I was not his princess anymore, he had other "girlfriends." So, I would just chase him on the playground at recess time and he would chase me back. We were only friends at school then. So chivalry died in him, once we started First Grade.
However, for some reason or another, either my Mom had a discussion with the teacher, or Topher still protected me, or my teacher's attitude about me changed, the rest of First Grade went really smoothly, except for my incident on the "Monkey Bars."
I don't remember her name, but apparently, like I have mentioned before, I seem to attract all the trouble makers in my life. One day, she and I were hanging upside down on the Monkey Bars. We were told by the teachers it was okay if we could feel the ground with our hands, but not to go up any farther. The teachers on duty did not move around on the playground. Instead, they seemed to gather by the entrances and sides of the playground and talk and drink coffee.
So, my little girlfriend and I decided to break the rules and she said, "Hay Marissa, let us go up higher and hang upside down."
I told her, "No, we will get into trouble. Plus we cannot touch and if we fall down we could hurt ourselves."
She said, "Stop being so good! You know it will be so much fun!"
Reluctantly, I agreed. So, we carefully maneuvered up to the top of the round half-circled Monkey Bars, and she hung over first. She said, "Wee! This is so much fun! I feel like I am flying and I can really see the sky! Weeeeeeeeeeeee!" She was able to pull herself up and said to me, "Your turn, Marissa! Try, really it is so much fun!"
I started to hang over and at first I was scared, but as I let go of one hand, I started feeling the excitement of letting go all together. She was supposed to make sure my legs would be held, as I wasn't sure I would be able to lock into position like she did. Unfortunately, I slipped, and "Ohhhhhhh!" I caught one bar but somehow I landed directly on my chest. I started crying so hard, "Waaaa waaaa waaaa!" Tears were rolling down my cheeks.
The teachers rushed over and asked, "Oh, Marissa what happened? Are you okay?? What did you do??"
I replied, "I am so sorry. She and I were hanging up high on the Monkey Bars, and I lost my balance.. Ahhh Waaaa Waaa Waaa!"
They said, "Who, Marissa. Who is She?" I looked around and "She" had fled! I don't remember her name, and at that same time, I could not remember her name. I was traumatized. So, they brought me to the Nurse and I had to hold ice on my chest, because there was a big bruise. They called my Mom, and she rushed to school to pick me up.
Of course, I got the lecture on the way to see my Dad at the hospital-my Dad was a Pediatrician. "Marissa, how many times must I tell you, 'You win or lose by what you choose!' I have told you time and time again, you don't need to play with the trouble makers. Who is this girl? What is her name? What grade is she in?"
I said, "Mommy, I am sorry. I don't remember her name, but OOOOHHHHHH it hurts so much!"
She said, "Okay we are almost there."
When we got to the hospital, where my Dad was patiently waiting, we went into the Pediatric wing. He helped me undress and sure enough my whole left side of my chest area was bruised badly. They gave me an x-ray to make sure that I did not have any cracked bones. He brought in another one of his colleagues and his colleague told him, "Ed, you need to know, she does not have any broken bones, but she has damaged the breast tissue. It may not heal properly and when it comes time for her to develop, she may only develop a little. Whereas, her other side will look a lot bigger."
Daddy's little girl was hurt, and he could not do anything but wait and see if this injury affected her teenage years. Of course, my Dad has always been laid back about such things and did not show much emotion, except for a smile, kiss and a hug and said, "Thank God! You will be Okay! No broken bones."
Of course, my Mom was ready to pass sentence for the worry and the disobedience to my teachers. My Dad said, "Let her write a letter of apology to her teachers. I will send a Doctor's note with her to school. She is not to play in PE for at least a week or so. Also, she is not allowed to play with that little girl anymore."
I wasn't that sad, because like all little fickle girls, that one that got me in trouble soon was "friends" with another little girl, and I became friends with Danielle and Desiree. We would have adventures in the future, but I learned something very important that day. First, always listen to your teacher when she says something in regards to your safety. He/She are professionals when it comes to keeping you safe. Secondly; Be careful to choose your friends wisely, "Misery seeks company."
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