Teachers Who Knew

The Importance of a First Impression

Ms. Nunley was another in the series of elementary teachers who ran a tight ship. My 4th grade class was a social and talkative bunch. Ms. Nunley’s first order of business was to remind the boys she was not to be trifled. On the first day of school, she would invite boys up to her table in the cafeteria during lunch, ask if they could hand her their apple and then proceed to break it in half with her bare hands. Now for us that was quite impressive, so we dutifully handed over our apples for about a week or two until we learned it was pressure points and not brute strength that did the trick.

____________________________________________________________________________________

I’m afraid my trips to the office, however, became semi-regular once again.

I liked Ms. Nunley. She was firm but could have fun. I’m afraid my trips to the office, however, became semi-regular once again. Being the fifth year in school, we had a well-established routine for recess. When we got back to school many of the boys would participate in a pick-up game of what one could loosely call soccer. We didn’t really know the rules since soccer teams weren’t a thing yet in Chattanooga, so we made them up. You couldn’t touch the ball with your hands, but you could use your elbows. We didn’t have a goal but a goal line. By fourth grade, the competitive among us were far from learning how to lose. Therefore, especially during afternoon recess, fights were common.

By the end of September, and I seem to remember that this happened in 5th grade as well, the Principal banned soccer. All the balls were taken up and put away so naturally we would just start playing football. Fights were usually rare with football because we usually had 20 on a side and because of this nobody ever scored. The rule was two completions for the first down and whoever started with the ball would make short passes that would keep possession for the entire 30 minutes. No one lost so no one was upset when we were called in. Recess was the highlight of my day.

Ms. Nunley Brought the World to Us

I had become a serviceable student who continued to assume that I was following in my brother’s athletic footsteps. My performance in any sport at recess was critical for my development and self-confidence. I think at least a third of the boys in my grade level felt the same way. We just had a great time. I can only imagine Ms. Nunley’s frustration when we had indoor recess due to inclement weather.

____________________________________________________________________________________

She would tell of the dangers and injuries that resulted for some doing the

work with a sense of pride.

Ms. Nunley was a profound patriot who would often regale stories of her work at the nuclear facility in Oak Ridge, Tennessee during World War II. She would tell of the dangers and injuries that resulted for some doing the work with a sense of pride. Perhaps my best memory from fourth grade was the day Apollo 13 safely splashed down. We had been watching reports of the crippled space craft trying to get to earth on the 25” black and white TV hanging in the left front corner of the classroom.

How to Use TV in The Classroom

We only got to watch that TV on special occasions, such as the World Series, and would constantly get Ms. Nunley to adjust the rabbit ear antennae when the vertical hold would cause the picture to flip. She would roll her eyes, get up from her desk, threaten to turn it off if we weren’t quiet, and get the picture in order. Too often for her she would go back to her seat and get back to work only to hear us complain about the picture again. Anyway, we knew when we got to school that day that, aside from recess and lunch, we were going to be focused on the Apollo mission.

________________________________________________________________________________

As the capsule began to perform re-entry, Ms. Nunley no longer sat at

her desk. She was standing next to the TV and watching intently.

We were all aware of the tension in the country but being fourth graders, we, the students, all assumed the astronauts were going to be fine. As the capsule began to perform re-entry, Ms. Nunley no longer sat at her desk. She was standing next to the TV and watching intently. The blackout time where astronauts and Houston were not in communication seemed to go on forever. When the cameras picked up the capsule out of the sky it quickly splashed down. We all cheered. Ms. Nunley, this no-nonsense teacher, began to cry.

How to Teach

One of my great honors as a principal was getting to work with master teachers. The good ones, and there were many, not only kept students on task but used strategies that encouraged enthusiasm. When my son Alec was in fourth grade, he had a teacher named Mrs. Trznadel. Now the only reason I write about my son is because he attended my school. This will curse him the rest of his life. Alec is a very inquisitive and imaginative individual who, like his father, was easily distracted. Mrs. Trznadel in her brilliance determined the way to counter Alec’s tendencies was by pairing him up with a student who was on task.

____________________________________________________________________________________

She pushed the students academically but there was no drama, which

is a real accomplishment with fourth graders.

Perhaps Mrs. Trznadel’s real gift was understanding that the other student would not only be focused but had a personality that got along well with Alec. Mrs. Trznadel understood the importance of social chemistry in a productive classroom. She pushed the students academically but there was no drama, which is a real accomplishment with fourth graders. One example of Mrs. Trznadel’s skills with children had to do with Alec’s name. Alec’s full name is George Alexander Bonner. He determined in fourth grade that he wanted to be called George.

­­­­­­­­ __________________________________________________________________________________

As he negotiated this change, Mrs. Trznadel said fine, but once the name

gets put on the desk it would not change all year.

As he negotiated this change, Mrs. Trznadel said fine, but once the name gets put on the desk it would not change all year. Alec was fine with that and his classmates, in initial confusion, got used to calling him George. In true Alec fashion, he kept the name George throughout the year and then decided he wanted to be Alec again in fifth grade. Mrs. Trznadel referred to him as George thereafter.