How I Became a Blue Bird

Maybe it’s the TV influence or something, but my grand kids had no problem at age 6 making the transition from home to school for the first time.  Whereas for me, the first grade was a frightening experience.

When my Mom dropped me off at Elizabeth School that day in 1942 I was convinced that I would never see her again….and that life for me had changed forever.

Of course, I did see her again, but I was right about the second part.

Yeah, I cried. But, so did some of the others.

But it didn’t take long for me to get used to the idea of going to school every day and, after all, there were only 12 more years to go.

After a few days, I was even starting to like school. Especially playing games with my new friends at recess….eating lunch in the cafeteria…and getting to know a few…….girls! (Yes, even then!)

Then, one day, it happened.

Miss Chalk gave us our first test! The kids were to be divided into three groups: Red Birds, Blue Birds, and Yellow Birds. She didn’t tell us the reason for this, but it didn’t take us long to figure it out.

The smartest kids would be RED BIRDS

The less than smart kids would be BLUE BIRDS

And…….you get the drift.

It all hinged on our first test!

She handed out the paper…..and read each question out loud….so we would all understand exactly what we were to do.

The only question I remember was the first one. But that was the only one it took to label me for the rest of my days at Elizabeth School, and perhaps the rest of my academic career…..as a BLUE BIRD.

Frankly, I blame it on Miss Chalk's southern accent.  -Ed