CHAPTER TWO
PART III
Teaching
I invested much time and effort to earn the money I needed
for living expenses. In high school, I would leave
immediately when classes were over and go directly to
whatever job I had. There was no time to enjoy the activities
available after classes, in which I would have very much
liked to participate.
I was a packer in a department store, a sales clerk in a
bakery, a typist for a writer of stories for a popular
monthly magazine, and much more. In addition to working after
school, some jobs included working evenings, and all day
Saturdays [this is before she become observant] and Sundays,
such as one position in a local bakery shop.
Summer vacations during my college years I spent working in
the Catskill Mountains (also called the Borscht Belt). I was
a waitress at resort hotels seven days a week, twelve to
fourteen hours a day. Every time I lifted the large metal
trays, loaded with ten to twelve heavy plates of food, off
the counter, and raised them up above my shoulder, I would
feel as if a string was being pulled at both ends inside my
stomach, and was ready to snap. Years later I learned that
doing this caused an unknown spinal condition to surface some
twenty years earlier than usual. The tips received doing this
work was significant enough to make me not want to do
something else.
Those of us who waited on tables in the 1940s did not have
the benefit of writing customers' orders down on paper. One's
concentration had to be focused and sharp to remember how
many wanted roast, or boiled or broiled chicken, and how many
wanted the white or the dark meat, and which to serve to
whom. A waiter or waitress usually had four to five tables of
eight to ten people per table.
Particularly difficult was trying to remember how many
guests, during breakfast, wanted one or two soft-cooked eggs
(three or four minutes), hard-cooked (commonly called
boiled), poached, scrambled (wet or dry), or fried eggs
(sunny-side up or down). If one egg was requested we told the
chef a 'single,' if two were wanted we said 'order.' In
addition, we had to remember to give the right food to each
person.
We had to set the tables before each meal, and cater to those
who wanted special attention before breakfast, such as
getting them hot water and lemon, or prune juice, and
obliging those who wanted other items in between meals. We
earned every penny we got!
When the college, which was in northern New York State, was
in session, some of my jobs included cleaning houses for
thirty-five cents an hour, baby-sitting for ten cents an
hour, being an office clerk, a sales person, a secretary, and
working the midnight shift (midnight to 7 am) at a local
razor blade factory. I got some of these jobs by knocking on
doors of people living nearby. I would explain that I was a
student at the local college and needed employment, and was
willing and able to clean, cook, and baby-sit.
Approaching people, especially strangers, asking if I could
work for them, made me feel uncomfortable, but I did it
anyway, because my wanting a college education was stronger
than the discomfort of asking for help. I believed the
education I received would yield lifetime benefits, whereas
these activities were only temporary.
After receiving a Bachelor's degree in Science in the field
of home economics, I found, much to my surprise, that
teaching home economics to high school girls was only part of
the job. Afternoon milk and cookie visits at my home were
frequent. Teenagers, like everyone else, often need someone
to confide in, with whom to share their troubles and
concerns, to have a shoulder to cry on, to be a sounding
board, and sometimes to serve as a liaison, intermediary, or
more.
For example, one eleventh-grader would sometimes crawl under
the table around which we sat and bark like a dog. Her teeth
were almost black. As our relationship developed, I learned
that the dog in her home was the only one that gave her
affection. After doing some research, plus making a number of
phone calls, she and her family received professional
counseling and she received much-needed dental work.
One twelfth-grader rang my doorbell at two o'clock one
morning, suitcase in hand. She was planning to leave home and
asked if she could spend the night.
Although I wanted to help my students, I had to set limits.
In the case of serious problems, I tried to steer students
and their parents to appropriate professionals or agencies. I
was afraid that with all the best intentions, I could give
wrong or harmful advice that would only worsen their
situations.
I learned first-hand about a multitude of life situations
students could be having, while at the same time trying to
participate in class, study, prepare homework and get passing
grades. These experiences, plus my own when growing up,
heightened my awareness of the many difficulties youngsters
can have. It affected my approach to, and expectations of,
each student.
One particularly enjoyable aspect of teaching was developing
new ways to help children learn more effectively. For
example, I had home economics classes for elementary school
pupils. Individual classes would come to my department where
I would combine pupils' reading and arithmetic lessons with,
for example, baking cookies.
By following recipes, they learned new words, cooking terms,
measurements, whole numbers and fractions. They had to add,
subtract, or multiply amounts of ingredients. Hands-on
learning, and eating what they themselves produced, made
their lessons fun and easier to understand and remember.
In one school I instituted a new aspect to the curriculum by
creating after-school sessions for parents and teenagers,
where they could discuss and share their concerns.
Periodically, I would arrange to have a professional
psychologist, psychiatrist, counselor, or social worker as a
guest speaker. Questions and discussions always followed.
I was also given permission to add a new elective course for
junior and senior boys who were interested in learning
practical skills dealing with basic sewing, cooking and
baking, managing money wisely, and more. Together, we planned
what the course would consist of. There was always a list of
boys waiting to participate in these classes. It is
gratifying to know that teaching, especially such a practical
subject as home economics, can make a positive difference in
people's lives.
