To My Kindergarten Teacher, Thank You

Thank you, Marie Stone, for everything you did for me. I have realized for quite some time how vital were the lessons taught by Mrs. Stone, my kindergarten teacher. It was so long ago, she was also the “teaching” principal in Middle Township Elementary School. The school didn’t have a number in the tender year 1954. The red-brick edifice was a humble rectangle, no wings; they were added in time for fourth grade. The building fronts on Route 9 in Court House for anyone who cares to catch a glimpse.
I trust the Associated Press style editor will grant me leave not to refer to her as “Stone,” which is standard practice after first reference in news stories and columns. Kindergarten teachers are special people, so there!
Mrs. Stone is long departed, but her face and lessons remain in the minds of legions of Middle Township residents she taught.
The importance of one’s kindergarten teacher (there was no pre-K back then, mothers did most of that work) can only be seen in a rear-view mirror. Humble lessons like waiting patiently and being polite, not something youngsters naturally possess, were among intangibles she taught. She was the one who taught some of the first lessons about living with strangers, not calling people names, not pulling girls’ hair, and aspects of hygiene that remain to this day.
Mrs. Stone, and countless others like her, ought to be among the highest-paid members of their profession. It is only with their strong foundation that other facets of education take place. Without a solid grip of what are red, green and blue, or what is a triangle and a circle, how is the next crop of citizens supposed to learn finer points of life?
Fighting was not tolerated, nor was calling someone “Fatso,” or “Four Eyes.” Oh, Mrs. Stone, forgive society for what it has become.
It seems so simple, so basic, but parents then kindergarten are where civility starts. Sadly, it seems, it is often left there. Listening to a police scanner gives undeniable evidence that many lessons were not well taught in some kindergartens. If they had been, certainly the childish actions demonstrated by some alleged adults would not take place. Shoplifting (stealing), yelling at others, throwing stuff around, is just a sampling of such juvenile behavior.
Last week, I had the distinct pleasure to watch over a group of fifth graders at Vacation Bible School. It amazes me, each year, to see the unbridled vitality of children, to see what they learn, how quickly they can pick up new things, and how vivid are their imaginations.
It is also a silent testimony to their parents or guardians, and how they have been raised to that delicate age. By then, the lessons of kindergarten have set like concrete. It is possible to see how well, or how poorly, adults in those children’s lives have done.
Some children are polite beyond measure. They will hold a door open, and will say “thank you” (oh my gosh!) when given something. Others push to be first in line. Some talk without ceasing, others don’t say much. All cry out for attention in one form or another. All are unknown equations whose answers are yet to be calculated.
Being around those young people also underscores the importance of early learning to our great nation’s future. The Biblical admonition, “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it” (Proverbs 22:6) is a fact. Adolf Hitler and the communists who run China and Russia with an iron fist knew and know the unmistakable importance of molding young minds in those formative years. Win them over young, indoctrinate them, and the future rests solidly in one’s hands.
For this reason, the worth of a solid family cannot be ignored. Families are the key to a civilized nation. They teach respect for others and teach tolerance of someone who looks at thinks differently.
It’s not wrong to have a different view. Everyone’s view ought to be respected. Because I don’t like baseball doesn’t make me rotten to the core. If you like liver and onions, more power to you, it’s not my choice, but we can get along peaceably.
Oh, if only Mrs. Stone were alive to teach her lessons today. She would find a fertile ground in the hallowed halls of Congress and the White House, in our town halls and our places of worship. I had to wonder, after reading a news story about the lawsuit against President Barack Obama by House, could it have been avoided by real open communications between the two branches of government? We’re all Americans, what’s wrong with disagreeing? It’s what molded the nation. Compromise has always been our strong suit.
Having talked with U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo about the day-to-day workings of Congress, it was chilling to learn he never met the president, other than a brief handshake. He is, like others of his office, the people’s representative. Why not get to talk to the chief executive? What kind of company would gravitate to that level and succeed? Oh, Mrs. Stone, if you hear me, head to Washington. Help them learn what you taught in kindergarten back in 1954-55.
This column was written by an officially, by government standards, old man (65). My Medicare card care took effect Aug. 1. Thank you, Mrs. Stone, for teaching me so that I could write this column, and for teaching lessons that lasted over six decades.