With the school year ending soon, the VFTB wanted to share this story.

Recently, a former JHS and SUNY Fredonia classmate contacted me reminiscing about something she thought would be another one of those memorable stories we could re-tell at reunions, chance meetings at local taverns, or Tuesday “Senior Shopping” days at Wegman’s. Being a memorable adventure for those involved, the VFTB, never at a loss to tell a story, put together this time warped tale from a half-century ago.

In a time long ago (fifty-one plus years), in a small town, not so far away, a group of six people from Southern Chautauqua County were beginning the last leg of training in their chosen field of education, with just two eight-week Student Teaching Assignments, and their classroom training in what was called “Methods.” “Methods” were individual studies of ideas regarding planning lessons, and execution of said lessons in each subject area we might have to teach if, (when?) we were offered jobs as teachers.

Since we all majored in Elementary Education, and back then, elementary classroom teachers taught all subject areas, SUNY Fredonia offered “Methods,” as requirements of our training which included individual classes, titled “Reading in the Elementary School,” (offered by Dr. Brien Murphy), “Language Arts in the Elementary School,” (Dr. John Madison), “Mathematics in the Elementary School,” (Dr. Alice Hilton), “Social Studies in the Elementary School,” (whose name embarrassingly I’ve forgotten, (Senioritis?), “Science in the Elementary School,” (Dr. Jack Glenzer, also a former Chautauqua County Executive), “Educational Psychology,” taught by Dr. Nicholas Vacc, which offered instruction in individual child behavior and how to recognize possible problems young students might have in their earlier levels of education.

Some of us also took elective courses, not part of “Methods,” but which helped prepare us in other areas we may have wanted to include in our classroom management strategies, or supplement our bulletin boards, or include in recess activities they may have be able to use (time and weather permitting) in our planning. I took “Phys. Ed. In the Elementary School,” from Dr. Pat Damore, another wonderful professor who mixed in fun with our learning. He took us for an overnight experience to the College’s Camp, and we were the elementary students, while he was the teacher, just as if we were doing it for real with our classes, if, and when. I remember we had to put together and cook Hobo Dinner, which we badly burned in the fire, as he sat and ate a steak he cooked for himself over a fire in the lodge. He organized/taught kids’ games we played as if we were second/third graders, making us understand what it took to plan and execute, and experience from kids’ perspective. I also took “Art in the Elementary School,” (again, embarrassingly I can’t remember the professor’s name. (Senioritis, again?)

Prior to “Methods,” one of our required courses was, “Introduction to Contemporary Education,” (Dr. Alexander Chabe), and after receiving our Bachelors’ Degrees, a couple of us took, “Comparative Education,” (also Dr. Chabe) as part of our SUNY Fredonia Masters’ Degree Program. He, too, was a great teacher who prepared us well, with a dedicated, warm personality.

Dr. Chabe’s classes, and our electives were not part of “Methods,” so we weren’t altogether like in “Methods,” but we spent twelve of the fifteen weeks of “Methods” as a group of about twenty-four. (The other three weeks were spent doing “Junior Observation,” where we were individually assigned an elementary classroom somewhere in Chautauqua County, to do what it said, observe, and do whatever the classroom teacher allowed us to do to interact with students.)

We 24, being in daily attendance with each other, grew fairly close. Six of us from Southern Chautauqua County bonded with each other, some of us knowing each other well, some a little, some not at all, prior to “Methods.” Three of us graduated from JHS together but in a class of 600 plus, we knew many names, but all weren’t necessarily super close with each other. One of my “Methods” classmates, “D,” and I, were close, as our parents were close friends. Both our moms spent time in the hospital together when we were about to enter the world (’53). “D” made his entrance first. I arrived a day later. The group of us six became a close group, while we also got to know the rest of the 24, for the time we were together in “Methods.”

Because we, “The South Chautauqua Six,” had a geographic connection, we usually sat together, lunched together, and on some Wednesdays, when we had a two-hour break, we’d grab lunch (sometimes liquid) at one of Fredonia’s finer Spirit Houses. We then attended Dr. Glenzer’s lecture, which, due to scheduling, had all four “Methods” (approx. 100 students) groups in the SUNY Program in one large lecture hall. At times, we were a little tardy, sometimes a little noisy, but we were always welcomed with a big smile, sometimes a Dr. G glib, and often a chuckle, as we made our way to our seats. We, all 24, became very close to our professors in time spent with them, but the six of us from the south county seemed to be a bit louder, a little more relaxed, yet felt, as all 24 of us felt, a strong, and deeply respectful relationship with our teachers. Many of them reacted the same way towards us. There was a time, three of our six, “R,” “C,” and “B,” invited our professors to dinner at their apartment. Once one of us had a backyard cookout, inviting professors, where we ran out of refreshment and one of our profs happened to have a cooler with ice-cold liquids in the trunk of his car which saved the party. At the end of our “Methods” experience, Dr. Glenzer invited our “Methods” group to his camp in Ripley, where he took us on a Science Nature Walk, then cookout, as something we could include in our ideas for alternative instruction (minus the strong beverages) and learning if/when we got our own class. It definitely was a learning experience that helped us in our teaching preparation, but it was also an experience filled with laughs, fun, and a little mischief, combined with the food and refreshments shared that day.

“G,” the artist of our group, sketched Amusement Park-esque caricatures of our professors, and gave them to our teachers. He and I were commuters during our “Methods” semester. One morning, we left late when we had an 8:00 am class with Dr. Hilton. Dr. Hilton was a revered and Distinguished Math Teacher and was a little less relaxed, as was some other profs. As “G” and I walked into class, she stopped and emphatically reminded us, what time class started, and what time would make us late if we missed the official class start time. We were never late again.

Some might say (and they’d make a make an excellent case saying it) that the six of us by nature played the role of the more rambunctious kids (some of us more than others in our half-dozen) we might encounter if/when we began teaching, but all the while we had the utmost respect for our professors, and we came out of the experiences feeling and knowing they cared tremendously for us.

We owed/owe our careers to those professors who, despite our clownish personalities, and our often lightheartedness, had faith in us toward becoming the best educators we could be. If we were, we knew it was because of those who taught us. So, after a half century plus, and from the Southern Chautauqua Six, and the rest of our (’74 & ’75) “Methods” group, we can raise our eyes in thanks for the education, friendship, and confidence, all our professors (many, if not all, now resting in peace) had in us on our journey toward fulfilling our career goals and dreams.