Reflections Upon a Blessed and Exciting Life - No 6: The First of the Four R’s: Reading and Riting

Everybody learned to read at Zion Lutheran School. There was really only one method of teaching reading and that was phonics. We used the same Bobbs Merrill Primer million of others did after its first printing in 1929. We both read and memorized the immortal first pages about The Gingerbread Boy. “I am the gingerbread boy, I am, I am. I can run from you, I can, I can.” From that primer we went directly to the phonics charts. “can, man, pan” and “fast, last,, past”. It worked.

Unfortunately there was no library at school or at home. It was the time of The Great Depression and nobody had money for books. I never owned a “child’s book”. I had no public library card. When I was in about the 6^th grade the school suddenly received a treasure: a collection of some 60 books of the classics. Each story was condensed to about 30 pages. I devoured them all, finishing them within 2 weeks.

In addition to reading English we learned to read German, using the German alphabet and style. We began with a book called, “Die Fiebel”; then “Erste Lesebuch” and after that “Zweite Lesebuch”. This was taught from grade one through grade 8.

As I reflect upon my reading instruction I wonder where and how I developed my life long love of reading. Maybe it was the deprivation in the early years or maybe it was my father who was my grades 4-8 teacher and who would read to us with a great animation. Something stirred up within me a passion for reading which remains very strong to this day.

“Riting (writing), the second R had two points of stress: correct grammar and good penmanship. Proper grammar was drilled into us. By the 6^th grade we spent hour after hour diagramming sentences. In retrospect I am very grateful for this experience. We learned all about subject, predicate, object, prepositional phrases, major and sub-ordinate classes, and the parts of speech – carefully noting transitive and intransitive verbs etc. etc. I loved it. I still remember in the 8^th grade being challenged to diagram one of the longest sentences Martin Luther ever wrote (at least it came out as only one sentence in English.) Imagine diagramming this sentence. “I believe that Jesus Christ, true God, begotten of the Father from eternity, and also true man, born of the Virgin Mary, is my Lord, who has redeemed me, a lost and condemned person, purchased and won me from all sin, from death and from the power of the devil; not with gold or silver, but with His holy precious blood and with His innocent suffering and death, that I may be His own and live under Him in His kingdom and serve Him in everlasting righteousness, innocence and blessedness, just as He is risen from the dead, lives and reigns to all eternity.” Just imagine your teacher saying to you, “Melvin, I want you to diagram that one sentence – do it on the blackboard.”

Handwriting was taught as a separate subject and given a specific grade on each report card. And I never made an “A” in that subject. I remember my teacher using something called “The Palmer Method” which was supposed to involve one’s entire arm and not just one’s fingers. I failed miserably.

Regretfully my elementary schooling did not stress actually writing reports, essays or anything creative. When I now see what my grandchildren are doing in elementary school writing assignments I am regretful at my never receiving that kind of inspiration. Yet I am grateful that at least my grammar is usually correct.