Changes and Challenges

All the incoming freshmen had to take apptitude tests within the first few days. Those are always an adventure!

My plan was to major in English and become an English teacher. I discovered that I had enough money to pay for two years of college. So I decided to major in elementary education because I could become certified to teach after two years.

There were several phone calls from home. Mom and Bill wanted to know what I was thinking. They agreed it was the smart thing to do after we discussed it calmly!

There were four general education classes that included 3 hours of lecture and one hour of classtime. Most students had to take three of the four classes. However, the lucky folks majoring in Elementary Education had to take all four!!! The classes were "Man in the Physical World," "Man in the Social World," "Man in the
Cultural World." I think the fourth one had to do with science.

My schedule always had one of these lecture courses at 8 a.m. three days a week. We all loved those 8 a.m. classes!! The classroom time would be on Tuesday or Thursday.

It was always nice to have no classes after 2 p.m. on Fridays - just in case one had a ride home for the weekend!

One of the challenges was going from a small school, being in the top ten of the class, was competing for good grades. I am not sure I really knew how to study or how to write a paper. I took US History before 1865 the first semester. It was really tough. At five weeks, I was failing and shocked! At mid-semester I was doing better. At the end of the semester I got a "B" on my final. My grade for that class ended up being a "C" - and I was glad to get it!

A little sidelight on that History before 1865 class: I sat by a football player who played in the line every week. When test papers were handed out, he would write his name in the proper place. When he handed the test in, all that was on the page was his name. Would you be surprised to know that I can still remember his name??