My first year as a teacher was 1934-1935. I had mostly English classes, but they asked me to teach one class of General Science. It was depression time, and I was so glad to have a job, I'd have taught cooking if they had asked.
There was lots going on that year. The W.P.A. put men to work in Tucson laying streets and sidewalks. The C.C.C. took m?? and boys into the National Forests to build roads, trails, and campsites. We teachers were not paid in money, but with county warr?ants, which most merchants accepted. The nation was trying to work its way out of a terrible depression.
In the world scene, the King of England, Edward VIII, abdicated the throne to marry "the ??m?n Al?v?", an American divorcée. A devil named Adolf Hitler and his Nazi punks were raising hell in Germany. And U.S. Admiral Richard E. Byrd wen to the South Pole, taking a Boy Scout with him!
And I taught English grammar, spelling, and punctuation--plus poetry, essays, drama, journalism, novels, and short stories. And, oh yes! General Science. We had a very poor textbook, so we built a course as we went along. I asked the kids to make "Why?" or "Home come?" lists about natural or scientific phenomena.
Well, it was General Science. Nothing was ruled out--not even "the birds and the bees"! We tried to explain, demonstrate, or discuss: the solar system; gravity; magnetism; electricity; the microscope; the telescope; the barometer; the thermometer; photosyntheiss and chlorophyll; c??l, air, oil, diamonds and dinosaurs, a crystal radio set; an incandescent light globe; the telephone; the composition of paper, cotton, silk, rayon, and wool; and of course the flora and fauna of the desert, including the saguaro cactus, the coyote, and the rattlesnake.
How did I get started on all these memories now? Well, at church the minister made a reference to an Artesian well, and all those "fun times" came back flooding my mind!
Many in the class had seen the Artesian wells at St David, a Mormon settlement near Tucson. So we build our own model using chicken wire and plaster of Paris to create miniature mountains and valleys--and copper tubing to simulate underground streams--and we actually made water run uphill!
What a century we live in! Think of all the marvelous scientific developments of our lives! And we wonder always, "What's next?" I must be like "Mr Chips" in the book or movie, for I cannot think of these kids as grown up. They'd be in thier 60's and 70's now, but to me they will always be enthusiastic, mischievous, endlessly curious teenagers!