Mrs. Whiting

With K starting first grade, I've been thinking a lot about my own experience in first grade. I was talking with a friend recently who said that you may not remember all of your teachers but you do remember your first grade teacher. Now while I might remember all of their names, I don't necessarily remember lots of details of my elementary life. But I remember Mrs. Whiting.

Mrs. Whiting was Cinderella in the flesh. She was just out of college, newly married, and beautiful. She had long blond hair, blue eyes, and gorgeous tan skin. Every girl in that class wanted to be her and the boys, though young, loved her. Plus she was an excellent teacher.

I recall being made to stay inside from recess because I rushed to finish my work and did a very poor job of it. My goal was to beat my friend Natalie because she always seemed to finish first. Competition started early for me. (I did beat her, by the way.)

Mrs. Whiting read Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and other classics to us at the end of each day. It instilled in me a love of reading that I still have today. (Alas, this did not carry over into middle and high school as I didn't really read every book that was assigned to me. While I love reading for pleasure, required reading isn't my forte.)

So here's to Mrs. Whiting, my fabulous first grade teacher!