57 Years in School, One Way or Another
It’s 2023; fifty years ago in 1973 I graduated from high school.
I always enjoyed school and was very active. In high school I was also a bit idealistic.
I started school when I was five and didn’t stop until I retired at the age of 62; sometimes I was a student, sometimes a teacher, sometimes both.
Education has been my life; it has defined me (I am very fortunate to have married a man who had the same educational goals and values that I did so that we supported each other in our chosen lifestyle). I have always loved learning and sharing my knowledge. After high school, I went to Coffeyville Community College for one year before attending Oklahoma Christian College where I received a wonderful education and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Elementary Education, specializing in reading and language arts. I began my teaching career the fall after graduation in 1977. I continued my education and received two Masters of Science Degrees, the first in Secondary Counseling from Pittsburg State while I was living in Chanute and the second in Library and Information Science from San Jose State while I was teaching in Desert Hot Springs. I also have about a gazillion other credits as I always continued taking classes while moving over on the salary schedule, for professional development, or just because there was a class I found interesting.
However, I was a bit of an anomaly. The 1940 U.S. Census asked the question, “What was the highest grade of school completed?” I checked the 1940 Census for all of my direct ancestors who were alive at that time and discovered that none of them had much formal education. On my dad’s side, his father, Donald Watkins completed 8th grade and his step-mother, Alta Jones completed her first year of high school. (I cannot find his mother in the 1940 Census under either her name, Fannie Van Dyke, or the name she began calling herself, Delores Frances. However, I doubt that she had much education because she married at either 15 or 16, though at the time she claimed she was 18.) Fannie’s mother, Elvira Estep, completed 8th grade. My dad’s paternal grandfather, John Calvin Watkins, only completed 2nd grade, while his paternal grandmother, Lavina Clark, completed 4th grade.
My mother’s side didn’t have much education either. Her father, Malcolm Bruce McLeod, completed 7th grade while his father, John McLeod completed 3rd grade and his mother, Sarah Liggett completed 4th grade. My mother’s mother, Anna Anthony, completed her 2nd year of high school according to the 1940 Census. (I have a picture of her with what looks to be a diploma and my uncle labeled the picture as my grandmother’s high school graduation picture in 1921; however, she was just 16 when the picture was taken.) My mother’s maternal grandmother, Gertrude Anthony, completed 6th grade.
Since my parents were just children in 1940 the education question in the census did not apply to them; however, they both did not graduate from high school. My father quit at 17 to join the Air Force and my mother quit at 15 when she and her mother moved back to Beaumont from Aguanga. However, both of my parents later received their high school equivalency diplomas: my father on May 25, 1953 and my mother on October 1, 1977. They both went on to post high school education: my father continued his education at the Tulsa Welding School and received a certificate for “combined pipeline welding and refinery and industrial pipe welding” while my mother took two classes at Coffeyville Community College.
My parents were both readers and valued education. Their support and encouragement of my education was very important; I went on to have a very fulfilling 40 year career in education. I taught elementary school, remedial reading, 9th grade in a junior high setting, middle school, and a junior college enrichment class for senior citizens. As a Teacher Librarian I presented at the California School Library Association Convention a couple of years. I was also privileged to receive several teaching honors: I was Teacher of the Year at Corsini Elementary and twice was elected Teacher of the Year at Desert Springs Middle School. I also was selected PSUSD District Teacher of the Year.
My ancestors may not have had much education but they were intelligent, hard-working people. They struggled and survived. I hope that I have honored their legacy.
As my career ended and I moved into my next phase, I discovered my retirement hobby, genealogy, which has been the perfect activity for me. I’m still learning and have been able to share some of my knowledge with members of our Ardiente Genealogy Club (though I’ve definitely learned more than I’ve shared.) I also continue to take classes through Generations Cafe or YouTube and there’s lots more to learn.