Influence 107

I'm sitting here watching a fairly new show called Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? It's pretty funny. Part of that is the host is Jeff Foxworthy, and he can't help being funny. Partly it's just the idea of adults competing against kids and questions based on grade school subjects. Partly it's just shaking your head at some of the things the adults don't know. The format is similar to Millionaire, but it's more fun and less dramatic.

Anyway, it got me to thinking about my own experience in 5th grade. I had my first male teacher, Mr Silverstein. I really don't remember all that much about 5th grade... let's see... square dancing for PE in the cafetorium (yeah, that's right, a cafeteria/auditorium or cafeteria with a stage)... a couple of really cool science demonstrations, including one where Mr S heated a gas can, put the lid on it, ran cold water on it, and it collapsed... studying the pioneers and making a wooden long rifle (may still have that somewhere)... and building a weather station which I even got to take home.

One thing I do remember was thinking it was pretty cool to have a male teacher, and I think that was a positive thing for me. In fact, I think it would be a positive thing for kids today (especially boys) if there were more male teachers in elementary school.

My one regret... that I never did get all those square dancing steps down.