Rev. David Boyd

"Grade One"

Do you remember grade one?

Maybe you felt like you had grown up since kindergarten; after all, you weren't just in school for half a day anymore. Maybe you felt that you had arrived. This was the year that you were to read and write. This was the year that you had to bring a lunch to school and stay the whole day. Maybe the day seemed long or maybe it just flew by, or probably it was a little of both.

Do you remember grade one?

I bet your mother or your father was trying hard not to cry as they took you to the main entrance of school. You didn't have to use the kindergarten entrance anymore. You could go through the main doors with all of the other students who weren't in kindergarten. You felt a little older. But why were your parents standing there waving with a tear in their eye? Maybe they, too, knew that you were getting older. You weren't a baby anymore. Maybe they were a little sad that you were growing up. Growing up is always bittersweet. It is sweet because it means that we can do more things, that we have more responsibility, that we are excited about life and all of life's possibilities. But it is bitter, too, because we are growing. We can't stay safe and little-we can't stay a baby all of our lives and have someone care for our every need. We have to face the world and the world can sometimes be a dangerous place. Maybe that's why your parents were crying-maybe you had a tear or two also.

Do you remember grade one?

Do you remember your teacher? My teacher got married in grade one and she invited all of her class to her wedding. It was strange because she changed her name and we had to change too. We had to remember that she wanted to be called Misses, now. I remember my grade one teacher. She was excited about teaching. She loved us and told us so. She thought teaching should be fun, not just about rules and regulations.

Do you remember grade one?

I learned to get along with classmates and to say that I was sorry. I learned to have fun playing at learning and playing with others. I learned that I had to try different things, that I had to try, period. I learned that it takes a little work to learn about things. I learned that I had just begun and couldn't know everything right then and therealthough I wanted to.

I remember grade one because it was the beginning. And I'm still beginning.