Friday, January 9, 2015

CHEERS TO MY FIRST DECADE OF TEACHING!

I saw this on Facebook.
The good memories came flooding back!  
(It was so easy to tell where I was in my teaching career, since I began in 1980!)
This decade was a great time to be a teacher!!!


1980-1990

1. Starting your day with one of these nutritious breakfasts before heading out to school:

Starting your day with one of these nutritious breakfasts before heading out to school:

2. Keeping your homework and papers organized in your awesome (and essential) Trapper Keeper:

Keeping your homework and papers organized in your awesome (and essential) Trapper Keeper:
Well, until the rings broke. =(

3. Sitting in one of these not-so-comfortable classics:

Sitting in one of these not-so-comfortable classics:

4. Being handed a freshly pressed assignment by your teacher from the Ditto machine:

Being handed a freshly pressed assignment by your teacher from the Ditto machine:
And immediately getting ink on your fingers.

5. Getting the perfect sharpened pencil from this:

Getting the perfect sharpened pencil from this:
And distracting the entire class with the noise it made in the process.

6. Classrooms and the library decorated with cool “Read” posters:

Classrooms and the library decorated with cool-ass "Read" posters:

7. Carrying your lunch in your metal lunchbox — that of course had your favorite cartoon characters on it:

8. The weird taste any drink had when you drank it out of your lunchbox thermos:

The weird taste any drink had when you drank it out of your lunchbox thermos:
It was usually warm juice with a hint of plastic and the slight smell of a baby’s bottle.

9. Eating your vanilla ice cream with a wooden spoon:

Eating your vanilla ice cream with a wooden spoon:

10. Signing your DARE pledge to NEVER do drugs:

Signing your DARE pledge to NEVER do drugs:
You really just did it for the T-shirt.

11. Remembering to just say “NO”:

Remembering to just say "NO":
Wikipedia Commons / Via commons.wikimedia.org
‘Cause Nancy Reagan said so on a very special episode of Diff’rent Strokes. Plus you got a cool pin for it!

12. Taking your annual hearing test with these:

Taking your annual hearing test with these:
“Raise the arm on the side you hear the beep.”

13. Chewing disclosing tablets so that you could see how good a job you were doing at brushing your teeth:

Chewing disclosing tablets so that you could see how good a job you were doing at brushing your teeth:
And always forgetting that it wasn’t candy and it tasted nasty.

14. Reading a bunch of books to get your free Pizza Hut pizza:

Reading a bunch of books to get your free Pizza Hut pizza:
Let’s be honest, you mainly read the books for the Book It! pin.

15. The joy of getting a scratch ‘n’ sniff sticker for answering a question right in class:

The joy of getting a scratch 'n' sniff sticker for answering a question right in class:
Am I right???

16. And immediately putting your new sticker in your sticker book (if you didn’t trade it):

17. Watching movies on one of these:

Watching filmstrips on one of these:
And trying to hear over the loud sound of the projector.

18. Buying a pencil from the vending machine and crossing your fingers that you got a ~cool~ pencil from it:

Buying a pencil from the vending machine and crossing your fingers that you got a ~cool~ pencil from it:
Well, 9 times out of 10 you just got a plain boring pencil.

19. Bringing in your eraser collection to show off:

Bringing in your eraser collection to show off:
Really all you could do was show them off ‘cause they weren’t good at erasing anything.

20. Storing your pencils and erasers in your prized Sanrio pencil case:

Storing your pencils and erasers in your prized Sanrio pencil case:

21. Learning how to multiply on a math keyboard:

Learning how to multiply on a math keyboard:

22. And this was the only spell-checker you needed:

And this was the only spell-checker you needed:

23. Feeling super special whenever you earned a much coveted Weepul:

Feeling super special whenever you earned a much coveted Weepul:

24. Playing The Oregon Trail during computer lab time…

Playing The Oregon Trail during computer lab time...

…and eventually dying of dysentery:

...and eventually dying of dysentery:
Was it ‘cause you didn’t pick the doctor?!

25. Remembering to NEVER touch the middle of a floppy disk:

Remembering to NEVER touch the middle of a floppy disk:

26. Getting super excited whenever your teacher put on Reading Rainbow:

38 Things That Will Take '80s Kids Back To Their Elementary School Days
“Butterfly in the sky, I can go twice as high.”

27. Or when you got to learn how to paint trees and mountains:

Or when you got to learn how to paint trees and mountains:
Bob Ross was the most patient art teacher ever!

28. Watching Win, Lose or Draw — hosted by Vicki Lawrence — whenever you stayed home sick:

Watching Win, Lose or Draw — hosted by Vicki Lawrence — whenever you stayed home sick:

29. The excitement you felt each month when your teacher passed out Troll and Scholastic book order forms:

And immediately circling every book and poster on the form.

30. The stress you felt as you carefully tore the sides off dot matrix paper:

The stress you felt as you carefully tore the sides off dot matrix paper:

31. Walking around to the Ghosbusters theme song and Michael Jackson’s “Thriller” during your Halloween parade:

Walking around to the Ghosbusters theme song and Michael Jackson's "Thriller" during your Halloween parade:
All while trying not to tear the plastic smock that came with your Ben Cooper brand costume.

32. Using the Dewey Decimal System in the library in order to find the book you wanted for your book report:

Using the Dewey Decimal System in the library in order to find the book you wanted for your book report:

33. The smell of the ink on your circulation card:

The smell of the ink on your circulation card:
And also reading the names of all the kids who checked it out before you.

34. Bringing one of these bad boys with you on hot days:

Bringing one of these bad boys with you on hot days:
Frozen and wrapped in aluminum foil so that it would be perfect by the end of the day.

35. Trading Garbage Pail Kids cards during recess and lunch:

38 Things That Will Take '80s Kids Back To Their Elementary School Days
You probably did it during class too.

36. Hanging upside-down on one of these:

Hanging upside-down on one of these:
And getting a horrible burn from it on hot days!

37. Getting burned with the seat belt on hot days when your parents came to pick you up after school.

Getting burned with the seat belt on hot days when your parents came to pick you up after school.

38. And running to the ice cream truck to get a Big Stick:

And running to the ice cream truck to get a Big Stick:
Ken Food Journal / Via Flickr: frozenfoodjournal










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