Margaret
Powell
- by Mary
Rhoade Spratt
My tribute must go to
a Bingham teacher, the inspiration for my teaching
career: Mrs. Margaret Powell.
I entered the Mishawaka school system in second grade as
a shy Southern transplant, extremely self-conscious of my
drawl. ("Y'all" still seems so natural when
refering to several folks.) But Mrs. Powell surrounded us
with so much warmth and security that my accent was soon
forgotten. She had a way of making each child feel
special and talented, yet her expectations were demanding
for seven year olds. We should always answer questions in
complete sentences, and never begin a sentence with
"because." She taught us precise cursive and
expected neat, accurate letters. I can still visualize
the hundred wooden spools strung diagonally across our
second grade room with each "tens" place larger
than the nine units. I can see the carousel mural in
front of the classroom and hear her stories about her
cabin in the woods. If we worked diligently all day, we
were rewarded with poems, our favorite being "Puppy
and I." I can never remember her voice raised; when
a child would "act out," she would quietly
invite him into the hallway. When the child would return,
he had a smile on his face and did not interrupt again
for days.
Those days were filled with the joy of learning and the
security of being encouraged by a trusting adult who
genuinely loved us. I will forever have engraved in my
heart the words she wrote in my sixth-grade autograph
book, "May you continue in the way you have
started."
Mary Rhoade Spratt,
MHS 1968
|