Frank J. Buchman

Cowboy • Horseman • Writer

Grand Ole School Days Basis For Lifetime Of Learning

First day of school is the beginning of the best days of the rest of a person’s life.

We were reminded of that with the “so early” start of school. Ours always began either the day before or the day after Labor Day, except for one year, and we know for certain, the first one half day of school was on Labor Day. We remember it specifically because Mom and Dad picked us up at noon, and we went to see our uncle in Wichita.


Now, school starts two weeks earlier, but students get so many breaks throughout the year that we don’t know them all. As we recall, there used to be an extra day for Thanksgiving, a week for Christmas, and one more day off at Easter. The rest of the time we went to school until May’s end, right before Memorial Day.

We now hear about students getting on buses before 7 o’clock and riding for well over an hour. Of course, being a town kid, we didn’t ride a bus to school, but we never heard of anybody riding that long. Most students walked to school then. Our classes started from8:45 to 9 o’clock, and got out at 3:45 to 4 o’clock, varying year to year.

Newspaper stories indicate that now school for some begins at 8:10 and dismisses at 3:10. That’s hardly time for the students to get their chores done before class, but oodles of time for evening milking and more. Trouble is very few have any duties at either time. We always did. What do students do all afternoon? It sure makes us wonder.

Our grandson started school this year, and he was as excited about it as we remember being five decades ago. His lower lip nearly dropped out his boot heel, when we teased him that they had canceled the first day of school. He had been planning on starting school for months. He’s six, so the wait for his“first day” has been longer than some.

When we hear students complain about going to school, we just can’t comprehend their feelings. We always liked school and still often have a yearning to relive that time in our lives. Certainly, we have special memories of all we did and fond recollections
of our many classmates in those 16½ years we were a student.

As exciting and diversified as life has been, school was still the very best days of all. The basic “Four R’s” are used everyday, but much of what we were taught has been forgotten. What’s the saying? “Everything I needed to know, I learned in Kindergarten.” While there is truth to that, we are constantly reminded just how very little we do know.

Therefore, we are advised in Proverbs 1:5: “Let the wise listen and add to their learning.”

Yet, we must be able to know the meaning and reasoning behind a certain situation. Clarification is in Psalms 119:34: “Give me understanding, and I shall keep thy law.”

+++ALLELUIA+++

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