As a result of our move back to the farm, in 1940 or 1941, I attended the school in the town of May. I had skipped grade three and I am sure that in doing so, I missed out on lots of mathematics and reading skills. I did advance from second grade to fourth, but only because that was the year that Texas went from having eleven grade levels in the system to simply add the twelfth grade. It was a time when Texas realized that the students needed additional training, probably because of the needs of the military, and they saw this as one way to accomplish this.
In order to treat everyone fairly, they skipped all students, who were in school and who had passed, two grade levels. I suppose you could say students already in school were ‘grandfathered’ and all new students beginning in first grade would now be doing twelve years of learning, rather than eleven. I am guessing that, if you failed your year of instruction, you would be moved only one grade level so you could maintain your status, rather than being seen as going backwards.
I do not ever remember sitting in reading groups, but I am sure that the teacher probably used this methodology. I just can’t ever recall receiving education in that manner. I am sure that, if I had, I would have been a “blue bird” or whatever the lowest group might be called. I vividly recall that there was a set of books in the fourth grade class about a boy who was the secretary of a club and these books were similar to the Nancy Drew series. It was called the “Seckatary Hawkins Fair and Square Club” and the members of the club solved problems or crimes, had great adventures or something like that. I knew the books as the ‘Seckatary Hawkins books’, as that was his name and his role in the club. I was captivated with the books and I am sure that my great excitement with these books was responsible for throwing me the lifeline I needed and gave me a reason for learning to read.
I have searched for these books for all these years and only found information on Goggle about the “Fair and Square Club” which is still around. Thank you Goggle! I was surprised to learn that Harper Lee of “To Kill A Mockingbird” fame was also a real fan of these books so I guess I was in good company. The books were written by Robert F. Schulkers between 1918 and 1932 and originally cost a dollar or so. The originals are now selling online from $300 to $1,250, not because of the great writing skills that produced them but because there are so many people, like myself, who remember and value them. I have found a couple on Ebay for only $28 to $30 and ordered them to see if they were that interesting. They weren’t as much fun or provided as much pleasure now as they did when I so badly needed and read them at nine years of age. I still hold them to be the best books I ever read because they inspired this and me to learn to read have given me the greatest gift that I have ever received.