Archive for June, 2009


Posted on June 5, 2009 - by

Thinking Like A School Teacher

I’d like for you to think like a school teacher for a moment, and, what your scrapbooking activities would look like today, or, even in a by gone era when reading, writing, and, crafting was the thing to do.

Through my recent research, I came across a huge scrapbook by Mrs. Cox, a Michigan teacher who taught at more than one school. In her heyday, the One Room School Houses were the norm, as, eight grades sat eagerly to learn from her. She was a popular school teacher in the area too.

This scrapbook is the biggest I’ve ever seen. It is personalized with her name trimmed in gold. I do not believe that one would be able to compile one this size nowadays unless it was procured from an estate sale, or antiques mall. The color of it is a deep brown, and, is longer than most scrapbooks that we utilize today. Inside of it, she breaks it down by the years taught, and, at which one room school house she was working at. For instance, she taught mainly in Canton, Michigan, and, for a short period of time was teaching at the Blaess One Room School House in Saline, Michigan. During this time frame she included memorabilia from that era.

She also carefully places a picture of herself in the scrapbook, and, it is a smaller picture too. It appears that she wanted to document fully her activities as a school teacher, and even includes typed and handwritten notes from students and others.

This scrapbook is put together carefully, and, her mementos are glued onto the pages. There is a lot of space between the items so that the viewer of the book can carefully look at each item as it is not too crowded. For her former students, it is truly a gift as they can see themselves as youngsters, or their parents or grandparents inside of it. If you know of a relative that was taught by this fine teacher, you can view this scrapbook at the Canton Historical Museum in Canton, Michigan.

Now that we’ve hit the graduation season, you may be thinking of a scrapbooking idea. It would be a great idea for you to create your own memory book as a parent or a teacher. For the former, it might be easier to begin your scrapbooking adventure with the onset of the first day of school for your child, and, put one together in yearly increments if you so choose. By doing this, you can create a valuable keepsake for your family, and, then, when the child graduates from high-school he or she will have these cherished memories to pass onto her children later on.

Of course if time is of the essence, you may want to prepare a memory book from a smaller time period such as the upcoming eighth grade graduation, or a high-school graduation. As those times are important to everyone, putting together mementos is a fine idea. Perhaps your young student or child has a personalized autograph book, you can encourage this young person to gather signatures and cute sayings from fellow students and teachers. It truly captures the essence of growth as a student, and, brings forth fond memories many decades later on.