In my first article on the recent discovery of my 6th grade autobiography, I shared my “When I Was Born” piece. You can find it here. My second article was about “My Favorite Relatives”, which you can find here. The third installment of my series is from the page I wrote as a 12 year old about “My Important Teachers”. I include any misspelled words or grammatical errors I may have made in my original writings.
Sherri age 12: “I have had several important teachers in my life. One of them was my third grade teacher, another was my fourth grade teacher, but the best teacher of them all was my mom.”
“My third grade teacher. Mrs. Sparks taught me manners and helped me when I was stuck on a certain subject in school no matter what it was.”
“My fourth grade teacher was always making jokes, even during math or reading or any other class-work. Even though he made jokes, he taught me as good as any other teacher could. I liked him a lot.”
“Out of all the important teachers I had, my mom was the best. She taught me to love and respect others. I really am glad to have her for my mom.”
Now back to Sherri veering dangerously close to 40 years old, where did the time go? This is actually one of my favorite chapters from my 6th grade autobiography, and it is still accurate today. My 3rd grade teacher had to be one of the sweetest women I have ever known. She was so nurturing and kind and patient, all the things a great teacher should be. She passed away years ago, but I will always remember her with great fondness.
My 4th grade teacher had a crazy name, Mr. Crumpacker! He was a WW 2 vet and had been awarded a purple heart. He showed it to us and told us that you get a purple heart if you are killed or injured in battle. Little Jimmy asked, “Well was you killed?” Jimmy wasn’t the sharpest tool in the shed, but it sure gave our teacher and the whole class a wonderful laugh. If you notice in my original autobiography, I did not mention the teacher’s name.
My 6th grade teacher from a totally different school in the same town asked me flat out if the teacher I wrote about was William Crumpacker! That’s how great my 4th grade teacher’s reputation was amongst his peers.
I remember letting my mom read my autobiography when it was totally done and ready to be turned in. I also remember the smile and the tears she had when she read the part I wrote about her being the best teacher. She had been a single mom for two years by that point and it must have made her feel like she was doing something right. She was and she did. She is still the best mom and I wouldn’t trade her for the world. She is probably crying right now as she reads this, right mom?
Thanks for reading my autobiography series. I believe the next installment will be the last one, so I hope you have enjoyed them. I appreciate all the great comments; it makes me feel more at ease sharing my childhood with all of you.
***I came back to edit this and let you know that Mr. Crumpacker is alive and well! There is a web page about this WW2 hero who now volunteers at the Legion of Valor museum in my old home town, Fresno Ca. He was awarded not 1 but 2 Purple Hearts. A true hero. Read more about him here.***
Source: My own 6th grade autobiography
