School days

Garrison K, of Prairie Home Companion, has a great little piece about what a dis-service it is for a parent to do the art projects for their children, and worse, giving the job to the art department of thier business cooperation, sometimes paying comercial artists to do it.

When I was in the 3rd grade, in the early 40's, our teacher set up a valentine box, decorated with hearts and cupids, and a slot on top, of course. We were told to drop Valentine messages in for our friends and school-mates in our class. To be opened on February 14th, and one of us would play Dan Cupid. (Dan?)

Mom told me that in her school days, she and her friends would make Valentines out of colored paper with scisors and glue, messages done in crayon. I decided that was what I would do. Everybody else went to the Dime store and bought theirs. But it was a good project and kept me out of trouble, spreading out over the dining room table, making a grand mess for poor Mama to clean up!

I do not think my efforts were appreciated, since I was made some fun of by students whose mothers bought there greetings at Woolworths, and some of my oversized efforts would not go in the box slot, and received a frown from the teacher. But I had fun doing it. Wish I had kept an example of the home-made efforts!!!! Even though my secret heart-throb, Margaret Beck, hardly even thanked me for hers, the most elaborate I made!!!!

Enjoyed Garrison's piece, and think that every ounce of creativity in children should be encouraged.... all the time. And maybe they will grow up to love and understand the place of art and craft in the human psyche and what it does for the soul and mind....