Back when I was in second grade in Mrs. Gersten’s class at Westpark elementary, we would have these Book Reports that we could make. We would have to read a book, then write a report about the book with illustrations and whatnot. At the end of the report, you would get one of these “Book It” pins. Not everyone got the pin of course, you would have to have a good report. If you got one of these pins, you would get a free personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. To a kid, that’s like winning the lottery. To me, the pin was the ultimate motivation.
Wow, James a little bird mentioned this blog. You have a great memory. I remember the Book It Program (in fact it is still around), and the individual pizzas, but not the pins. I remember you and your family very well. I am glad to hear you are all doing so well. It is also nice to be remembered. My husband, who teaches High School and I were at the memorial for K.J. Bentley and talking about the impact H.S. teachers have on their students. I said I love what I do, but nobody remembers me. Thank you for proving me wrong. Say hi to your family and good luck with the blog. Mrs. Gersten
Hi Mrs. Gersten! SO great to hear from you! It’s crazy how fast time has flown, I’m 25 now! It feels like yesterday that I was at Westpark.
I 100% remember your class. I remember we would have the book it reports and the book it pens. They had a hologram on them and if you took them in to pizza hut you would get a free personal pan pizza. My parents helped me go further in my education but the free pizzas definitely didn’t hurt. It made me want to read and draw even more. Because our book reports were both drawings and writing, I would sometimes spend hours and hours drawing in my book report to make it perfect! My favorite author/drawer was James Marshall, my favorite book was Space Case. ALL of his stuff I loved.
I remember you would put a bag of gummy bears in random students desks from time to time as a little treat. I would get SO HAPPY if it was my desk that was picked.
I remember everyone wrote with a pencil but if you did really good in Math you were able to use an ink Pen. It was almost like a right of passage, and not everyone got to use the pen. I remember me and a fellow classmate Shaheen were the first 2 kids to get the pens. If I look around my garage I bet I still have my pen. I remember it being 2 bright neon colors.
My friends that I know and talk to today I met in your classroom. You would read us stories and the “cool kids” would hang out in the back, that’s how I met them. I also remember during readings a fellow by the name of Dior would fart and all the kids would disperse like cockroaches with the lights on.
The impact a teacher has on a student’s life is priceless. I can’t even begin to describe how thankful I am for you and my other teachers as a young kid.
One thing I know is this. I am a Computer Programmer. I went to school to and got a Computer Science Degree. I had to take LOTS of math, which I happen to be good at. When did I know I was good at math? In your class, the second grade. I remember when I got that ink pen I knew I had a talent for math and calculations, thanks to you, my teachers and parents. In first grade I did well at math too but I remember the second grade being the true tests because multiplication was involved haha, not just simple addition/subtraction. I still think about that from time to time, I remember when I got that pen it felt like I climbed a mountain and was part of some elite club.
My family is well, my brother recently just got married so thats crazy. He and my sister live in Hawaii. My parents still live here but are planning on moving to hawaii.
As I close off this ridiculously long reply, I would like you to know that you are NOT forgotten. If I tell ask some friends, “when did we become friends” they will say “second grade mrs. gerstens”. It’s crazy though, to think that the students who are friends in your classrooms to day can be friends when they are adults as it is for me.
Now I just figured out my next blog post idea, which will be the importance of teachers and extra topics (art, music, science) and why they must be taught to kids. It’s hard to see it at the time but as I look back I can definitely see why its good for a child to learn all areas and topics, even if they don’t like it or appreciate it at the moment.
I’ll try to find and upload a classroom pic from second grade. Take care.
– James