Monday, May 12, 2014

The Teacher Who Changed My Life & Typewriters



This past weekend, Russell and I were out scrounging for junk and we scored a cool #10 Remington typewriter out of a roadside “free” pile. 
Researching it reminded me of the teacher that changed my life, seriously. 

I started my freshman year of high school in a new town with new teachers—this was pre-computer days, by the way.  I was getting my normal good but not outstanding grades when my English teacher asked me to stay after class. I was pretty much mortified to be singled out and puzzled—until he started to talk.  He told me that there was a way, with no additional studying or work, that I could raise my grades by at least a half a point. He told me to buy a typewriter and take a basic typing class (I guess, that's work but it didn't feel like it at the time).
This is the portable typewriter I bought at Grants Department store in Bennington Vermont –with money I’d made delivering newspapers and working for my parents. I took typing in a class full of girls I’d never otherwise have met, since they were doing a business track instead of college prep like me. I made new friends and I typed every paper I could. My grades instantly went up, often a full point. Sophomore year I went from normal college prep to all AP classes and my grades never dipped.
To a degree, it bothered me that my naturally awful handwriting had held me back for so long and no one had ever suggested this solution (I’d been browbeaten about my handwriting more than once by teachers). And, when college and eventually computers arrived, typing once again put me ahead of the curve. In fact, I used this same typewriter until I finally got a computer.

So thank you Mr. March and thank you Grant's typewriter.
P.S. This is the first day, I can use my outdoor summer office.  The sweet peas are growing like crazy. And, while I’m sitting here typing, a chubby woodpecker is glaring at me and the dog between bites of suet.  Sometimes life is just plain glorious.

12 comments:

  1. How wonderful for that teacher to have made such a difference in your life! And what a cool story. Me, I had terrible handwriting, as well, but saw it as an advantage because I could pretend I knew how to spell words I didn't by claiming that the correct spelling was in there somewhere. You sound like a much better student. ;)

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  2. Actually, I did the same spelling trick. I also vaguely recall this teacher making me do some sort of remedial spelling after or before school. I suspect that extra help is what led him figured out what was going on--including the handwriting trick (aka me becoming lazy and frustrated). Spelling was a lot easier for me to polish, once I started typing.

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  3. That was in a junk pile? Why, when it's so clearly awesome! =) Also love your turquoise one. And I think if I ever walked up to your pretty porch and heard you clacking away on it, my writer's heart would die of happiness, lol!

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    1. There were also wooden porch chairs that I almost took, but they weren't old and I really don't need them. So I left them for someone else. My writer heart is pretty happy out there :)

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  4. That Remington is no junk, but a serious collectable and, IMO, a beauty...
    Lovely out door office!

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    1. Yeah, some of my best finds have been free. I got an lovely oriental carpet for free--a lady was using it in her garage for her dog to lay on. I love dogs, but their are other bedding choices.

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  5. I am drooling with envy!!!! What a find!!! I have had a great love affair with typewriters and I'm sorry I didn't keep my one and only Smith Corona -- a high school graduation gift from my mother, and the thing that led me to my husband.

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  6. Vijaya, if you want to go crazy, look at this site. He sells reconditioned vintage typewriters--and even mentions famous people who used certain kinds: http://mrtypewriter.tripod.com You're right, though. My favorite will always be the the blue one above because of the memories that go with it.

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  7. This post brought back so many memories! My dad had an old Remington we pounded on for fun as we grew because he got a portable-in-its-own-case from Sears. Then the electric typewriter came into being and a great high school typing class with blacked out keys (with drills that drove me nuts until I learned to type). I will always be grateful for that teacher.
    I don't have a clue if the high schools offer serious keyboarding classes with the keys blacked out today, I sure hope so.

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  8. I totally forgot about the blacked-out keys! The class I was in had some electric typewriters, but non-business kids like me got the manuals. It is amazing how something like an old typewriter can bring back so many memories.

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  9. I'm so annoyed that I can't remember back far enough to know if I typed papers in HS or not until college. I can't even remember if I ever took a typing class. Where did my brain go, dang-it? Well, you're obviously in possession of yours. I'm glad Mr. March made such a good suggestion. It definitely helped you get a jump on college - and probably on your writing career, too. That old typewriter is great! I love your summer writing spot. (Mine is inside, next to the air-conditioner!) Have a great week!

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  10. My brain is usually too busy going forward to think about the past--until something triggers it.

    I imagine your writing cave could get pretty steamy without an air-conditioner :)

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