Essays Contents
The Three R's
June 16, 2023
This song may be familiar to some people...
from a more simple era...
when people felt that they had control of their lives...
not so much bigger than they could understand.
The song popularized the phrase
reading... 'riting... rithmatic...
And I was just... a-thinkin'...
You can't teach religion in public schools...
It gets you caught in the realm of... doctrines...
and everyone has their own version of doctrines...
their own set of beliefs... religious or otherwise...
and not one of us has achieved the status
of... Perfect God person. Not one of us.
We should always consider the possibility...
that we... could be wrong...
that we... will... change... as we live and learn.
And I was just... a-thinkin'...
that what we CAN teach children is... the easy stuff...
the less-complicated kinds of things...
that everyone should know.
Like...
Respect... Responsibility... Reason...
and maybe a few others... like...
Refinement... Resistance... Reflection...
These aren't doctrines at all... they are social skills.
Note:
The hickory stick... part of the song...
a stick used as a pointer...
is used to tap-tap-tap on the teacher's desk
to get the attention of the class...
not to draw a wound on a child.
There is a social skill called... "earning respect"...
one of the first things a teacher should know.
It makes the rest of it... so much easier... happier.
Uh... it is OK to be happy... isn't it...Teach...?
School Days (Golden Records)
YouTube channel: boyjohn
Mother:
School days, school days
Dear old Golden Rule days
'Reading and 'riting and 'rithmetic
Taught to the tune of the hick'ry stick
I was your girl in calico
You were my bashful, barefoot beau
I wrote on your slate, "I Love You, Joe"
When we were a couple o' kids
Johnny: "Say, just what is the Golden Rule, anyway?"
Mother: "Why... don't you know...?"
Mother:
To every one be kind and true
Just as you'd have them be to you
And if you obey that simple rule
You're sure to be happy at school
Johnny:
School days, school days
Brand new Golden Rule days
I got a pencil and paper, too
Crayons of yellow, and red, and blue
I learn to write my ABC's
I learned that 1 and 2 make 3
Soon I'll be adding 5 and 9
I think school is gonna be fine
Group sings:
School days, school days
Brand new Golden Rule days
You've got a pencil and paper, too
Crayons of yellow, and red, and blue
I learned that 2 and 2 make 4
Soon I'll be learning so much more
And soon you'll be adding 12 and 8
I think school is gonna be great
"School Days" is an American popular song written in 1907 by
Will D. Cobb and Gus Edwards. Its subject is of a mature couple
looking back sentimentally on their childhood together in primary
school. The song was featured in a Broadway show of the same name,
the first in a series of Edwards' school acts. It was the inspiration for
many subsequent school acts, including the Marx Brothers' Fun in Hi Skule, their first major Vaudeville success.
The best known part of the song is its chorus:
sung by Sheet Music Singer, Fred Field
piano according to the sheet music
tempo = 150 bpm, valse moderato
1.
Nothing to do, Nellie Darling, nothing to do you say
Let's take a trip on memory's ship, back to the bygone days
Sail to the old village school house
Anchor outside the school door
Look in and see, there's you and there's me
A couple of kids once more
Chorus:
School days, school days, dear old golden rule days
Readin' and 'ritin' and 'rithmetic
Taught to the tune of a hickry stick
You were my queen in calico,
I was your bashful barefoot beau
And you wrote on my slate, I love you Joe
When we were a couple of kids
2.
'Member the hill, Nellie Darling
And the oak tree that grew on it's brow?
They've built forty stories upon that old hill
And the oak's an old chestnut now
'Member the meadows so green dear
So fragrant with clover and maize
Into new city lots and preferred bus'ness plots
They've cut them up since those days
Note:
The hickory stick... part of the song...
a stick used as a pointer...
is used to tap-tap-tap on the teacher's desk
to get the attention of the class...
not to draw a wound on a child.
There is a social skill called... "earning respect"...
one of the first things a teacher should know.
It makes the rest of it... so much easier... happier.
Uh... it is OK to be happy... isn't it...Teach...?
School Days (Golden Records)
YouTube channel: boyjohn