The Teacher Who Inspires Me 52 Years Later

I attended Lincoln Terrace elementary school in Roanoke, Va. from first through fifth grades. I had the same teacher for grades four and five. Her name was Margaret Thompson. This was prior to integration and all the students and educators were African American. Ms. Thompson told us how her sister, Sharon who was in middle school at the time, cried over one B. She emphasized that we should strive to get all A’s and not settle for less. In Ms. Thompson’s class we sang folk songs and learned America the Beautiful and the Star Spangked Banner. During the Christmas season we memorized the poem The night before Christmas. We learned all the holiday classics and sang them. I can recall them to this day. I remember the old record player and how during Halloween we sang “Witches, pumpkin heads and black cats? Scary spooks and black bats ooh it’s Halloween, ooooooh'! I think of this tune every Halloween

Ms. Thompson told us that because we were black we should work twice as hard to get ahead. She pushed good grades and proper manners and of all the teachers I had during my 12 years in school, her words stick with me most. Ms. Thompson did not simply teach out of the books but she gave life lessons as well. I did not know it then but her words were preparing us for the day we were adults. There were two things that were done in her class however that I did not enjoy, but lessons were learned from those as well.

Whenever we had to play team sports, Ms. Thompson would pick one boy and one girl and each took turns choosing who they wanted on their teams. She was fair and I was chosen captain quite a few times. When she chose other boys and girls as team leaders, I was often last or next to last chosen and it was embarrassing, I wished she had chosen the teams, but through this experience, I learned how biased other boys and girls could be. On Valentine’s Day, she had a box on her desk and called out the names of students to come forth to get their cards. This placed a spotlight on who was popular and who was least liked. I was somewhere in the middle and felt sorry for boys and girls who did not get many valentines.

At Christmas, each child stood up and named what presents they had received. I understand that this was to get us used to speaking in public but I now know something I did not at age 10. Every child in the class probably did not get all those 30 to 40 toys they named because not every family celebrates December 25. There were also families who wanted to but were unable to purchase gifts for their children. At first, as I reflected back on these issues I thought Ms. Thompson should not have put children on the spot like this, I understand now it was all about us finding our voice and handling uncomfortable situations as we grew older,

Ms. Thompson was teaching black history long before it became official. She incorporate stories of the atrocities of slaves into our every day learning and explained things as though she was having a conversation with a family member. She told us how the enslaved people had to cook good food for their masters and they themselves got the scraps that were left over. She was the first person I heard tell the story of slaves eating the hog intestines because it's all they had to eat She detailed several ways the slaves were punished and it was not pretty. One of them was Immurement. This is when an individual is buried in the ground up to their necks and left to die. I was unable to verify that this actually took place from any Internet source but heard it briefly mentioned on a television show years ago

One of the best things Ms. Thompson did was to emphasize the importance of reading and one day voting , because our ancestors died so we would have those rights. She was the first person I can recall sharing the phrase that if you want to hide something from a black person, hide it in a book. She said it with an attitude as if the very thought of anyone not learning to read troubled her Ms. Thompson is also the first person to explain the concept of jumping the broom, meaning a couple was married. She said the masters let the slaves jump over a broom so they would consider themselves as husband and wife but it was not legal and binding.

One of the things that I remember in detail from Ms. Thompson’s 4th grade class is watching the funeral of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. on television. This was a historic moment and one that remains in my mind. We sat looking at the procession on an old black and white television. Ms. Thompson was a teacher who related to the students in a personal way and it was appreciated. She would also provide discipline and I recall most all of us getting hit in the palm of the hand with the paddle ball bat. Margaret Thompson later became a principle and is now retired. I truly appreciate everything she taught us.