A Teacher Teaches a Life Skill

When I was in eighth grade, some 55 years ago, Mrs. Hawkins was my social studies teacher. One of the units of study that year was Types of Propaganda and how propaganda is designed to influence our attitudes and behavior. I still have my report in the trunk high in the attic. The propaganda methodology that my pre-teen brain hooked onto most  was the bandwagon of following the crowd just because everyone else was doing so.

That one hit me. It made my unique self more determined. My ultra-pixie haircut. My refusal to shave my legs or wear make-up. My retreat into the woods and nature. My mind was just fine reading Steinbeck over Harriet the Spy, listening to Bob Dylan over The Monkees, and wearing funny L.L.Bean wool pants and lumberjack coats. I didn’t have to follow anybody at all! 

How on earth did this teacher dare to teach her class of twelve-year-olds that we each had a mind of our own…strong…unique…trustworthy… through a subject - propaganda - that is more relevant, more necessary, more expository today than ever? Mrs. Hawkins gave her class a life-survival gift to every one of us that year.