By DANNY MINTON

Scanning the internet, I came across a couple of pictures on several sites of statues and what was taking place with them that made a vivid impression in my thoughts. One picture represents a line of four rabbits attempting to pull a smaller rabbit up a wall to be with them. The picture shows a little boy behind the smaller rabbit trying to lift him up the wall to the others. The second statue represents Jesus when He fell under the weight of carrying the cross. The picture displays a little girl trying to lift the cross to help Jesus carry it. (Links to the two pictures are posted at the end of this article)

As adults, most of us would pass by these statues and probably think, “How cute,” seeing the rabbits and “How sad,” seeing the depiction of Jesus’ struggles with the cross. These two little children saw beyond what many adults see. They didn’t notice it was just a statue; they saw someone who needed help and reached out to help. Likely they learned acts of compassion from watching others be helpful and being around those who express a feeling for others in distress.

The writer of Proverbs wrote, “Train up a child in the way he should go, even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Proverbs 22:6 (NASB). Jesus used an example of children when He spoke to His disciples about the Kingdom of Heaven. “At that time, the disciples came to Jesus and said, ‘Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?’ And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, and said, ‘Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.’” Matthew 18:1-4 (NASB)  

Children are a blessing from God. The kind of men and women they become finds its core in what they learn from adults in the early years of their life. Interaction with others in those early years makes a significant impression on their thoughts and actions as they grow into adulthood. I was thinking about my early years in school and remembered my elementary school teachers and their roles in forming my early life.

I was fortunate to attend the same public school system for twelve years. Although most of the memories are locked up somewhere in the file cabinet of my mind, there are still glimpses of the past that will pop into consciousness every so often.

I started school in the first grade since kindergarten didn’t exist in Plano in the ’50s. The school was Plano Elementary School, later to be named Mendenhall Elementary. First grade started on the far west wing, and you continued from grade to grade until you finished the sixth grade at the far east wing. The building was only a couple of years old when I started, so it was modern for the time.

It’s hard to remember much of my childhood in detail, but I do remember every teacher I had in elementary school. I can still picture their faces in my mind. I also remember how I felt about each one.

In all my elementary years, I guess my first-grade teacher (whose name will remain unnamed) was the one teacher I remember liking the least, and I was glad to leave first grade. Some remember her as sort of “mean”; however, she wasn’t mean to me and, in fact, was always kind to me, but she scared me. Some of my classmates may have loved her, but I can remember when she made fun of someone’s work, one of whom was me, and I guess this stuck in my mind, so I was ready to move on. Fortunately, the next five years would find a more caring attitude.

In second grade, I had a grandmotherly type of teacher in Ella Page. She was one of my favorites, and I remember crying when school was out, and we’d have a new teacher the following year. She tried to comfort me, but I knew no one could take her place. 

Then came the third grade and Miss Streetman. I think this must have been her first teaching job, and to the boys, she was beautiful. We were nine, and Miss Streetman was a much older 22 or so. She’d kiss the boys on the cheek when they left class, a highlight of the day. She was a very kind person. I didn’t get a penmanship certificate that year (probably didn’t deserve one) and cried about it (I cried a lot back then). She felt sorry for me and said she’d give me one if I promised to work on my writing over the summer. That was the last one I got; the rest of the teachers weren’t such pushovers.

I moved to the east wing and Clara Wilson’s class in the fourth grade. She was probably the most fun of all the teachers I had in elementary. You guessed it; I cried when I left that class too. For the record, this was the last time I cried moving to the next class. From there on out, it was “let’s move on.” Fifth grade brought Jack Harris another new one and the only man to teach, but he was fun to be around.

The last stop was in the sixth grade. The one teacher you didn’t want to get was Mrs. Kate Holder. We had heard horror stories of bleeding hands and boxed ears from discipline. To those of us who were younger, she was scary! We had two or three sixth-grade classes, so everyone wanted one of the others. The first time I walked into the room, there she was; I had drawn the short straw, the dread of the sixth grade. But you know, what we fear is not always what is out there. Mrs. Holder was strict but kind, and I enjoyed being in her class that year.

Children are impressionable, and our impression on them can last a lifetime. I’ve no idea where all these people are today. Most have passed away, and others retired somewhere out there. But in my memories, the legacy of the school and what my teachers taught me remains ingrained in my mind over 50 years later.

Jesus loved children. He encourages us to make a good impression on them and not lead them astray. Children imitate what others say and do. They learn from watching those whom they look up to, admire, and respect. In our children lies the nation’s and the church’s future; we should do everything to give a great impression that will live forever in their hearts.

In my mind, I can still walk the halls of Plano Elementary School and am thankful for the faces I see in my mind that made my six years there a joy to remember and pointed me in the right direction for my future.

“Train up your children in the way they should go, and even when they are old, they will not depart from it.”

Photo links:

https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/oiaxqe/a_little_girl_trying_to_help_the_statue_to_lift/

https://www.reddit.com/r/aww/comments/6s2sur/little_boy_lends_a_helping_hand_to_bunny_statue/ ).

Danny Minton is a former Elder and minister at Southern Hills Church of Christ