It's spring!

Teaching Pre K-8, Apr 2001 by Raymond, Allen

Publisher's Memo Spring meant a lot to me as a boy. There was the annual trip to visit my elderly Aunt in Watervliet, New York, a suburb of the Albany/Troy area. I remember the time she took me to the circus, and stumbled over the rough fields as I raced ahead of her to look at the sideshows, at the animals, at the people, at the acts under the big top.

There was the time she bought me some nice new corduroy long pants, and I went with some of the neighborhood boys to a nearby dam. We had a fantastic time sliding down that dam, and those corduroy pants helped me beat all the others to the bottom. People laughed at me as I walked home, because the holes in my pants were so big.

Then there were the fields in which to wander. As a city boy accustomed to houses everywhere, and never a field to see, suddenly being dropped into an area where there were farms and real live cows was an experience never to be forgotten. Even now I remember the joy of walking up that hill and just sitting down in the field to "look"

School meant a lot to me in the spring, too. Somehow everything took on an excitement that to this day I find hard to describe. There was that first day when the windows could be left open in the classroom. There was the chance to walk to school without a coat. It wouldn't be long before I'd be on the golf course, or going out for the track team.

Spring also meant summer was around the comer, and I'd soon be on the sparkling waters of Long Island Sound, sailing my beloved sailboat. What fond memories I have of the excitement and charm only a sailboat can bring to the life of a little boy. taking a girlfriend out for an afternoon of adventure as we explored little coves and sailed among small, deserted islands.. eating sandwiches as we quietly changed direction and sailed back to the harbor.

And there were the challenges, too. Winning a race. Struggling through a storm. Capsizing in a heavy wind and experiencing the sudden silence as my sailboat and I were suddenly and quietly bobbing in the water, waiting for someone to rescue us.

Spring still means a lot to me, even as a white-haired magazine publisher with little time for golf, and no inclination to run the mile, or even jog (which everyone says I should try).

Spring means attending educational conventions around the country, where I meet some wonderful people... like all of you.

Spring means receiving many heart-warming letters from subscribers as they renew their subscriptions, or write to tell us they've loved the magazine but they're retiring and no longer need Teaching K-8.

And, yes, spring is a time for "renewing." Certainly every year it renews me, excites me, stimulates me and reminds me of the pleasures to be found in life, in publishing, and in education. I hope you have the same feelings.