DICK AND JANE (PLUS SALLY)

I learned to read from the series of books entitled "Dick and Jane". Educators, writers, illustrators and editors produced these books that taught millions of children to read from 1930 through 1960.

Dick and Jane (plus others including little sister, Sally) lived in a wonderful world where the fun never stopped. For those of us that were depression or World War II children, it was perhaps a fantasy world; but one that we could aspire to live in to achieve the American dream.

Below are three original pages from Dick and Jane that I have found over the years. The first one is 16" x 20" and is from a teacher's table display.
"Mother Makes Something" is from one of the student books.

And my favorite: Sally CAN work!!!!



I remember how exciting it was to learn to read, and how proud I was that one of the characters in the books shared my name.

Even though my mother read constantly, my first real reading experience began with my first grade teacher, Miss LaShier. She was the same first grade teacher in the same classroom that my father experienced, and she was very knowledgeable about first graders. Some of us were still only five years old, and the room seemed huge to us with 33 wooden desks in rows and columns all facing Miss LaShier's desk. There were six large windows letting in lots of light and a third wall with a blackboard.

We knew from day one that we were there for one purpose and that was to learn to read, write, and do math. That was our job, and there was no messing around. Miss LaShier had on her desk a wooden ruler that we knew was not for a mathematical exercise. I never knew her to use it on a child, but we knew that we were responsible for the consequences of our actions. Even with all of this seriousness, it was fun to be at school.

We soon learned that acquiring knowledge and learning to read was a reward in of itself! Our deviation from the rows and columns of our desks in the classroom was to circle up on little wooden chairs while Miss LaShier read to us each day from Dick and Jane, other story books and even the encyclopedia. She instilled in us the desire for knowledge about the world beyond our door through reading.

Here is a picture of my first grade class minus one (I got angry with one boy and cut his picture out. I regret that, now!). We all came from different backgrounds; for some English was a second language; some had ribbons in their hair while some felt fortunate to have shoes on their feet; and none of us had been to preschool or kindergarten. That was not an option in 1944.

Miss LaShier managed with the help of Dick and Jane to teach all 33 of us to read during that first year of school. I graduated from high school with almost all of those same kids; and we all continued to read, learn, and excel in school and beyond.

Thank you Dick, Jane, and Miss LaShier. (Oh yes, and Sally, too)

Thanks for stopping by,

Sally