eportfolio for Stanley Smith

Profile:
onearmpiratesps.blogspot.com

Profile: Father, Grandfather, Student, Educator, Traveler, Adventurer, Believer, Lover of Life and I believe every day should be an adventure.

Uncle Marshall Brown came by to visit Frank Smith when he began plowing the field for spring planting. Uncle Marshall always came to check on Frank since Frank was a young farmer, and Uncle Marshall had a good knowledge of farming. The story goes that Uncle Marshall told Frank he needed a son to assist with the farming in that he already had three girls. According to the story Frank agreed, and told that he planned on taking care of that. Almost to the date nine months later Stanley Paul Smith was born December 3, 1940 in Bryan County, Oklahoma. This began the adventure of Stanley Paul Smith.

              The first fifteen years consisted of learning to farm, milk cows, feed and care for the farm animals. The times when not farming I was sent to school to learn how to read and write. Schools I attended were country schools with the classes’ one through six in the same room usually taught by the same teacher.  All the schools I attended during those years did not have indoor plumbing. Unlike at home we had a girl’s outhouse separate from the boy’s.

              Despite my begging and pleading I was taken away from my beloved Oklahoma, and forced to come to Texas. Greiner Junior High in Dallas, Texas became my very first real school. There were more people in the school than in any town I had ever been to. At first I was in shock at all the things there. Kids driving their own cars to school, a real football team, pep rallies, plays in the auditorium, rock and roll dances in the gym on Friday night. People who were in charge of the dances called the dances “sock hops”, or by names similar.        

              Being “country” in a city school often had it bad moments, but there were also some good ones. Sometimes it became necessary to defend myself from individuals poking fun at someone who had to milk cows and farm for a living. Pretty soon after moving to the city I got a job in a grocery store. I had to drive a truck to deliver groceries, stock the shelves, and bag the groceries. I remember the owner’s response when I told him I couldn’t drive a vehicle. His words were something to the effect of it’s just like a tractor only don’t get caught otherwise you might get a ticket.

              W.H. Adamson was my next school. I attended there for the next three years and graduated in 1959. At the time I thought I was getting a real education. Compared to what the education system is now I was totally mistaken. I was fortunate to get on a work program where I went to school a half day and worked a half day. Back then they called it Distributive Education. My final year there I won a trophy and a certificate as “Outstanding Student” in my class. My senior year I had the privilege of working in Downtown Dallas. There I discovered what it was like to see movies in the Majestic, Palace, and some other theaters. Downtown Dallas in 1959 was the place to shop and I was fortunate to visit all the good places there. This time was just prior to the time companies were beginning to build shopping malls outside of downtown.

              After graduation I wanted no more education, so I joined the U.S. Army. During my tour I served as a Military Policeman, worked as a clerk typist and transported secret documents among other duties. I also worked for a year in the training section my duties were as a film projectionist. Through the goodness of the Army I traveled to Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and 38 other states. The best came when they allowed me to take an extended tour in Europe. I visited Germany, France, England, Holland and a host of other countries. I have to admit I was fascinated by the railway system in Europe.

              Becoming a civilian again I found it necessary to learn a trade to support my family. I started working on cars and became pretty good at it. I spent the next forty five years as a General Motors Mechanic. All in all it was a pretty successful career until I damaged my shoulders and had to have surgery in 2007. During my recovery I found I couldn’t get hired without some college unless I wanted to work for minimum wage. Not strong enough to work safely on vehicles I made the decision to check my military benefits and see about attending college. At that time my aspirations were to become a writer, or a paid story teller. During my recovery I had written my first book. After writing my first book I realized I knew nothing about writing. This led me to Navarro College to sharpen my skills.

              Attending college for the first time in the spring of 2009 at the age of 68 was quite a shock to me. There I discovered with the help of a tutor I could pass the classes. Along the way one of my counselors suggested that with my experience I might consider becoming a teacher. I also found out that I could get a loan I didn’t have to pay back if I could make the grade. At the end of the first semester I took my grades to the finance office where they said a 3.8 was more than enough to qualify for the loan. After all this time I was quiet happy with myself that I had the potential to become a teacher. The truth is I always held educators on a very high pedestal and never considered myself of that caliber. Finding out I had the potential enlightened me to work harder and get the right training to become a teacher. There have been some times when the studies were not so easy, but so far I am on my way.

              I am sure with the right attitude and the willingness to work hard I will reach my goal. Surely there will be some bumps in the road. Almost every day I find it true that if it was easy anybody could do it. Well, the truth is it is not easy to become an educator. The one thing that upsets me the most is to see children pass from one grade to the next and unable to spell or read at the proper level. After I succeed and start teaching my plan is that all my students will know how to read and spell better. In the meantime I will continue to try and improve my own writing and reading. I like to think of life as an adventure and plan on continuing mine for as long as possible.