By Dr. Penny Wetzler
Each August, when randomly entering Walmart and repeatedly getting shocked at the posted “Back to School” signs, I know that this retired teacher is about to enjoy one of her not-forgotten favorite smells — brand-new boxes of Crayola Crayons! After 47 years of teaching elementary/college and annually smelling boxes of new crayons (only Crayola, mind you), it is an olfactory treat and almost overwhelming to me. It used to trigger the joy and anticipation of beginning a new school year (and always going in early to set up my classroom to be ready and attractive for “Meet the Teacher” but now it just soothes my joyful memories of past teaching! I usually have to buy at least one box of 24 just for old-time’s sake.
Teaching little children, reading to and with them, playing, dancing, and singing along, watching tiny hands build projects, and helping provide a creative environment for developing minds while learning with them; that is my joy and my “happy place.” Where does this come from? Could it be hereditary, as my maternal grandparents were teachers/principals and my mother, too? Or, frequent family dinner conversations about teaching and which “Teacher College,” one would attend (no assumptions about if one would go to college, what your major would be, just where one would go). Surely, there had to be a family genetic influence. Still, other out-standing educators definitely initiated my love of teaching, learning, and becoming a teacher, not the least of whom was Miss Mary Carpenter!
In elementary school, my sixth grade teacher, Miss Carpenter, ensured her students started each day “with a song and an excitement for learning”! She would grab her guitar, and we knew special activities were coming! Even though I loved every moment of going to school, I had never had a teacher before sixth grade who incorporated music into all of her lesson plans throughout the day. We sang about everything: historical, patriotic songs, songs about or from other countries, science songs, game songs, and many other topics. It seems that she felt that if you could sing about it, you had mastered the content. (Our sixth grade class was allowed to perform at several events in town, which in-volved missing some school, too, which is al-ways a plus for a sixth-grader!)
Miss Carpenter encouraged her students to do many hands-on activities to enhance their under-standing. (She believed in incorporating all five senses since everyone learns differently.) Her interest in mythology and the ancient Greeks and Romans led to related 3-D projects and 3-D Geography, where we built a structure or habitat from that country as part of that unit. The class cooked and ate foods from other countries, too. (I created a lighted replica of the Taj Mahal as my big Social Studies project.) And, as an adult who still remembers how and what we learned in sixth grade, Miss Carpenter’s effective teaching model greatly inspired my future career choice, and I wanted to have a classroom just like hers!
So, for 47 years after graduation from FSU, and with three degrees, I was directed and chose to teach, thanks to God, the support and influence of my family of educators, and some exceptional teachers! It was a professional career choice that was a blessing from God as I looked forward to every day and every moment with my students. Maybe my “classroom environment” also influenced someone else to be-come an educator!
DR. PENNY WETZLER has lived in Volusia County for 73 years. She has served in many areas of education from elementary to college level. She is married to Tom Wetzler and has two daughters and eight grandchildren. She attends First United Methodist Church of Port Orange.