As I said months ago, I was a fairly geeky junior high student who was more interested in doing my very best in school than in making friends with boys. It was fairly scary being placed into a class of kids who all had the same or better learning abilities as yourself. The competition was at a new level and, in order to excel, one really had to step up and make the effort. This was a huge difference from elementary school where I did not have to try hard to do well. It did take some time to acclimate to the new expectations.

Seventh grade science with Mrs Robinson was one of my biggest challenges. She was imposing and had a sharp voice, which she reserved for those students who weren't paying attention. It was in her class that I learned the phrase, "Do what you oughter, add acid to water." Good advice that I remember to this day. Eight grade science with Mr Belouin was more fun...and ninth grade biology with Mrs. Callahan was my favorite. I loved using the microscope in her class and I credit Mrs. Callahan with having the most influence on my decision to study microbiology in college. Dissecting frogs and worms was so much fun...ooh, that formaldehyde smell...so distinctive.

Mrs. Kalisz and Ms. Hoffman were my 7th and 8th grade history teachers. They were both strict disciplinarians and no one could get away with anything in their classes. Mrs. Kalisz was a good teacher but Ms Hoffman had been around since my mother had been in junior high and she was the master. There was one major project in her class and that was to keep a history notebook, full of your notes, in your best and neatest handwriting, but embellished with pictures, quotes, and other interesting tidbits. So...one had to scour published material for such tidbits. She expected it. Ms Hoffman also made us memorize...the Bill of Rights, the Gettysburg Address, the Preamble to the Constitution...all of which we had to recite to the class, with emphasis in all the right places. Ms Hoffman made sure we knew the stories behind the event of American history...she knew all the juicy particulars of many of the statesmen we studied.

Mr. Terry Coyne was my 9th grade world history teacher and...what can I say? He was young, funny, and he made us like him because he teased us, asked about our home lives, and prodded us into learning about Ashurbanipal III and Aknaton, Nefertiti, and Caesar. He was also a teacher who liked the real stories behind the historical people and he was fascinating because of that. My brother and I had him the same year for history, he in the 7th grade and I in the 9th...and Mr. Coyne teased us for being siblings.

Miss Paradysz was my other favorite teacher, for PE. She did all of the exercises with us, even though she was in her 50's. She liked to be in shape and she was amazing! We climbed ropes in the gym, played basketball, and ran miles. My favorite time of year was the spring, when we would walk to Russell Field with the softballs and bats, to play games in class.

The junior high did not have a kitchen to learn home ec, but we had a sewing room where we were taught to make various items. In the 7th grade, we made half aprons. It took the whole year before they were finished. Then, in the 8th grade, we made pajama bottoms and anything else that we wanted.

There were junior high dances, but I never went. It was my job to babysit my brothers after school because my mother worked in the afternoons. It was terrible to always have to walk home to be there when my brothers got home. So, I never had much of a social life after school. When it was time for the annual 9th grade dance, my friend Barbara and I were not asked to go by any of the young men. It was disappointing to see our friends go off to their first dance, while we were stuck at home We slept out in my back yard in the tent and had our own evening out.