Ch 14 Jay Cee Pathway English Class 7 Boyhood Days For children

chapter 14 Boyhood days from the time that can remember having any thoughts about anything recall that had an intense Longing To Learn to Read soon after we got settled in some manner in our new cabin in West Virginia persuaded my mother to get hold of book for me how or where she got it do not Boyhood taste know but in some way she procured an old copy of where hipster Blue Back spelling book which contained the alphabet began at once to devour this book and think that it was the first one ever had in my hands had learned from somebody that the way to begin to read was to learn the alphabet so tried in all the ways could think of to learn it all of course without teacher for could find no one to teach me there was not single member of my Rees in anywhere near us who could read and was too timid to approach any of the white people in some way within few weeks mastered the greater portion of the alphabet in all my efforts to learn to read my mother fully shared my ambition and sympathized with me and helped me in every way that she could though she was not forly educated herself she had high Ambitions for her children and large fund of good hard common sense in the midst of my struggles and longing for an education young colored boy who had learned to read in the state of Ohio came to Malden as soon as the colored people found out that he could read newspaper was bought and nearly every man and woman were anxious to hear him read the news contained in the papers about this time the idea of opening some kind of school for the children in the village began to be discussed by members of the ree since it would be the first school for negro children that had ever been opened in Virginia it was of course to be great and widely exciting event as yet no free schools had been started for colored people in that section hence each family agreed to pay certain amount every month with the understanding that the teacher who was appointed was to board round that is spend day with each family this was not bad for the teacher for each family tried to provide the very best on the day the teacher was to be its guest recall that looked forward with an anxious appetite to the teacher days at our little cabin all across the country it was whole reace trying to go to school no one was too old to make the attempt to learn and almost no one too young as fast as any kind of teachers could be found not only were these schools filled but night schools as well the great ambition of the older people was to try to learn to read the Bible before they died with this end in view men and women who were 50 or 75 years old would often be found in the night school some days schools were formed soon after freedom but the Principal book studyed in the Sunday school was the spelling book day school night school Sunday school were always crowded and often many had to be turned away for want of room the opening of the school in the kanwa valley however brought to me one of the sharpest disappointments that ever experienced had been working in salt furnace for several months and my stepfather had discovered that had financial value for the family and so when the school opened he decided that he could not spare me from my work was bitterly disappointed the disappointment was made even more severe because could see from my place of work the happy children passing to and from school mornings and afternoons my mother tried to comfort me in all the ways she could and to help me find way to learn after while managed to arrange some lessons at night with the teacher after the work was done these night lessons were so welcome that think learned more at night than the other children did during the day but my boyish heart was still set upon going to the school and did not miss any opportunity to push my case finally won and was permitted to go to the school in the for few months the understanding was that must rise early in in the morning and work in the furnace till 9:00 and return immediately after school closed in the afternoon for at least 2 more hours of work the schoolhouse was some distance from the furnace where now worked and as had to work till 9:00 and the school opened at 9 found myself in difficulty school would always begin before reached it to get around this difficulty did something wrong perhaps most people will condemn me for what did but since it is fact might as well state it there was large clock in little office in the furnace the clock of course all the 100 or more workmen depended upon to begin and end the day's work got the idea that the way for me to reach school on time was to move the clock hands from half 8 up to the 90 1 clock mark this found myself doing morning after morning till the furnace PA discovered that something was wrong and locked the clock in case did not mean to inconvenience anybody simply meant to reach that Schoolhouse in time when however found myself at the school for the first time also found myself faced with other difficulties found that all the other children wore hats or caps on their heads and had neither hat nor cap in fact do not remember that up to the time of going to school had ever worn any kind of covering on my head but of course when saw how all the other boys were dressed began to feel quite as usual put the case before my mother and she explained to me that she had no money with which to buy store hat rather new fashion at that time among the members of my race but she said she would find way to help me out of the difficulty and so she did she somehow got two pieces of Homespun and sewed them together and was soon the proud possessor of my first the lesson that my mother taught me always remained with me and have tried as best as could to teach it to others have always felt proud whenever think of the incident that my mother had such strength of character she did not try to impress my schoolmates and others with the fact that she was able to buy me sto hat when she could not since that time have owned many kinds of caps and hats but never one of which have felt so proud my first cap made of the two pieces of cloth sewn together by my mother