In the spring of 2017, we had an elaborate Treasure Hunt Achievement Party, and one of the clues was hidden behind the pay phone at the Terre Hill Community Center (the old fire hall) adjacent to the Terre Hill Park. Here is part of what I wrote about that:
Today, seven years later, I drove by the same spot and noticed this.
And just like that, it's gone. Another little bit of history disappeared. It was especially poignant to me because just two days ago I was telling a story in which I had stopped at a phone booth to look up an address and phone number in one of those huge old phone books which hung from a wire inside the booths. That was around 1989 when they still existed.
This was just another reminder that times are changing. Our students are changing. But there is still much merit, specifically relating to learning, in the old methods. Handwriting and cursive are good for our students' brains and their mental processing. I believe that working math problems out by hand and writing with pen and paper are essential to our students' cognitive processes. Yes, I do use calculators and computers. My students do at times as well, but not until the tried and true methods are learned and well-rehearsed. These will not cease to exist in my classroom, even if the pay phones cease to exist in my corner of the world.
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