Edgewood School - Bridge Yearbook (Greenwich, CT)

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THE BIG HOUSE THE SCHOOL BUILDING

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Letter Mrs. Joseph E. Davies, the original owner of this house, told me that the Bridge was taken down three times in the process of developing the beauty of correct proportion, balance and stability. A raised platform was built under the window of her room so she might sit there and enjoy its lines. I think the builders wouldfeel rewarded if they but knew its subtle influence upon the many Edgewood children who have passed over it these many years. Those who come back usually pay their respects to the Bridge as though registering their return! We hope this Senior Class will have this same feeling and remember that Edge- wood's future is clearly dependent upon those who, physicially or spiritually, recross the Bridge. Deaf

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Personal Notes I was born in New York in a nice little brownstone house in the front room on the second floor. It was Friday the thirteenth and my twin was a brother. And the house is still standing! Years after, I used to walk by this house and long for the courage to ring the doorbell but I was afraid of being arrested as a 'crank', but one day, many years later, when I was a student at Columbia, I was invited to speak at the home of Mrs. Coonley Ward on Washington Square. When I arrived there the meeting had adjourned to her friend's house which proved to be my house , then occupied by johannson the portrait painter. Mr. johannson was proud of his house which was famous for its beautifully constructed stairwell. , , I was elatedg I had a sense of great pride in the admiration of the guests but I hugged my secret until the end of the tour when I said that I had been born there. Mr. Johannson resented the statement for some reason or other saying it was im- possible-that it must have been next door! He seemed to resent my previous occupancy forgetting, apparently, that I was the guest of honor of the day! I have loved being in school all my life. I used to tease my brothers and sisters to take me to school with them to visit. One day they consented and my oldest sister gave me a tiny china cup with a gold and orange band to take with me in case I wanted a drink of water for they did not have fountains in those days. I still have the cup. At that early age I used to line my dolls up-poor little blockheads that couldn't escape-and try to drill the lessons into them. Of course they learned nothing and many years later, when my dream of teaching was realized, I too had learned that that was not the proper way to educate children. My early school days were spent in a public school in New York but my father taught meto read sitting on his knee, learning the letters from the beautiful large print in our family Bible. I have always remembered this experience and that is why I bought some old family Bibles for Miss Potter's students-that they might begin to read from beautiful print. I attended schools in New York and Chicago. I graduated in Chicago and later taught at the University there. During this time I visited the schools of our country from Canada to California. Later I visited the schools of Europe in Germany, Austria, France, Holland, Belgium. Denmark, Sweden and England because I was interested in learning their methods. I stayed in Sweden and earned a diploma from the Slozdareseminarium. This was a famous training school for teachers in handiwork where one became familiar with the simplest practice of whittling to the most com- plicated technique of dovetailing so that pieces of furniture are fitted together without nails, screws or glue. Nineteen different nationalities attended this unique school at Naas where folkdancing was a prerequisite to graduation. My woodworking training at Naas contributed to my usefulness by giving me an opportunity to work nights for twelve years in the famous Little Hell district in Chicago. My point of view regarding discipline grew out of the experience of working with so-called 'jailbirds', not one of whom was finally locked up. The reason