Lessons learned

The numbers on the wall only begin to tell the story of the past 10 months.

Starting with 1, they stretch across Becky Wachter's classroom, around a corner, across a door and over two storage cabinets, ending with a yellow star over 175.

It's 175 days since Randa Norman first entered the colorful kindergarten classroom at South Elementary in Jackson with pink nail polish on her finger tips and tears streaming down her face.

The pink nail polish is still there; the tears are not.

"Do you remember on the first day of school, I said 'Before you know it we'll be way over there,'" Wachter says, pointing from the 1 on the number line to the 175. "Next year and the next year will go that fast too."

Her 22 students "ooh" at the idea of time not only flying but shifting into warp speed occasionally, as it did this year.

"You do realize that once you're in my class, I'll always keep an eye on you. In first grade and second grade, even when you get all the way over to the fifth grade," Wachter says. "And when I see you, you better wave to me."

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The first bell hasn't rung yet, but Kristin Yetman is already in her first-hour class along with a group of other Scott City High School freshman girls.

They hug, snap group photos and talk about the summer. On the white board, someone has written "Last Day of School. 4 hours left."

At 8 a.m., the first bell rings but the students keep chatting and their teacher continues working silently at her desk. Not much is expected on the last day of school. The day will be short, with dismissal scheduled for 11:30 a.m. Many students don't even bother to show up.

Kristin does, in part because she wants to be there for the morning awards assembly but also because she wants to say goodbye to her friends.

The 5-foot-tall freshman still has long, dark hair and a friendly smile, but the rest of her has changed over the last 10 months.

High school is different from middle school and elementary. There are new rules, both administration-imposed and student-imposed.

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The students in Mrs. Wachter's class are making memory books to commemorate their year in kindergarten.

The first page is about their favorite story. Randa's is "Wut dad catn do!" Mrs. Wachter writes a clarification under Randa's version -- "What Dads Can't Do Best."

On the next page, the kindergartners draw a picture of their teacher. Then they draw pictures of themselves. Randa uses a yellow crayon to replicate her light blond tresses. She uses a hot pink crayon to draw a smile.

Years from now, she'll likely find the memory book tucked away somewhere and think back on the many lessons she learned in kindergarten -- all the important lessons of life, as author Robert Fulghum, who wrote "All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten," would say.

Earlier in the week, Randa received the Good Citizen Award for her class at a school assembly. Mrs. Wachter barely recognizes the energetic social butterfly from the despondent little girl who showed up on the first day of school.

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Kristin no longer blends into the throngs of students at Scott City High School. She stands out. Walking down a hallway to the principal's office, she returns greetings from several friends. At the far end of the hall, a boy yells, "I love you, Kristin!"

"OK," she mutters.

Standing out, going her own way was one of the first lessons Kristin learned this year. Friends she had in elementary school changed when they became freshmen, and the 14-year-old didn't always like those changes.

She didn't want to become part of a clique that shut others out. She decided to be nice to everyone. She joined the cheerleading squad and volleyball team, making friends with older students.

Her favorite memory of the year is football homecoming, when members of the cheerleading squad toilet-papered football players' houses. Her favorite class was geography/government, not because she enjoyed the subject but because she liked the teacher, Mr. Shinn.

Kristin spends the rest of the morning running errands for the principal's office. At 10 a.m., the high school students gather in the gymnasium for an awards assembly.

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Outside on the playground for the last time this year, Randa swings one arm at a time across the monkey bars and climbs to the top of the jungle gym. She couldn't do either of those things 175 days ago.

More lessons are crammed into a year of kindergarten than any other grade. Counting to 100. Reading. Spelling "red" and "bed" and all sorts of other words.

Watching caterpillars become butterflies and soft yellow chicks hatch beneath an incubator. Running the 50-yard dash. Music concerts. Painting and making gingerbread men.

On the playground, a classmate is crying because she doesn't feel well. Randa rushes over, puts her arm around the girl and holds her hand in comfort. They walk around the playground together, hand in hand.

Friendship may be the most important lesson kindergartners learn. Teachers say the early years of school are the best for friendship. As students get older, they begin to recognize the differences in their peers and segregate based on those differences.

But in kindergarten, everyone is your friend.

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Kristin's name is called three times during the awards ceremony -- for a national physical fitness award, an honor roll recognition and the government award in Mr. Shinn's class.

She did better in academics this year than in middle school but learned that sports are much more competitive in high school.

So are the girls when it comes to popularity, but Kristin has already figured out that popularity is overrated.

This summer, she'll volunteer at Southeast Missouri Hospital and attend cheerleading and volleyball camps.

When next fall rolls around, she'll walk through the doors of Scott City High School with the confidence that comes from no longer being one of the "little" kids.

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Back in the classroom, Randa has six more minutes in kindergarten. Mrs. Wachter uses the time to talk about the future.

"When you go to first grade, you all will be in different classes, but it doesn't mean you can't be friends," she tells them.

She lines the students up at the door, hugging each one.

The bell rings and Randa gives her teacher a second hug before setting off down the hallway for the final time as a kindergartener. She walks past the first-grade classrooms on her way out.

She'll be here again next August, in those classrooms with a different teacher, but she'll bring a little bit of kindergarten with her.

cmiller@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 128