Ms. Kathy Sage

I really enjoyed Ms. Sage story about her recollections when she taught at a college and being in a rural town in Illinois. She had straight forward memories of one part of her life. She made me go back when I worked in a small town. I was a teacher assistant in a unit school. This unit school was basically a building that taught students that ranged from 4 to 17yrs of age. The school had a capacity of 400 students. I was teaching students ESL from all ages. I was in charge of teaching the latino kids. I lived in this rural town in Illinois where everyone knew each other. There was only one post office for everyone's mail because the town was so small there was no mail carriers. There was only one patrol car with four officers that take turns two officers at a time patrolling the neighborhood. The town was composed of a majority of white folk that held the positions in teaching and administrative work or in the politics of the town and the minority were Latinos that worked in the mushroom or flower factories. I remember the time when i needed car insurance for my car and the insurance lady told me that she had never seen me before, I told her that I was new in town. She asked me where I worked and I told her in the school. She replied by saying "Are you a cook in the cafeteria?" I replied by saying, "No, I work as a teacher assistant." In this unit school, I was one of three latinas that worked in the school. The majority of the staff was white. I liked it there because I felt i made a difference with the Latino kids when I heard their first words in English and their effort to speak English. I liked the fact the faculty appreciated the diversity in this school because we helped each other when it came to parent, community, and extra curricular activities. Although, I did notice some racial tension at times, from the old folk. The old folk that made it very territorial because they were there for generations. I kind of understood where they were coming from because I knew that these seniors or the elderly were more fixed in their roots therefore, I understood there claim of territory. I loved the snow when it began to fall. I loved the only little mall they had and only one movie theatre. I loved to shop at Bergners for clothes. I liked the fact that at least they had one mexican place. It was a blend of American and Mexican food. It wasn't really authentic Mexican food but, I appreciated the fact that they made every attempt to recreate it. I loved also to eat their famous Gyros. Great memories. Thanks to Ms.Sage for making me remember good old memories.