Unfortunately, I can't remember which day it was. But one day each week, we received a delightful little four-page read in school: My Weekly Reader.
Thanks to this fascinating little periodical, I knew the names of every astronaut who went into space between 1969 and 1972. In fourth grade, our teacher made us memorize them, and I kept doing so for years afterwards. My Weekly Reader would prominently trumpet their triumphs, even with the later moon missions that the public lost interest in.
Then again, there was Peanut and Jocko. The monkey and elephant would crack wise and further inspire class clowns like myself.
The idea behind MWR was that you would study them on your own, then discuss them in class. It was more like fun than work.
In researching this piece, I learned that the familiar flyer was first produced way back in 1928 by Eleanor M. Johnson, who died in 1987. So it's far more than a Boomer tradition. In fact, it's still going strong today! Even Peanut and Jocko are continuing to inspire the next generations of class clowns.
Here's to Eleanor, who found a way to inject a little fun into an otherwise humdrum school day, and made you learn something in the process.
Comments (2)
The Weekly Reader is one of the more pleasant memories I have of elementary school (and later "Jr. Scholastic" in Jr High). I believe we received ours on Fridays but my memory may not be correct. The four pages of newsprint were something I always looked forward to and introduced me to the rest of the world. It would fun for me to look through issues printed between 1959 and 1964.
Posted by DUANE DOWNER | October 16, 2007 1:19 PM
Posted on October 16, 2007 13:19
I think of My Weekly Reader very often, especially Peanut and Jocko. It was, for sure, the breath of fresh air for my grades 1 through 5 experience at R. Vickery Elementary in Ft. Worth (1943-l949. So, imagine my pleasure at finding this site today, and knowing there are other kindred spirits who have warm and positive feeling about the "good ol* things from the good ol* days)!!!!!!
Posted by Joe Gibson | November 17, 2008 10:53 AM
Posted on November 17, 2008 10:53