I was saddened this month to read the obituary of G. Russell Stewart II, a resident of North Stonington and a retired Groton teacher.

In 1969, after my graduation from UConn, Jim Shaughnessy, then assistant superintendent of schools in Groton, offered me a job teaching social studies at Fitch Junior High. The last question Jim asked me was my draft status. I told him I was 1-A. Jim, who had served in the Navy during World War II, suggested that I join the Navy and when I got out he’d give me a job. I did, and he did.

In late summer 1974 I met again with Mr. Shaughnessy and he told me I’d be teaching social studies at Cutler Junior High. I assured him that I knew where the school was located, having attended it as a ninth grader the year it opened. He told me to go down and talk with the principal, Mr. George Sneider.

My interview with Mr. Sneider was very cordial. I’m not sure if he realized that I had already signed the contract. He then introduced me to the man who would be my immediate boss, Mr. G. Russell Stewart, the Social Studies department head.

Russ explained what I would be teaching. At that time, all social studies teachers taught three grades. The seventh grade curriculum consisted of a series of books on four different topics from Allyn & Bacon. The ninth grade took electives ranging from mass communications to African history.

My college background was primarily in American history, and that’s what was studied in grade eight. When I asked Russ if there was a curriculum guide I should follow, he replied, “You studied history. You know what’s important. Teach what’s important.”

I then asked about textbooks. He told me that the social studies book room was at the end of the hall, but he continued, “I don’t think you’re going to find enough books for everyone to have the same one.”

Russ was right. I found three different texts. There was a red one that was taller and wider than the others, but not as thick. It was fairly easy to read. The book with the white cover had really good graphics in terms of maps and charts. The blue book was the most interesting, but also the most challenging for readers.

I got a book cart and wheeled stacks of all three books to my classroom where I put them all on a table in the back of the room.

When I finally met my eighth graders I showed them the books, explained the pros and cons of each, and told them to go to the back of the room and pick out a book they liked. One might think they’d all grab the red book, but that didn’t happen. These kids knew their own reading abilities and they chose accordingly.

As a teacher, this meant that I couldn’t run the type of class where students took turns reading aloud from the text. As a student, I never liked such classes, and as a teacher I didn’t want to teach that way. However, having three different texts meant that homework reading assignments had to be keyed to each text. I remember one day in class mentioning that one of the texts had a good chart outlining the topic at hand. One of the boys responded, “It’s in the white book. I saw it last night.”

Not having a written curriculum or a standard text meant that the course outline was up to me. As Russ had told me, I taught what I thought was important and that I hoped would interest my 13-year-old students.

As the years went on the board made the decision to make American history a two-year course in grades seven and eight, a decision I applauded. We bought enough texts for everyone to have the same book and they were to be used for two years.

One year my principal opted to move me from grade eight to grade seven. The new assistant principal asked me if I would be comfortable with the curriculum. I responded, “Bob, it simply means that I start at the top drawer of my filing cabinet instead of the third drawer.”

Later the district decided, against strenuous opposition from a lot of history teachers, to return to a one-year course, teaching only up to the Civil War, and bought a new text, which was one-third larger than the one we were using. The new text came with a tremendous amount of ancillary material. It even included a teacher’s guide that gave daily scripts for lessons! Like some other teachers, I sent most of it back to the central office. I didn’t have any use for it or room to store it. I did hang onto a few CDs of the text, which were useful for students who were going to be travelling and wished to keep up with the class. The family laptop weighed less than the six and a half pound textbook.

People sometimes ask me if I miss teaching. I do. I miss the kids and my colleagues, like Russ. I hope when we’ve brought COVID to bay, I can get back to volunteering in the schools.

Robert F. Welt is a retired Groton Public Schools teacher who lives in Mystic.