SEGMENT: EDUCATION & FAMILY
Cliffie Smith Patterson>UIS Collection N-R>UIS Collection N-R, Segment 5
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- COLLEGE EDUCATION
- Went to college while sister worked with stepmother at beauty shop. After going to school in country they left grandmother's house and went to Springfield, MO, at 15-17. Learned high school subjects in country school. Went to college without a high school diploma.
- FAMILY
- Father would teach, then go back to college, then teach. 6 generations of the family have taught or will be teachers. Went to a school named after mother's family, Nelson School.
- COLLEGE EDUCATION
- Recalls a couple neighbors in school. Stayed in girls' dormitories and sister stayed with stepmother in Springfield, MO. Sister taught two years of school. College required students to pass a written examination but had few other requirements. Girls would sing "Day is Dying in the West" every day before lunch. Building was plain, nothing fancy. Built with the Southwestern Missouri State Teacher's College, originally called Normal School. Remembers taking pedagogy, algebra, and English. Went for five months and passed the exam. Boarded at cousin's house and walked through timber to get to the Monarch School to teach. Taught 35 farm children of all grades. Recalls one boy walking out on class. Remembers one girl. Boys would leave in the spring to farm. Taught reading, writing, and arithmetic.
