Popkins School

“Popkins School”

 

I sometimes read the article in Ann Arbor Observer. Among those articles, I want to write about a recollection of a woman, related to Popkins School here. The author is Bonnie L. Branim. Do you know the Popkins School?

She described that the small school was on Plymouth Road. In the 1950s, students from kindergarten through sixth grade shared its single classroom. She was only student in her class. While reading the article, I remembered the movie, "To kill a Mockingbird." I assume that the locations are different, but the schools shared common characteristics. People at that time knew the importance of education and cooperated to maintain school by themselves. I guess that looking at the dedication of adults, children seemed to study hard with gratitude and respect their teachers. Now, the government control on education may be huge, but instead, we tend to forget the joy to study and the necessity to maintain educational system by ourselves. The other day, when I joined the conversation class at the library, I talked about what we would do if we became millionaires. A Chinese woman who has a child said that if she became a millionaire, she would want to build schools or libraries in China like here. I respected herself and her thought. I felt a bit shameful that I said “I would save the money.”

Because I have partly engaged in education, I sometimes remember the importance of education and the valuable role as a teacher when I read those articles. Although it may be true that each contribution of each teacher is small, the whole of them contribute the growth of children and the empowerment of nation. Additionally, I am glad if I can know the history of Ann Arbor deeply.