Introducing Billy
Words from Grandpa
By Delbert Blickenstaff 

I’m in the second grade now and I can read better than most of the kids. Our teacher asks me to read to the class sometimes. I know that Grandpa has helped me a lot by teaching me new words. 

Education is a big new word and it means learning things. I asked Grandpa how he knew so much. He said that he had been a teacher all his life and he was the high school principal when he retired. I asked him what a principal did and he said that he was the boss of the teachers. His job was to work with the teachers in deciding how big the classes would be and which teachers would teach which subject. Another new word. 

I asked Grandpa what classes did he teach and he said History, Government, Physics, and Shop. I had never heard of those except for Shop, so I asked him to explain them to me. 

History: this is a study of what happened in our country and in the world many years ago. Grandpa said that knowing what people did in the past helps us understand what is going on now. 

Government: another new word which means the president and the senators who make our laws. These are the people we elect when we have elections. 

Physics: another new word that means the study of heat and cold and air and mountains and just about everything else. No wonder Grandpa is so smart. 

Shop: now there’s something I can understand. Boys take this class to learn how to use tools to make things. Like tables and benches. That sounds like fun. 

I wonder what it would be like to be a teacher. Maybe I could be a teacher in a vet school. I never thought of that before. Oh well I’ve got several years before I have to decide for sure. 

Hasta lluego. Carlos taught me that and it means until later. 

Billy