[MikelTackNailer]

Was one of 45 lower class white kids finding themselves bussed to a formerly all-black Junior high school back in 1974. The regular classes were hell, having already learned to read and do math beyond grade school level, so found art and typing classes a refuge offering growth and challenge. Your Miss Jacques sounds very like my instructor (who did some military if I recall), and actually whacked us with a yardstick at times for repeated failures. All manual typewriters that your hand muscles felt the rest of the day.

The class was mostly black almost evenly male/female. I saw no Bell Curve there as the performance rates favored no color or sex. The best typist was a shy boy who'd never seen a typewriter before! I got through with a B Plus thanks mostly to good spelling ability.

Typing and Driver's Ed are the two classes that have been invaluable through life. I also had a Home Economics class that wasn't about cooking and sewing - it was basic real-world economics that truly helped prepare for adult financial management. My history teacher was heavy on civics. All "safe space" nightmares for today's snowflakes. Good times.

IBM Selectrics ruled! That spinning ball was ingenious.

[MikelTackNailer]

Er, should have said the Driver’s Ed and the rest were at the High School I was lucky to get to alive. That Junior High found me defensively fighting at least once a week. Only later did I understand their racist attitudes were passed down by the parents. At the time I thought those kids were inherently evil. It took me a long time to discard the racial animosity they instilled in me. Proof it can be done if your head’s on straight.