Roger Gunnufson taught math for junior high

Roger Gunnufson

I remember the first day of class with Roger Gunnufson. He introduced himself to us in a cute way. He had his name written on the blackboard. So he pointed to his name with a piece of chalk and then pointed to himself. We are talking grade 7. 

This was a time of substantial adjustment for the kids. We had ended our experience with the "mother hen" teachers of the elementary in the sixth grade. You'd have the same teacher all day. I remember Wally Behm saying of those teachers that they just had a natural instinct for taking care of the kids. I liked the feeling of being in the same classroom all day. We would leave for phy ed class. 

The phy ed instructors felt they had to make us run the 1600 meters once or twice a year. Basically the equivalent of a mile. The memories are vivid because it was not pleasant. I cannot remember if we were allowed to simply stop and rest. Perhaps not. I would have stopped and rested anyway. This is hindsight: Defy expectations and requirements now and then, even if it meant some teacher yelling at you, diminishing you. This was always a risk when I attended school. And sad to say I was intimidated by it. 

Had I really defied a teacher, what's the worst that would have happened to me? I wasn't going to be shot, was I? And if I became a target of real enmity from a teacher, what would the consequences really be? Unpleasant in the moment, yes. But the experience was transitory. It did not feel like it was transitory at the time. 

I remember after leaving high school and finding so many of my interactions with adults being so relaxed and pleasant. It sort of jarred me. People really can be agreeable with each other. Let's emphasis "relaxed" again. 

I sometimes wonder: Why was I so terrified of being late for a class or even being late for school in the morning? The latter would have been a nightmarish episode. What if I just got going too late in the morning? I'd fear being, well, excoriated. Guys my age will remember how Bob Brimi would "excoriate" them. Brimi gained legendary status this way. A friend tells me it was because he was responsible for so much equipment and materials in the shop department, i.e. "industrial arts." And what the heck has happened to "industrial arts" in school? Vanished? Why on earth? 

So school can in fact be dragged through sea changes. I went all the way through junior high before the Morris school even offered girls varsity sports. How could we as a society have been so negligent for so long? Worse than that, why was our society asleep for years - years, I tell you - while waves of our loved sons were sent over to Vietnam to die. And with that abomination going on, us kids were expected to "behave" and "respect authority" in school. 

"Junior high" was grades 7-9 when I was in the Morris system. We experienced the shock of having to go from one classroom to another during the day. We'd follow the ringing of the bells. So tremendously regimented. Is it still like that? The regimented nature and the stern discipline made it all seem like prison. It seems even more like that in retrospect. No one could relax. 

 

A specter

Common sense was absent among our elders when it came to the Vietnam war. Boys grew up knowing their lives could be snuffed out. Violently in fact. This may have been necessary for World War II. But that conflict should not have been set up as a template for the future. 

Public schools? Their very nature ended up impacted by WWII. The WWII generation of parents did not mind the "big government" monopoly associated with education. A big government monopoly of this kind is what had won WWII. 

WWII was the defining experience in the lives of so many of the boomers' parents. We were supposed to salute our military commitments, totally defer to our national leaders on these topics (but not George McGovern). 

It was easy for the WWII generation to preach to us because their own lives were no longer at risk. They had the "bias" of being survivors. And I have long argued that our "take" on WWII would be different if we could interview those who had lost their lives. 

I was in seventh grade with Roger Gunnufson when the Vietnam war was at its peak tragedy. It was 1967 give or take a year. Look up the casualties from then. 

So Gunnufson was going to teach us "math." I basically liked the guy but the class was not going to be smooth-going. I am not just being self-deprecating when I write this. I could not develop a grasp for "math" as opposed to "arithmetic." I was quite good at arithmetic, probably well above average. But "math" was a totally different proposition. 

I had Gunnufson in seventh grace, Ralph Krenz in eighth and Mr. Vodden in ninth. It was all nothing short of hell. I can't imagine how I even survived. I know Mom did some of my homework for me - she should not have - but I'd still have to take some in-class exams. I hated every minute but somehow I got through. Years later when Krenz retired I did a feature article on him for the Morris paper. He said he did not remember me as a student. That's all for the better. He liked the article I did. 

I also did an article on Brimi at time of retirement. He called me to tell me he really liked the article. 

 

Everything old is new again

When the Morris newspaper of today re-printed an old article about Stan Kent at the time of Kent's passing, well that was my article! So fascinating to see my writing turn up in the Morris paper of today. I wish I had gotten a credit line. "Blast from the past." 

Remember in school when a teacher would ask you to "exchange papers" so you could grade each other's paper? One day in Gunnufson's class we did this and the student behind me had to blurt out that I had gotten everything wrong. In front of the whole class. Gunnufson communicated with me later to see if I was (reasonably) straightened out on how to do that particular unit. 

But who cares? I had "arithmetic" nailed and I had multiplication tables memorized. I have them memorized to this day. I should be proud of that. But I was not allowed to feel proud about anything as I went through school. 

Teachers made it clear to us that knowledge was going to be elusive. Very few 'A' grades given. My, the whole "grading system" was a scourge. And teachers had to make sure they enforced a "quota" that would require a certain percentage of A's, B's, C's and maybe even lower. Us students could have shown up bright-eyed and eager to learn each day - it would not matter. 

My sense is that a lot of this has been cleaned up today. Students are not beaten down. In fact I hear "students walk all over the teachers" today. I think this is a better situation than what I experienced. Let the teachers sweat a little. 

 

Edification

Why were the teachers so uptight about "taking attendance" all the time? Years later I would learn from Tim Conway Jr. on KFI Radio-Los Angeles. He said teachers had to account for everyone all the time in order for the school to get its "state aid money." It always comes down to money, right? 

Is it true that Roger Gunnufson was reluctant to accept the no-smoking on campus rule when it was implemented? Well, I was late in adjusting to the seat belt requirement. It happens to all of us. 

Gunnufson recently departed this life. Perhaps he'll introduce himself to God by using a piece of chalk, very touching. 

Roger Gunnufson RIP. He won't have to be member of teachers union in heaven.

 

Addendum: I seem to recall that Roger had a daughter who was good at gymnastics. Sandy? Sandra?

  

- Brian Williams - morris mn minnesota - bwilly73@yahoo.com