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Mrs. Patricia Johnson Simpson College, B. S. Physical Education |
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| Friday, September 29, 1961 Issue of the Beacon | 1962 Anchor, p. 26 |
1962 Anchor, p. 123 "Gym teachers, Kauffman, Masters, Sanders, Johnson" |
1963 Anchor, p. 16 |
1963 Anchor, p. 78 "'The drink that refreshes' say the gym teachers as they pause from their busy tasks of coaching various teams; They are (L. to R.) Mrs. (Nan Jo) Burnham, Mrs. (Patricia) Johnson, Miss (Carol) Kauffman, and Mrs. (Virginia) Masters." |
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Courtesy of Dave Spriggs ('64) of VA - 01/31/08 Thanks so much, Dave! |
06/07/04 | 06/05/04 | 01/16/05 | 01/16/05 |
Mrs. Johnson was
my freshman P.E. teacher. The year started off with field hockey, which everyone else seemed
to think was
wonderful.
I thought it was some mutated form of medieval torture.
I thought my chances of getting hit
by a hockey stick were excellent,
whereas my chances of surviving such a strike were significantly less than that.
To say that I was nervous while out on that field is to grossly understate my
position.
Once while
waiting for the game to begin, I was standing near Mrs. Johnson and studying the
ground intently,
while scraping
patterns into it with my hockey stick. At that moment, a
funny little bug appeared,
which caused me to jump, and change the
designs I was making in the dirt. Mrs. Johnson laughed and asked me what I was doing, and I said I was just
doodling, but
then I saw a bug. I concluded it must be a Doodlebug.
She thought this was wonderfully amusing, and we spent the rest of the
hockey season looking for another Doodlebug - vainly, I must admit.
P.E. teachers
generally concluded that my poor performance in practically every arena covered
in the class
came from a poor
attitude, a failure to apply myself. I saw the expression
change on her face one day
as she realized that I was giving it my all.
In seconds her countenance
registered shock, wonder,
understanding, respect, and ultimately camaraderie.
Later during the
year I found that I could bring up my abysmal score through the endurance tests
- sit-ups, chin-ups, and pull-ups.
These three I could always accomplish to the maximum requirement.
I just kept pushing until I reached the goal, and I didn't give up.
I'll always be
grateful to Mrs. Johnson for recognizing
that while I was probably the worst P.E.
student
the school ever produced, I also probably tried the hardest.
- Carol Buckley Harty ('65) of NC - 06/07/04