Mr. Dyer was my 7th grade English teacher in his first, last, and only year
at Terrill Jr. High. Just out of college, he must have interviewed well,
because he never fit the mold, or met the standards we were used to. We had
English for two periods back then, and he was the last two of my day, right
after gym and lunch. Almost like taking the afternoon off for some of us. On
Mondays, his 6th period was always interesting, as he told of all the exploits
of his long time girl friend Barbara and himself. Sort of like Animal House
comes to Scotch Plains. And then he would attempt to fulfill the curriculum he
was given the rest of the week. Now other than a great story teller, he
remained rather restrained from interaction with us, and most of the time we did
vocabulary, which consisted of a hand written sheet he mimeographed, with a list
of words at the top, and then 20-25 sentences to fill in the blank using those
words. Not so much learning what they meant, but being able to use them in the
proper context in sentences. And he could spend time balancing his check book,
or telling us about his new Mustang, or sleeping due from a wild weekend. And
to this day I cannot define many words, but can use them correctly to convey a
thought because of Mr. Dyer. He would allow us to do this in groups, open book,
a dictionary, and one particular group of girls always used this time to
gossip. Some would meet one on one with another, trading answers, as no one
ever failed in his class. Just showing up and doing the work was a C. Finish
the work, a B, and getting most right was an A. Hey we tried, even if he
didn’t. Very few received less than an A from Mr. Dyer’s budding vocabulary
students. And you could tell from the sentences he created what was going on in
his life and in the world, for example-fill in the blank, “Viet Nam is a country
on the ______ of Asia.” “The V8 in my new Mustang has more _________ than the
six cylinder.” Or “what color is the phone Commisioner Gordon uses to call the
_______?” Coached along by the length of the space corresponding to the length
of the word, if you guessed continent you were an A student. Horsepower, still
an A. Batcave, same bat time, same Mr. Dyer’s class. But we also learned that
circulation meant how many newspapers the Daily Planet sold each day, how blood
went throughout the body, and when a man lost his steady went back into
circulation. Broke was what happened to a glass when it hit the floor, or his
finances after making his car payment. Where else would you learn so many
applications of the same word. But some would be comical, leading to extended
explanations, going into the next period, or the next day, which was fine with
Mr. Dyer, as another class didn’t need to be scheduled. For example-“After many
years together, John proposed _______ to Barbara.” The correct answer was
matrimony, but when Lello wrote in suicide, we all laughed and finished the day
learning about break ups and lost loves. Didn’t learn what suicide really meant
until later in life. Such was my intro to Jr. High English, and much of it has
stuck with me longer than Mr. Dyer stuck with us.
So as a tribute to bad things that turnout good, and as a test and game,
fill in the following blanks. Open book, use your Bible, and no grades.
Pass/fail, pass accept Jesus, fail you deny Him. Let the games begin. We’ll
start easy...
1-For God so loved the _____, he gave His only begotten son.
2-In the _________, God created the heavens and the earth.
3-and Jonah spent three ____ in the belly of the fish.
4-for all are born into ___ and fall short of the glory of God.
5-we walk by _____ not by sight
Easy huh? Carry on.
6-he who began a good work in you, will be ________ to complete it
7-for all have ______ and fall short of the glory of God
8-I am the way, the _____, and the life
9-for man does not live by _____ alone
10-and God saw that it was ____
still 100%, Mr. Dyer would be proud of you.
11-and the number of the ____ was 666
12-God is _______ that none should perish
13-this is my son, in whom I am well _______
14-and you shall call His name _____, for He will save the people from
their sins
15-I can do __ things through Christ who strengthens me
Almost done, closer to heaven. Do you see today’s theme?
16-stand fast in the _____
17-I wish you were ___ or ___, but because you are ______, I will spit you
out of my mouth
18-and I will give you ____
19-I go to _______ a place before you
20-the _____ of Lord Jesus Christ be with you!
You passed! Now who are we talking about? Do you want to make it
personal, accept Him now. And let Him fill in the blanks of your life. Let the
multiple choice tests of life come down to a true/false question, Is Jesus God?
If you answer yes, the final fill in is you have answered _______ Simon Peter.
And your answer is?
love with compasiion,
Mike
matthew25biker.blogspot.com