Mrs. Brown Quiz: The Answers

1. The Mrs. Browns of the world are very ambitious, and many of them would like to travel through space and time. The most popular place to go would be into outer space. Whether this means Mars, the moon, a complete trip through the solar system, or a visit to the space station, many Mrs. Browns are ready for lift-off. Wouldn't you like to find out, with Mrs. Fran Brown's fourth grade class from Kirtland, NM, "what teachers and schools would be like on a distant planet?"

Almost as many Mrs. Browns would like to journey backwards into history. Why? The reason is well summed-up by Mrs. Brown from Bowdoin Central School in Bowdoin, ME who would love to take her class to Ancient Greece and Rome "so they could experience the sights, sounds and smells of a long time ago. History would have an entirely different meaning for them after that."

Still other Mrs. Browns would like to head for the ocean to take in "the magnificence and power of all that water....The ocean is humbling and electrifying," as Mrs. Lucie Brown - of John Beck Elementary School in Lititz, PA - so aptly puts it. Imagine heading for an undersea tour in a submarine or exploring a coral reef in your diver's suit (as Mrs. Elva Grace Brown - who teaches second grade at Mendon Elementary in Mendon, MI - would especially love to do).

Perhaps the field-trip spirit of all the Ms., Miss, Mrs., and Mr. Browns I've heard from was best summed up by Miss Betty Brown of Carrollton Elementary School in Carrollton, TX, who said, "I want to travel throughout the world so every new place is special to me." And Ms. Evelyn Brown of Hongwanji Mission School in Honolulu, HI, who said her favorite part of field trips was "getting to know the students and learning more about them as a person outside of the classroom setting."

2. Karen is the most popular name, with Linda a close second.

4. One of them is losing something: like a purse, or the school bus, or somebody's mom. Or the retainer for a fifth grader's braces, accidentally thrown out with the trash after dinner (it had to be retrieved from a dumpster!) Or even two misbehaving fourth graders who were accidentally left behind at school still in "time out" with their heads on their desks.

Another is having something go wrong with the school bus: like losing it. Or having it break down on a country road - or on Highway 19, the major north/ south road through Florida. Or having the emergency door refuse to close so that somebody has to hold it shut the whole way home. Or getting stuck for half an hour because a tree has fallen across the road. Or discovering that the driver has taken a medication that prohibits him from driving the bus home. Or, on a day when fifth and second grade classes were both taking field trips, getting on the wrong bus headed for the wrong destination. The driver didn't know how to get to the right destination, so the bus pulled up at the house where the teacher's mother lived (catching her still in her bathrobe), and there they telephoned the school. Despite "trips the wrong way down one way streets and getting lost twice," the students did have their field trip and "got home alive."

There are also many kinds of miscellaneous mishaps. One unfortunate student was bitten by a raccoon. Another, who was allergic to wasps, was stung by one and had to be carried on other people's backs to the nearest pay phone to call 911. Yet another student, trying to take a closer look at the fish in a Wyoming river, fell into the water (luckily being quickly and safely rescued). And still another student, who was afraid of escalators, got stranded at the top of one while the rest of the class was heading down with no way to stop; Mrs. Brown had to go back up to the rescue! One entire class had to run outside in bare feet and pajamas when the fire alarm went off on their hotel floor. And another class, while still receiving their introductory instructions on a nature field trip, had to suddenly duck down while a herd of deer jumped over their heads. Later on that same walk, they smelled a skunk and took a different route (I wonder why). A second grader lost a tooth in the middle of an aquarium (but then had fun comparing its size to the teeth in a huge shark's jaw hanging nearby).

Sometimes teachers have their unexpected moments too. Several teachers who skated with their students fell on the floor. And a kindergarten teacher, getting off the trail during a nature walk, jumped over a snake and ran so fast she nearly forgot her class. The students wiggled their fingers like snakes the whole way home. :)

5. So far, it's Pennsylvania.

6. So far, it's Vicksburg, Mississippi, and Tallahassee, Florida, in whose schools I've located twelve (!) Browns apiece.

7. Historical field trips seem to be the over-all favorites - all kinds of history. From Native Americans to the Renaissance Faire, from Ancient Egypt to a one-room schoolhouse, from the Salem Witch Museum to Historic Philadelphia to Old Alabama Town, real Miss, Ms., Mr., and Mrs. Browns and their students love to relive history just as much as my Mrs. Brown does.

Incidentally, the students who visited that one-room schoolhouse had to stand to answer questions, had to answer "Yes, Ma'am" and "No, Ma'am," and were not allowed to talk at all except in response to questions. Mrs. Brown (in this case, Mrs. Jeannie Brown, who teaches sixth grade in Hanover, PA) loved it. Hmm, I wonder why. :-)

Interestingly, another Ms. Jeanne Brown - a Library Media Specialist from Fitzhugh Park School in Oswego, NY - mentioned a one-room cobblestone schoolhouse near Rochester, NY as one of her favorite field trips. Here's her description of the experience:
"The children dressed like kids from the 1800s and ran through a day with a teacher in the schoolhouse. They started the day by raising the flag outside and saluting it. Then they lined up in a boys' line and a girls' line to enter the building and sit on opposite sides of the room. They were assigned grade levels and brought up front for a lesson. While one group was doing their lessons, the others were working on an assignment from one of the very old readers. They were also taught games. The boys played "Annie, Annie Over," throwing a ball over the outhouse. The girls played "A tisket, a tasket" and jumped rope. They had a spelling bee, and if they missed their word, they had to sit on a stool with a dunce cap on. That's the part they liked best (believe it or not). When the children were called on, they had to stand to answer or ask their question. They had to curtsy or bow to the teacher when leaving. The day also included a story of the history of the schoolhouse and lots of tidbits of information from that time period and about cobblestone houses."

Still another one-room schoolhouse, the one at Gunston Hall in Virginia, is the favorite of Ms. Jennifer Brown from Poplar Tree Elementary in Chantilly, VA. How would you like to go to that kind of school? If your teacher is a Mrs. Brown, watch out! You just might go there.

8. I've located teachers named Mrs. Brown at every level from Headstart to eighth grade and beyond, but first grade and third grade are currently tied for the highest number of Mrs. Browns.

And kindergarten now has the fewest - so if you're a kindergartener whose teacher is a Mrs. Brown, you're very lucky!

9. Well, I've always thought of my Mrs. Brown as a whistling, humming, cheerful sort of person, so it really didn't surprise me to discover that one of the most likely specialties for a real Mrs. Brown is music. As she's also very resourceful, another most likely specialty, the Resource Room, seemed highly appropriate too. She's also frequently a reading teacher, which I was happy to hear. Most of all though, as a take-charge kind of person, she's most often likely to be the school's principal!

To my delight, however, I've found Mrs. Browns everywhere in schools: in the library, the cafeteria, financial services, the Positive Action Center, the school office, the guidance office, and the literacy lab. In addition to music, they teach health, enrichment, art, dance, math, reading, study skills, ECE, ALC, Health Promotion programs, science, English, spanish, social studies, latin, history, practical arts, life skills, physical education, and special education. I've located Browns who are vice principals, assistant principals, psychologists, custodians, ERII tutors, a literacy tutor, a Mentor Teacher, a cashier, an Intensive Resource aide, an executive administrative assistant, a supervisor of special education, school nurses, a bookkeeper, a cook, an intern, an engineer, a Title I specialist, a security supervisor, an assistant media center specialist, a work awareness and transition teacher, a technology coordinator, a disabled student aide, a printing supervisor, a speech therapist, a caseworker, a recess assistant, teaching assistants, a personal care aide, a data base clerk, a social worker, a band leader, a chorus director, an interpreter, an assistant superintendent of curriculum, a superintendent of schools, a cafeteria monitor, a counselor, and even (oh, dear) a Mr. Brown who's in charge of the dreaded ISD (In School Detention).

10. Well, apart from being happy to get out of a day of school (which quite a few Mrs. Browns mentioned), the students of real Mrs. Browns have so much to enjoy on field trips. They've experienced almost anything you can think of - from big, scary rides to corn mazes to meeting William Shakespeare - and their favorite experiences include such activities as tanning hides with animal brains, pretending to be judge and lawyers to re-enact a court case, winning a debate on buying new city equipment, eating johnny cakes at a living colonial farm, watching a chef juggle knives, exploring inside a tipi and an earthlodge and making their own miniature tipis, visiting with pregnant dairy cows, observing waterpark sculptures that spit out water, performing science experiments at their local arboretum, eating at Planet Hollywood, seining in the Gulf of Mexico, watching sharks feed, building out of sand a swimming pool large enough to hold twenty-eight people, setting beaver traps in the water, creating artwork in a studio, and learning special effects they could do with computer software. A particular favorite, often mentioned, is taking in the thrills at an Imax Theater, which kids all over the country have done on their field trips. Overall, though, a majority of Mrs. Browns agree that what their students usually like best is participating in activities wherever they are going.

Bonus Answer: I've found thirty-five so far:

Amqui Elementary School in Madison, TN: a physical education teacher and an assistant principal
Bailey Elementary School in Woodbury, MN: a first grade teacher and a recess assistant
Barkley Elementary School in Phoenixville, PA: a first grade teacher and a reading specialist
Barnette Elementary School in Fairbanks, AK: an ERII tutor aide and an intensive resource aide
Bear Exploration School in Montgomery, AL: two kindergarten teachers
Bel Pre Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD: a first grade teacher and an instructional assistant
Bell Elementary School in Houston, TX: a first grade teacher and an assistant principal
Boynton Elementary School in Ringgold, GA : a kindergarten teacher and a principal (not to mention a cafeteria worker)
Brookwood Forest School in Mountain Brook, AL: a first grade teacher and a third grade teacher
C. G. Cowsert Elementary School in Clinton, AR: a first grade teacher and a fourth grade teacher
Calvin R. McCullough Elementary School in New Castle, DE: a fifth grade teacher and a paraprofessional
Castro Elementary School in Denver, CO: a special education teacher and a music teacher
Centura Elementary School in Cairo, NE: a music teacher and a media specialist
Christensen Elementary School in Flagstaff, AZ: a second grade teacher and a fifth grade teacher
Desoto Trail Elementary School in Tallahassee, FL: a third grade teacher and a VE2/SLD teacher
Eagleville Elementary School in Norristown, PA: a second grade teacher and a math support specialist
Eliza A. Blaker Elementary School in Indianapolis, IN: a first grade teacher named and a music and art teacher
Elmonica Elementary School in Beaverton, OR: a grade 4/5 teacher and a physical education teacher
Greenbrier Middle School in Greenbrier, AR: two special education teachers
Indian Head Elementary School in Indian Head, MD: an art teacher and a principal
Killearn Lakes Elementary School in Tallahassee, FL: two second grade teachers AND a fourth grade teacher
Kingsford Park School in Oswego, NY: a first grade teacher and a reading teacher
Leaphart Elementary School in Columbia, SC: a media specialist and a D/T instructional assistant
Lewis and Clark Elementary School in Liberty, MO: a kindergarten teacher and a counselor
Lynwood Avenue School in Farmingville, NY: a speech teacher and a teacher aide
Middlesex Elementary School in Carlisle, PA: a third grade teacher and a reading recovery teacher
Milford Middle School in Milford, DE: an eighth grade teacher and a guidance counselor
Ocean Avenue School in Northport, NY: a first grade teacher and a fourth grade teacher
Peterson Elementary School in Montgomery, AL: a third grade teacher and a special education teacher
Seth Johnson Elementary School in Montgomery, AL: a special education teacher and a librarian
Somerville Road Elementary School in Decatur, AL: a second grade teacher and a librarian (not to mention a custodian)
Southside Middle School in Greenwood, SC: a sixth grade teacher and a Reading/Math Academy teacher
Tremont Elementary School in Medford, NY: a third grade teacher and a fourth grade teacher
W. B. Simpson Elementary School in Camden, DE: a counselor and a teacher
Wesson Elementary School in Tallahassee, FL: a pre-K teacher and an ESE teacher
West Wendover Elementary School in West Wendover, NV: a third grade teacher and TWO(!) fourth grade teachers

We also learn the story of H.E. Pressey. He was a school teacher from England who came to teach near Oconto, NE in 1904. There were no trees in the area, and he dedicated himself to planting trees and educating youth. His land was along the North Loup River. He gave his land to the state of Nebraska on May 6, 1930. He also gave the school standing on his land to the state. His stipulation for the gift was that the state could never charge anyone admission to enjoy this park. The school is still there but no longer functional. Our students make fishing poles out of the sticks from Pressey's trees and string for an afternoon of fishing at Pressey State Park. We build a bonfire and roast hot dogs and marshmallows for s'mores. We marvel at all the tall beautiful trees and know that H.E. Pressey would be pleased to see children enjoying his gift to them."

B. Another interesting field trip story comes from Mrs. Fran Brown of Kirtland Elementary School in Kirtland, NM:

"One outstanding trip we had was to Berg Park, a nature setting park. It was in the spring, and I was telling the students to look for baby animals, birds, insects, etc. I told them to look on the ground, up a tree, everywhere they could look. As I was still giving instructions, we nearly got run over by a dozen deer. They jumped over our heads and we had to duck down. Then a flock of cranes flew over us, making all kinds of sounds. Finally we started our walk and not too far we saw a porcupine in a tree. The students were stunned by the fact that a porcupine could actually climb a tree. Our walk continued when we came across four baby birds in a nest under a tree trunk. One egg was still not cracked, so we waited around a bit to see if it would move. We were anxious to see a bird come out of the egg. Nothing happened, but some of the students returned on the weekend and saw the egg had cracked but no bird. So we figured some animal came and ate the bird. We continued on our walk when we smelled a skunk, and took a different route. Berg Park is a two and one-half mile walk, and we had to cross the San Juan River. Snow was melting so the run-off was plenty in the river, and we talked with some divers who were measuring the depth of the water and the temperature. The students were amazed at how cold the water was. If they got in the water for just a couple of seconds, they would freeze."

C. Here's the busy and wonderful field trip taken by Mrs. Brown's sixth graders from Bowdoin Central School in Bowdoin, ME, "located about 30 miles north of Portland."

"Our trip to Boston begins with a ride in a charter bus with videos. The excitement increases as soon as we leave Maine. Many of the kids each year have never been outside of Maine, so they are sometimes surprised at how much New Hampshire and Massachusetts look like Maine!

In Boston, we see as much as possible in a 36 hour period. We see the Boston Museum of Science, the New England Aquarium, a Boston Red Sox game, Old Ironsides (the U.S.S. Constitution) and we climb the 200+ steps up the Bunker Hill Monument. We even fit in lunch and shopping at Faneuil Hall Marketplace. We spend the night at a dormitory at Simmons College.

While there are many exciting moments during the trip, a perennial favorite is a visit to the Omni Max Theater at the Museum of Science. Seeing a film on such a big screen is a memorable and sometimes stomach churning experience. Another thrill for most students is seeing a Major League baseball game. To see what 45,000 people in one place looks like gives the kids a very different perspective on what large numbers mean.

An event we hadn't planned on last year involved a few extra Red Sox tickets. When we realized we had some extra tickets, we thought maybe we could sell these tickets to a 'nice family' who would like to see a game. We actually checked with a policeman to make sure this was not illegal. After finding out it was okay, off we went to find that 'nice family.' What we found instead was a cigar chomping ticket scalper. The four boys in our group got a unique lesson in economics that they won't soon forget."