The Median Sib

Yesterday morning on my way to school I listened to the Steve Gill Show on WTN, 99.7. I have to admit that my feelings were hurt. Steve was talking about Williamson County School’s consideration of a balanced calendar. Steve does not like the idea.

A few weeks ago every school in our district had a mandatory faculty meeting where the proposed calendar was presented and we were given the opportunity to express our feelings about it and vote on it. The vote turned out in favor of it. Elementary teachers tended to vote for it. High school teachers tended to vote against it. The majority of the arguments against the balanced calendar centered around how it would affect high school athletic programs and band camp, and how it might negatively impact scores on college entrance exams.

Steve raged on about how our director was trying to push things through without giving anyone other than teachers the opportunity for input. Quite simply, he didn’t know what he was talking about. After the teachers voted, there was more discussion and then meetings were set up to get parent and community input. Via our new phone communication system, each family with children in the school system was notified of the proposal and how they could voice their views about it. A discussion board was set up weeks ago for teachers and administrators to debate the pros and cons of it. All along it was stressed that the proposal was simply that - a proposal. Not a done deal. The school district wanted discussion and input in order to make an informed and fair decision.

It’s fine to believe that a balanced calendar is a bad idea. There are many teachers who feel the same way. Here’s where Steve went too far, though. He went into a rant about how STUPID the teachers must be if they thought this NITWIT idea would result in fewer days of school. There isn’t a single teacher who believes that we would get more days off with the proposed calendar. We are intelligent, well educated people who work exceptionally hard at our jobs. Most of us could make much more money and have more opportunity for advancement if we had gone into another field. However, we chose teaching because we care about children and want to make a positive difference in their lives.

Another of Steve’s rants was about how many days off teachers get. He feels that teachers get too much time off. Remember the old joke: What are the three best reasons for being a teacher? June, July, and August! First of all, this past year teachers were back at school the first week in August. Secondly, teachers are ten-month employees. We are not paid for those two months off in the summer although most of us work many days during that time without pay.

So, lay off the teachers, Steve. The balanced calendar is a proposal, and everyone in the community has the opportunity to provide input. It isn’t being forced on anyone. It has been proposed, and now it is being discussed and debated. The final decision will be based on that discussion and debate.

A kindergarten teacher (I’ll call her Gwen) in Florida (home of large cockroaches known as palmetto bugs) found out that her husband was not only cheating on her but had an entire separate family of two children with his girlfriend. It had been going on for YEARS and Gwen had had no inkling of it. Gwen and her husband and their two children had just moved into a new home, it was the first of a new school year, and she was exhausted. The news of his long-standing affair was the last straw. She confronted him but he was unrepentant. He told her that he was leaving her because he knew she was stronger than the girlfriend and she would survive. To say that she was devastated would be an understatement. He left. She was furious with no outlet to express it. The next day, Gwen went to school as usual - not knowing how she would make it but determined to keep life as normal as possible. As the morning wore on, one of the children told her that there was a bug in the “home living” part of the classroom. Gwen grabbed a fly swatter and went into the kitchen area where the enormous palmetto bug was crawling across the floor. Thoughts of her cheating husband combined with seeing a repulsive and gross cockroach in her classroom was too much. She snapped. The bug became her husband, and she started slamming the fly swatter against it and yelling at it: “HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO ME, GEORGE?” “TAKE THIS, GEORGE!” “HOW DARE YOU, GEORGE?” “GEORGE, YOU’RE SCUM!” She kept yelling and hitting the roach over and over and over until her fury had dissipated. Spent, she stopped, took a deep breath and turned around to see the children standing behind her, fixated by the spectacle. As her heartbeat and breathing slowly returned to normal, one little boy timidly asked, “How did you know the cockroach’s name?”

And, friends, THAT is a TRUE story! I swear.

As part of my job as a reading specialist, I am starting a school literary magazine. This week we’ve had a school-wide contest to name it. The names submitted by the children (kindergarten through fifth grade) have been good, crazy, random, and funny. Our school mascot is the hawk. So I’ve gotten submissions for Hawk Talk, The Hawk, etc. A couple of non-student suggestions have been “The Hawk Eye” and “The Hawk Squawk” - both of which I like. However, the name has to come from one of the children. Tomorrow morning is the deadline for entries. So by tomorrow the name will be decided.

Another feature of THE MEDIAN SIB is book recommendations. I read lots of children’s literature, and I read lots of professional literature - especially on reading, for teachers. I will share some books that I feel are particularly noteworthy. Some of the best books ever written are children’s books. AIRMAIL TO THE MOON by Tom Birdseye is one of my favorites. It offers humor that children and parents will appreciate, and it offers great examples of figurative language that teachers will love. I have frequently used this book for mini-lessons on figurative language with all grades.

As part of my job, I spend a lot of time working with parents about how to help their children read, how to make reading and learning more enjoyable for their children. I’ve also started my own consulting firm, CS Learning Consultants. (Note: If you want to learn more, visit our website at http://www.cslearningconsultants.com) CSLC has two branches. The first is tutoring - working with children on specific academic goals. The second branch is consulting - working with families to make their home a positive learning environment for their children. There is one thing that parents can do - regardless of the age of their children - that will make a positive lifelong impact. And that thing is TALKING! Talk to your children about their day at school. Tell them about your day. Ask questions that require more than one-word answers. Here are some suggestions: Tell me about the funniest thing that happened today. Tell me about a question you answered in class. Describe how you felt at the beginning of the day? Did you feel differently by the time school was out? It is quite amazing how much more children learn and how much more they enjoy learning when they have authentic conversations about it.