The Fourth Grade

I know it is an over used phase but this morning while talking to my daughter I was for some reason reminded of how a teacher can make a difference in a child’s life.  Kim was born in December and so was always the youngest in her class.  At times we thought that perhaps it would have been better for her if she had been held back a year.  She was our second child.  She was unfortunate to have an older brother who was one of those kids who was often described as brilliant by his teachers.  While he was always near the top of his class Kim started her student career near the other end.  Each year of school she would improve slightly, but never at her brother’s level.

Then came Mrs. Douglas and the fourth grade.  Mrs. Douglas has a gift for making children believe in themselves.  At some point during the year her class was doing a small in-class play on the story of Jackie Robinson.  I remember shaking my head when my daughter told me that she wanted to try for the part of Jackie Robinson.  At the time I really didn’t pay any more attention to it. 

Yes, she did get the part.  Later I remember her telling me that she was nervous about her part in the play and worried about memorizing her lines (all of five or six them).  I didn’t see it as a portent at the time, but even at that young age she was wise enough to know that I was a zero at sports trivia and went to her brother for her facts.  The big day came and went without incident; she had remembered her lines and was happy with her performance. 

What my daughter learned in her year with Mrs. Douglas was that if there was no one to tell you that you accomplish something, you would never know it.  She learned not to let others define her or set limits on what she could try.  Her confidence grew daily as did her marks in school. 

Kim graduated high school, the vice-president of her class, was accepted in the US Air Force Academy where she graduated in the top 25%.  Last fall she began pilot training.  This morning she called and I sat listening to her tell me that she was ‘getting very good at pulling her plane of a spin’ and was that she was practicing recovering from in-flight engine stalls and emergency landings.  As I sat there listening to her I of thought a skinny little girl, Mrs. Douglas and Jackie Robinson.

Good Morning New Rochelle!

Monday morning this week I was able to visit a television studio and sit in on a live news broadcast.  It wasn’t at one of the major news studios, or even a cable station but just the same it was an interesting experience. I am presently in graduate school and this visit was helping me fulfill the requirements for one of the courses that I am taking. I consider myself lucky to have been given permission for this visit. I know that these broadcasts are not generally open to the public.

Its 8:40 AM and students from Ms. Rios’s 5^th grade class at Trinity Elementary School in New Rochelle are already in the control room, behind cameras, going over their stories in preparation for this mornings broadcast. Under the direction of Mr. Friejas the entire production is written, performed and broadcasted to the school by students.

The broadcast is shown in every classroom of the school and begins with two students requesting that all students and teachers rise as they lead the school in the pledge of allegiance.  The pledge was followed by news stories, weather reports, two jokes (only one of which was advertised as being corny, but I couldn’t tell which one) and announcements for the staff regarding both a staff and a union meeting at the end of the school day.  The broadcast was done with different students sitting in as the ‘talent’, reading the news, weather and jokes along with the students controlling the two cameras and those in the control room.

I spoke with Mr. Friejas after the show. After complimenting him on the quality of the broadcast I spoke to him about the work that goes into producing it.  He told me that the staff is rotated every two weeks so that everyone is given a chance to be involved.  The entire show, including the writing, is done by the students. He said that the kids catch on very quickly and usually have it down after some instructions and a dry run. 

I can report from my observations that the kids take their jobs very seriously.  There was no laughing or joking as they got ready to go live.  They checked lights, verified camera angles and checked that all of the equipment was working. During the broadcast the crew noticed that the sound levels were off.  This discovery was followed by a series of furious off-stage hand signals to the control room telling them to ramp the audio up. Needless to say I was afraid to move during the broadcast in case I would make any noise. I knew that retribution; although limited to my mid thigh area and below, would be swift and severe.

Following the broadcast, their teacher, Ms. Rios critiqued the class and gave them hints on what they might do to improve the show they next time they went on.

I didn’t speak to any of the children after the production; they had to rush off to class.  Because of this I cannot say with certainty how they felt about it but my impression was they enjoyed it and took pride in it. What I thought of afterward was that the important part of this program was not just the confidence and skills that the children gain doing the show but the possibilities it opens for them.

Growing up in a working class neighborhood in the Bronx you not were exposed to the many career possibilities open to you.  My parent’s, their friends and most of my friend’s parents were either immigrants or were from out of state and worked in the trades, or jobs such as mechanics, police, painters or building workers. These were good jobs that allowed them to support their families but tended to show you a very small part of the spectrum with regards to potential careers. I think that programs such as this serve to open the door to possibilities and expanding one’s potentials.  It helps to let these children know that there can be more out there for them. Maybe none will grow up and go into broadcasting, but they will at least know they there are other possibilities there for them if they want to look.