Success thrives here

   When we moved to a new school cluster, I was apprehensive about switching our sixth-grader at mid-year. He, on the other hand, was eager to move and shed the stigma of being a class spelling bee winner. He was tired of being called a nerd. When I relayed this to his new counselor, she said the kids in his class would be thrilled. Since he earned the honor, he could still compete and double his class’s chances of winning. He was skeptical, but when he entered his new class and was greeted with a standing ovation, he could hardly say no. 

   So it goes with diversity in our schools. I worked in an elementary school where the principal refused to post an honor roll because she felt it would lower the self-esteem of those who weren’t on it. In a middle school, a principal discontinued honors assemblies because he said most of the kids weren’t interested and he didn’t want to bore them.

   And it’s not just academics. Some schools don’t even allow games that require keeping score for fear that children who don’t come out on top will have their feelings hurt. And as for encouraging academic achievement on a national level, the U.S. Department of Education has cut gifted education completely out of the budget.

   So I was quite excited – and entertained- by what I experienced at Berkmar Middle school while subbing there. The students were all hyped about a Friday afternoon pep rally. I assumed the kids would be cheering for their basketball team.

   When we entered the gym, all the kids sat with their class and eagerly anticipated the program, which began with a motivational speaker who stressed the importance of education.

   Then, class by class students with straight A’s, all A’s and B’s and perfect attendance were called up to receive awards. Their classmates rhythmically cheered, clapped and stomped their feet and kept track among themselves which class had the most honorees. Then came the fun part: the Academic Bowl. A student from each class participated on a team of four in a Jeopardy-like game based on questions from the Gateway and CRCT tests. I cheered hard for - and with - my kids, the Berkmar Brainiacs, only to have the All Stars, Aaron Hampton, Sterling Jones, Barbara Muhemedi and Michelle Ramos, beat us out by one point. But all was not lost.

   Principal, Kenney Wells said BMS holds their Academic Bowl and Pep Rally every nine weeks, so each team always has another chance to win.

   Lauren Pressley, a teacher for the All Stars said, “Even if kids aren’t contestants, they have pride in their team. They love it. It’s a lot of work, but anything that gets kids excited about academics is worth doing.”

020407

Archive