School Kids – S'amusing

Why Do I Raise The Flag?

As a youngster, I was taught about the flag and what it meant. I learned about the flag by listening to my parents and watching them live as Americans in a free society, being responsible citizens, demonstrating the finest values of growing up and being good stewards of this special place, America.

Through teens and into adulthood, I learned about the issues and challenges we face as Americans. I witnessed our strengths and weaknesses, our successes and failures. As an old man, I see those same attributes today, as we struggle to grow and become better citizens.

I learned to love our country through education and service, a brief stint in the military for the latter and a wonderful patriotic school activity for the former.

Every Memorial Day, my elementary school would gather in the schoolyard to sing patriotic songs, military songs, our National anthem and to recite our Pledge of Allegiance. The chorus of young voices filled the neighborhood, locals gathered to listen and sing along. It was a happy time, a proud time, a patriotic time. It was the 50s.

The celebration ended with a recital of our Pledge of Allegiance and the playing of ‘taps’ from an unseen trumpeter in the distance. Our American flag flew from every corner of the old brick school building. The moment was exhilarating, even for a kid.

I remember that annual event as though it was yesterday. I can still sing the military ballads and belt out the Star Spangled Banner, and I do when the spirit moves me.

These many years later, on Memorial Day and Independence Day, my wife lines small American flags in front of our house. It’s attractive, but more importantly, it quietly expresses our feelings about our ‘home’, America, while paying silent tribute to all those who sacrificed so much to protect and preserve the American spirit and way of life.

Why do I raise the flag? Simply because I’m proud to be an American and I love my country.

Steve

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A repost from May 2020

The ‘Yellow Jackets’

The ‘Yellow Jackets’ are laser focused, waiting patiently and watching for their quarry, prepared to act. Their instincts are sharp, with keen eyes alerting them to singles or groups entering their territory.

The ‘jackets’ are confident in their mission and blessed with a friendly demeanor. Then, at the right moment, they engage….

“Good morning, kids!”

These are the men and women of the Brighton, NY ‘School Crossing Guard’ team, recognizeable by their bright yellow coats emblazoned with the words, ‘CROSSING GUARD’.

During the school year, they stand at their posts, like buoys in uncertain channels, and manage the crossing of the district’s school children across the busiest intersections and streets in Brighton, to their respective schools. They do it with enthusiasm and grit.

From the students’ early morning trudge to school, to the afternoon scamper home, these extra eyes wait at their spots to ferry kids along, safely.

In frigid winter temperatures, or in the warm fall and wet spring days, the children have a friendly voice greeting them and sending them on their ways,.

And what is one of their rewards? A common refrain from students,

“Thank you, have a nice day.”

How rewarding and exciting is it to hear that from our young people? Very! Brighton should be proud.

When all goes well, these public servants go unnoticed and unheralded. The next time you’re driving by a ‘yellow jacket’, give a honk and a thumbs up, or a wave and a smile. A simple act sends a heart warming message of appreciation to this important link in the safety of our town’s children.

The ‘yellow jackets’ are a proud group. Like other public servants, they show up every day and serve this community well.

Steve Bottcher 041824

To the Brighton, NY school crossing guards and crossing guards, everywhere.

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‘Meeting Bella’

Watching young people grow, mature and assimilate into society is the reward for the time and energy spent guiding them along the way. I’ve experienced it both as a parent and a Brighton school crossing guard.

Recently, I met Bella, one of my former high school ‘crossers’. She recognized me first while we both were waiting in line at a local coffee oasis. It took a brief moment to place her. That happens more nowadays, especially before the first dose of morning dark roast.

‘Meeting Bella’ could be a metaphor for the ‘crossers’ I occasionally meet in town or while walking the neighborhood. The encounters are generally brief, either because we’re not quite sure of each other, or time doesn’t allow us a moment for small talk.

If we do chat, it’s a quick ‘catch up’ on what they’re doing with their life. Depending on their age, some are in post graduate work, some are matriculating at local universities. Others are finishing high school while a few are holding down their first job.

One ‘crosser’ with whom I exchanged early morning pleasantries works at a local grocery store. He impresses me with his diligence, going about his tasks of arranging product throughout the store, stocking shelves, cleaning floors, becoming a dependable asset for the employer. I remind him of that while shopping in the store. A positive word can do wonders.

Another young man attends a US military academy where he’ll earn his stripes, learn to fly jets and hone new leadership skills. A young lady, whom I remember for her early morning perpetual smile, is beginning a course of study in forensics as a college freshman.

Youngsters who rode their bikes to school are now waving at me from behind the steering wheel of a car, sometime their own.

As for Bella, she’s not a kid, anymore. She’s a sophisticated young woman who exudes such confidence and self esteem, attributes that will serve her well in the classroom when she finishes her training to become a school teacher.

As for our own children, both are well into their careers and keeping their eyes on us as we did on them. Our roles are beginning to turn, naturally.

I like to think that our daily meetings at the sidewalk crossing spot, the ‘Curbside Classroom’, where we exchanged pleasantries, answered trivia, gazed up at the winter stars and squinted from the rising sun, was a positive experience for the youngsters. In the very least, if they were smiling by the time they reached the other side, then I considered it was ‘mission accomplished’, and I smiled, too.

I’m confident these young people will change the world for the better.

“Each generation goes further than the generation preceding it because it stands on the shoulders of that generation” (Ronald Reagan)

Steve (101023)

srbottch@gmail.com

Reading For a Straw: A ‘Eureka’ Moment

Sometimes, the simplest reward can motivate kids. Take the 1 cent Pixy Stix…

A Chrysler assembly plant and Green Giant packing plant were the chief employers in the small northern Illinois town where I began my working career fresh out of college, an elementary school teacher for five years before transitioning into a life long sales position.

I had 32 students at a time when classroom size was not a high priority, especially in this rural blue collar town. The work was hard, fun and challenging. It’s teaching!

In elementary school, you teach the gamut of subjects: math, social studies, language, handwriting and reading. Specialists visited weekly to teach art and music. There were no computers in the class, nor the school, nor anywhere except big, temperature controlled rooms in office buildings.

Lesson plans were followed, accordingly, as we covered ‘new’ math, old history and the wonders of science. But reading, and reading for pleasure, piqued the kids’ attention the most.

A time was set aside daily for reading aloud, students rested or doodled while listening to Tom Sawyer, Treasure Island, Charlottes Web, The Old Man and The Sea and others. The daily read was a hit, for the students and me.

But how could I motivate the kids to read more themselves and even stand up to talk about it? I found one answer by noticing the kids enjoying one of their favorite snacks, Pixy Stix, the sugary treat in a straw.

Pixy Stix* had been around for years. I loved them as a kid, myself. Not only popular but these treats were cool looking with their varied colors. And, they were cheap, a penny a straw. I bought a hundred to get started.

The plan, read a book and get a Pixy Stix. It was an instant hit. Yes, gimmicky, but there was more to it. And the results were profound. Every student read a book, two books, three books and more. Sure, the reading tapered as the year progressed, but the drop off was insignificant. And most surprising was the level of enthusiasm from some students who were lower achievers in the general subjects. I was ecstatic having this ‘Eureka’ moment.

Here’s how the project worked:

Select a book and show me
Fill out a book marker with title, author and student name
Report back to me upon completion and tell me a few things about the book
Give an oral report to the class (voluntarily)***
Staple the bookmark to the bulletin board display and select a Pixy Stix

I remember one student, in particular, who never raised his hand in class but gave the best oral reports of all students. Made my day!

My books are my ‘trophies’

Steve

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*From Your Dictionary: ‘Pixy Stix: A confectionery item in the form of a (non-edible) straw filled with sweet-and-sour powdered candy .

The Crossing Guard Chronicles: The Facts, Just the Facts… ‘Did You Know Abe Lincoln Had A Sense of Humor’?

‘We miss your facts’, a student at my school crossing post offered. ‘Well, here’s something, did you know that President Abraham Lincoln had a great sense of humor?’ No, she didn’t and neither did other students. I didn’t, either, until I recently read* more about Lincoln.

‘His pictures always show him looking sad or serious’, another commented. ‘Well, he was often sad and serious. He had much to be both sad and serious about in his life’.

One can get a potpourri of facts by reading.

This is the stuff we talk about at the Curbside Classroom. Facts. But there’s more. And the kids love the ‘more’.

He changed the world for the better. Dr. Jonas Salk did that. I was working on March 26th and reminded the kids about Dr. Salk and his successful research into developing a polio vaccine on this date in 1953. We discussed what we could in the very brief time before crossing.

Tying the polio epidemic and the successful vaccine then, when I was a kid, to the Covid-19 pandemic, I thought, was interesting for the kids, as well as a couple of teachers or adults who happened to benefit from crossing at the Curbside Classroom, that day. Understanding that events in history often repeat themselves was a good lesson. And to have an eye witness, me, who experienced the anxieties of both, tell them about it, was a plus.

Some of these kids are graduating this year and it’s exciting to see them planning their future. It’s been a challenging year because of the pandemic but kids are resilient and they seem to have handled it fine, for the most part.

I like to think that the Curbside Classroom helped them kick start their days. I hope it will be a fond memory, as they continue along a successful Life journey and maybe, just maybe, change the world for the better.

Congratulations, Class if 2021!

Steve

* Team of Rivals’ by historian Doris Kearns Goodwin

The Crossing Guard Chronicles: These Kids Are Sharp…

“Good morning…know what day it is?”

Now, this was not a trick question. Rather, it was a ‘PSA”, Public Service Announcement, for the kids I cross as a school crossing guard. I thought that I was just reminding them of the date.

“Yes, it’s Pi Day!”

“Pie Day? No, it’s March 14th!”

“That’s right, ‘Pi Day’, 3.14…..”

They had me. They were teaching me, turning the tables from our usual morning exercise. And, it was fun, lots of laughs.

These kids are sharp!

The mathematical ‘Pi’, of course, is the ‘ratio of the circumference of a circle to its diameter’. No, I didn’t know that. At one time, maybe, but years ago. One of the kids, a high school student, told me. I had more questions, but we were across and my ‘source’ was heading for her building, probably to a quantum physics class.

These kids are sharp!

Nearly every morning, for fun and mental stimulation, I’ll throw out a fact, a riddle, a question, word of the day, and the young people receive it well. My reward is their feedback. And they’re not shy about offering it, participating in the ‘give & take’.

Since it was Michelangelo’s birthday last week, it seemed appropriate to remind them about the artist and one of his claims to fame, the ceiling painting of the Sistine Chapel.

I was quickly informed that he painted it at the behest, maybe order, of Pope Julius II and it took several years to complete. Should I have known that? A student did. (As a sculptor, painting was not his forte, but we can agree the ceiling is a remarkable piece of art).

It is not unusual for these young students to amaze me with their knowledge, level of instruction, and ambitions. They want to be engineers, physicists, sports marketers, mechanics And they’re a happy group of young folks, as well, with keen senses of humor, especially the older ones who are tuned in to subtleties.

I hope these kids are learning something from me. My challenges are often turned into a learning lesson for me. It makes a school crossing job a pleasure.

As for ‘Pi Day’, one student wore a shirt with the message, ‘Come to The Math Side, We Have Pi’.

These kids are sharp!

‘Pie Face’ Game

Steve (March 2019)

The Crossing Guard Chronicles: “How Much Wood Could A Woodchuck Chuck…?”

PAVAROTTI

“Who was Pavarotti?”

I thought I had them stumped. But stumping wasn’t the end game. The objective was twofold: strengthen our daily dialogue, the fun part; and stimulate their thinking skills, the learning part of our relationship. .

As for Pavarotti, the surprise answer came from a confident high schooler on a unicycle who steadied himself, as best one can on a unicycle, and delivered it with certainty. “Not only was Pavarotti a famous Italian opera singer”, he opined, “but he was a tenor”. I was impressed.

Crossing Guard Patch I’m a crossing guard for a suburban school district in western New York State. Every school morning and afternoon, I have a minute or so to interact with groups of kids ages twelve to eighteen years, while waiting for their signal lights to change. I try to make the wait meaningful.

“What is the formula for converting Fahrenheit to Celsius?”

Recent mornings been have been cold, bitter cold, the perfect environment to challenge them with this question. And the answer came fast. “(F-32) /1.8”. These kids are good.

It’s become apparent that they almost expect something each day, a quiz, a fact, a general question. An approaching airplane provokes a simple discussion. An unusual sunrise or an odd cloud formation gets us talking and imagining. It’s all about the dialogue.

“Who was Francis Scott Key and what did he write on this day (Sept 14) in 1815?”

“What direction are we facing while waiting to cross? Forward doesn’t count!”

“January is named after the 2 headed Roman god Janus.”

“Why did Frosty the Snowman tell the kids not to cry?”

“How many centimeters in an inch, millimeters?”

For the most part, kids haven’t changed over the years. The younger boys are still immature, they run, yell and ask nonsensical questions. And boys and girls still hold hands. But there are some noticeable changes. Pink, purple or blue hair is common with today’s girls, and even with some boys. The huge backpacks have replaced gym bags for carrying books. And, nearly everyone is connected via cell phones.

However, kids are still kids. If I can make them smile or laugh as they start their school day, then ‘mission accomplished’. And it all starts with a greeting…and, maybe a new question…

“Good morning, kids. Have a great day!”

woodchuck

“Oh, By the way, how much wood could a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood?”

To my surprise, they had answers. We’re learning from each other.

Steve
srbottch.com
Jan 2018

Dedicated to a wonderful teacher I’ve been fortunate to know, Jennie, and her cadre of lucky students.