Uplifting Moments of the Week

With 90+ degree temperatures, we are in the dog days of the summer. But I was encouraged by these “cool” things that happened this week:

STEAM Camp:  This camp has been going on for over 10 years, but I’ve gotten to be a part the past two. I love seeing the students learn with hands on activities (robotics, art, dissections, technology, etc). And during the moments of free time, I love seeing them play and compete. It looks chaotic, but they are having so much fun being together. You can see more photos here.

Super(intendent) Wisdom: Part 2 — Long-Term Interim

Last time, I shared wisdom that I’ve gleaned from my old high school football coach, who is now the Assistant Superintendent of Lexington District 4 (go Swansea High School Tigers!). This is the continuation of that post.

Dr. Walter Tobin came to Allendale last February, as an interim Superintendent, when the previous man in that position had his contract suddenly terminated. (Side note: I think that firing was a terrible decision.) He has now had his interim contract extended several times by the local school board.

My history with Dr. Tobin goes back almost as far as with Coach Maddox. During my last couple of years of high school, Dr. Tobin was the Superintendent of the school district which included Swansea. I was in a school play with his daughter.

Though I didn’t know him then, many of my former coaches and teachers have had great things to say about his leadership. And I’m happy with the leadership that he’s provided in Allendale. He’s come into a tough situation, and helped bring stability.

Of course, this stability will change when a permanent hire is made. But we’ll enjoy it for now.

Super(intendent) Wisdom: Part 1 — Always a Coach

Here’s a warning for you: if we ever get together to talk, or if I hear you speak, I’m going to be taking notes. Ninety percent of the time, I carry around a steno pad, but even if I don’t, I’ll grab a scrap of paper or napkin to write things down.

Being a visual and kinesthetic learner, I absorb information better when I see and apply them. Writing notes and sketching diagrams are two ways that I do this. Plus, writing helps me process at deeper level, and provides a good outlet for the constant flood of ideas in my brain. (This is evidenced by the 1000+ blog posts I’ve written on three blogs I started over the past 5.5 years.)

So, if we meet, I’m going to ask questions, and listen, and write down ideas. I’m not interrogating you or trying to catch you slipping up. I’m merely stealing your ideas.

This is what I did when I had the opportunity to hear from two school administrators earlier this year, my former high school football coach and the current interim Superintendent of Allendale County Schools.

Summer Reading Programs

Thanks to the generosity of First Presbyterian Church of Hilton Head, students in Allendale will have more books in their hands. (Remember this church? A couple of years ago, they sponsored a beach trip for 60 students from Allendale.)

Volunteer and staff leaders from this church started collecting books a couple of months ago, and wound up with enough to donate 400 to each of three elementary schools (Allendale, Fairfax, and Estill Elementary Schools). Plus, there were another couple of hundred books that they were able to give to the high school.

These books will be able to go home with the elementary students. Studies show that access to books is an inexpensive but effective way for under-resourced children to build their literary skills over the summer. See the photo to the right, which I clipped from a recent issue of Educational Leadership.

“A three-year Florida study found that providing free books to primary students over the summer was as effective as summer school in boosting reading achievement.”

Of course, personal encouragement and interaction can improve the results even more. But every bit helps, and each of us can do our part!

Thanks again to this church for their commitment to students in Allendale (and for their continued work with students in Hampton and Jasper Counties)!

Related Links:

• The Importance of Reading to Children
• The Battle of Reading vs Screen Time
• Better Than Prayer in Schools
• Early, Early Childhood
• Always a Coach   
• The Water Is Wide: Lessons about Charity, Racism, and the Shackles of Slavery

Poverty: A Simple Problem and No Solution?

A friend of mine sent me this article, Liberal Policies Have Destroyed the Black Family, and asked,

“Ignoring the fact that he obviously has a distaste for liberals and seems angry, what’s your take on the content?”

To summarize, Sheriff David Clarke (an African-American man) believes that liberal policies (lowering standards for young people, welfare for adults) are a form of modern racism. You should read the entire article, but the gist is that he says that bad parenting is the cause and result of such liberal policies.

“We take kids out of the home with early childhood education programs, and the government feeds them breakfast, lunch and dinner, and provides after-school programs.

Who needs parents in the black community anymore?”

So what’s my take? First, my friend is correct — Sheriff Clarke seems very angry, at liberals in particular.

Second, Sheriff Clarke is correct . . . to a certain extent.

Shutdown Corners, But Not Shut Down

Last football season, we had the best two shutdown corners of anyone we played.

For you non-football folks, a “shutdown corner” is a cornerback (who plays on defense) who can effectively keep the offense’s wide receivers from having a successful game, all by himself. We had two senior cornerbacks in whom we had confidence against any opponent. One of these guys had 4 interceptions (5, if you count his all-star bowl game), and the other guy – who also was a starting running back, and missed a couple of games with a knee injury – only had one, but it sealed the game in a playoff win.

Because we had these two top-notch cornerbacks, they could shut down the opponent’s passing game, allowing our other nine defensive players to focus on the run. Their abilities, confidence, and leadership helped us reach the lower state championship game.

What makes these two men special is not just what they accomplished on the football field (or basketball court, or track), but what they’ve already accomplished in light of where they have come from.

Crazy for Robots

As I began my job to increase the pipeline of students pursuing careers in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, & Math), I had been considering bringing a robotics program to Allendale. It wasn’t my idea, though. There were a bunch of people who were telling me, “You should really think about _____.”

I had heard a lot about FIRST LEGO League (FLL) over the years, but had never seen it in action. I heard how great of a program it was, and also how much it required of students and leaders.

Last February, I traveled to Lexington (SC) with one of my sons, to watch the state tournament. We watched some of the competitions, saw some teams’ information, and got a feel for the event.

Near the end of the day, as I sat in the gym bleachers, I thought, “We can do this in Allendale.”

FAQ: What Will You Do Next?

A few weeks ago, I answered the frequently asked question, “Where are you going next?” with a solid “I don’t know.”

Today, I want to address another question that we’ve been getting a lot, “What will you do next?”

Don’t be surprised if I will answer this question with another, “I don’t know.” (Or, since I’m learning Spanish, maybe I can mix it up and reply with “Yo no se.”)

Do Public Colleges Favor Wealthy Kids?

Forget that children from wealthier families and school systems have access to more resources. Forget that they have more opportunities.

Now it also seems that they have more access to financial aid.

Changing Public Education in South Carolina?

A few days ago, Governor Nikki Haley outlined a new plan to improve education in South Carolina. I don’t like typical “report cards” and rankings for schools, since data can be pulled selectively and rankings are all over the place. We can see the variation with South Carolina here (SC ranking next to last in one category and average in another), here (ranking any from 13th to 44th), and here (#29 in the percentage of quality schools, but this is based on state assessment tests, which are not uniform).

Nonetheless, no one is arguing that our schools don’t need improving, so I am encouraged by the attention this business-minded governor is giving to our public education system. Since she only released general principles, I am reserving full judgment until the details are made known. But for now, there is a lot that I am glad to hear coming out of our governor’s mouth.