Are You A Fish Or Are You A Clown?

Indian Village Elementary School
3835 Wenonah Lane
Fort Wayne, Indiana 46809
(260) 467-5200

Photo Credit: Indian Village Elementary School Website

I have lots to say about two particular things that I must only hint on briefly here - Kindergarten and My Parents and their educational background. Both, I think, are points of reference which I need to tell you about so that you can better understand today's entry. So let me give you hints of them and then I'll move into today's entry - which is about - First Grade, Room 19, Mrs. Marsha Lawson - and of course - Indian Village Elementary School.

Kindergarten (the year before - with Miss Crouse in Room 1) - was just 1/2 of a day (and it was the afternoon session for me). While I have lots of stories to tell about this year, one thing that stands out to me is that I never considered it a year of academics. It seemed like much of the focus was on how to co-exist with other kids and how to participate in group activities. It also served to familiarize you with the bus system, how to get around the building, and most importantly, it put you on somewhat of a schedule :).

My parents and education....First of all, at this point in time of my life, neither of my parents had graduated from high school. My father went up through eighth grade and my mother dropped out at the end of her sophomore year to have me.

When I went into Kindergarten, I didn't know how to read. I'm not sure I knew how to write. I could probably count (shrugs). My parents did recognize that education was important however, they really looked to the teachers of the school system to provide the guidance. I'm sure that had a lot to do with their lack of education.

SO - two very important data points for you to understand for today's entry.

In first grade, I didn't know what to expect and frankly, I wasn't thinking really hard about "expectations" around education. We were a pretty poor, but proud family. Although we could have qualified for free and/or reduced lunches (and of course - that dreaded "welfare" term), my parents would have nothing of that.

SO - what was I thinking about if I wasn't focused on my education? I loved me some Barbies! I had Barbies but not any of that fancy furniture (too expensive)....so I usually thought about what kind of things I could use from around the house that could double for my Barbie furniture/Barbie house. I'm telling you - that's mental labor intensive! :)

Mrs. Lawson was a very nice first grade teacher. She was subtle in how she tested us to see where our skills were. I don't remember any paper/pencil exercises to determine this. I think that it was some one on one sessions with her and maybe one other staff/teacher type.

After she had determined where our as-is reading and language skills were, she placed us into small groups. Each group had a name. I think that there were four groups however, the only two group names I can remember today is the Fish group and the Clown group.



Now, I assumed she put us in those groups so that she could work closely with us at the appropriate level we were all at. Now go figure. How smart of her!

I was assigned to the Fish group. At the time, I loved tuna fish so I was kind of excited about being in a group with a food attached to it that I like (for more on my food issues - see Mr. Yuk!).

I don't know how it happened but after about a week, it dawned on me that I was in the retarded group. Side note to readers - I know you know I don't literally mean that. When you are seven years old (during that period in the 70's), you knew why Reading Readiness existed and why some of your classmates didn't transition from Kindergarten to First Grade.

So, I was a little miffed that I was in the retard/slow/stupid group. The Fish Group. So ticked off I was, that I took a moment to figure out what group I should REALLY be in and over the next 3-4 weeks, I worked my way out of the Fish Group and into the Clown Group.



First Grade Readers - Publisher - Houghton Mifflin

How'd I do that?

I recognized that reading and spelling and general processing of my thoughts, was all about patterns. Okay, but know this. In first grade, I didn't KNOW that. Mrs. Lawson used something they call - oh PHONICS. And phonics for me, was about pattern, repetition, logic. I could translate the flashcards she would use, into sounds and I would practice those over and over again - not even aloud, but in my head. It wasn't memorizing - it was the marriage of sight, with hearing, and thought processing.

Like I said - Mrs. Lawson was great - she did a lot of head fakes with us :)

Mrs. Lawson was impressed when I took such a short time to work my way out of the Fish Group and into the Clown Group. Dr. Schroeder (principal with the bald head, fuzzy side burns - he kinda looked clownish...and he was always twisting a pinkie ring) wasn't sure what to make of me. But then, I really showed them - nobody puts baby into a corner (dang - I really wish I had coined that term because really - as a seven year old - that's what being in the Fish Group felt like).

I quickly surpassed the Clown Group. Mrs. Lawson was at a loss. She consulted with Mrs. Lyons (the other first grade teacher). They both thought it was a good idea to get me started with the next level up reader.

By the end of the first grade, I had whizzed through the required reading books for Grade 2, Grade 3, and Grade 4. And yes, the associated workbooks, vocabulary, and testing.

How things have changed or NOT - My parents didn't help me (or not - they were just busy with other stuff). I didn't have any fancy tutors. Every day after school, as a latchkey kid, I had CHORES and other responsibilities. We didn't even have homework in first grade. There were around 30 kids in my class too (see class picture). My point? Just another data reference for you - hopefully it gets people thinking about why kids now (who are just like I was) - aren't succeeding like I did. I don't think for a moment that I was the most unique kid in the world.

But anyway....

These books my friends, represent a very important and pivotal time in my life.

“If one is lucky, a solitary fantasy can totally transform one million realities," Maya Angelou

I had a fantasy of getting the heck out of the Fish Group. And by doing that - I unknowingly, laid the foundational building blocks that would benefit me a million fold for the rest of my life. Having this foundation allowed me to survive my parents divorce and my movement to at least ten additional schools. Without the foundation that Mrs. Lawson helped me realize, I would have been one of those statistics that none of us would be proud to be.

I'm slowly, but surely, locating these books either through eBay or through Amazon Marketplace. I'm convinced I'm missing ONE book from the First Grade series (so if you know what that is, please let me know).

Side note: I can't remember which of these are associated to which grade, so if you remember - let me know!!!



By the way, all of these awesome books were authored by the legendary professor from Michigan State University - William K. Durr. He's retired now however, I've decided that I'm going to take my Dinosaurs book and I'm going to mail it to him to see if he'll autograph it for me.

Fer real!

Great Confusion and Sadness

I'm going to take a moment out of my usual type of "reflection on childhood" posting and tell you that I was shocked, mortified, and just generally stunned at what has become of the Fort Wayne Community School System.

I know that over the past 20 years, enrollment has tanked and I just assumed that it was that normal - people moving out to the 'burbs.

Then I see this data and I was speechless for a good five minutes.

Public School Rankings

I'm embarrassed.

There would be absolutely no way that I would enroll my son in the FWCS system as it is today.

Wow.
Wow.

This makes me incredibly sad. I went to Indian Village. It's on probation. Unfathomable.

And here's the Private School Rankings.

When my mother decided to switch us into the catholic school system, I went to St. Therese. BTW - she did this to ease her catholic mind not because she didn't think we were getting great educations in the FWCS system.

So St. Therese - it's listed as exemplary.

Another observation.

All of the public schools in the Waynedale area are doing horribly while the handful of private schools in the same area are shining brightly.

wow.
wow.

What has happened folks? How and why did FWCS become so broken?

I feel badly for these children. What kind of future can they expect to have if they attend a school that is sub-par?

And Fort Wayne - how can they expect to turn out "their own" professionals if these kids can't even cut the state's mustard.

No wonder these kids are resorting to shooting each other. Nine murders in one week - how many of those who perpetrated the crimes - how many of those people were a product of the FWCS system?

I'm just sayin'....

wow.

I'm back to being speechless again.

But then I bounce back and start reading the meeting minutes - just for 2008 mind you as I'm pretty tired and I need to sleep soon.

"Carol J. Coen commented on the district wide fund raiser that FWCS is holding for Riley
Hospital for Children in Indianapolis. Many Fort Wayne children use the facility in Indianapolis. If we collect one dollar per student, the district would become a Riley Miracle Corporation."

I mean no disrespect to Ms. Coen - but who cares? I mean, it's nice that there is a fund raiser to support Riley but caring about the district becoming a "Riley Miracle Corporation"? Is this part of the new image that they're trying to build for themselves?

"Kevin Brown, Carol J. Coen and Stephen Corona shared experiences from their trip to
Washington, D.C. for the National School Boards Association, Federal Relations Network Conference in early February. There was much conversation about the reauthorization of NCLB legislation. They were able to visit with the staff of Senators’ Lugar and Souder and share specifics of Fort Wayne Community Schools concerns."

I'm glad that they went on a field trip - but WHAT are the concerns? I don't find any list on FWCS website entitled, "Concerns We Have". I would love to see that!

What does it say when four months into the year - over 50% of the meeting minutes documentation is taken up with hires/fires/transfers/leaves of absences/retirements??? Why SO much fluctuation in personnel??

"Mark GiaQuinta thanked the Superintendent for the congratulatory letter sent to Bishop Luers on their state football championship."

You've got to be kidding.

"Chief Academic Officer Dr. Carol Lindquist provided an overview of the district process for enhancing academic effectiveness. Director of School Improvement Systems John Kline then reviewed steps taken by each school to create its plan for continuous improvement."

Awesome. How about posting them on the FWCS website and updating this information (the progress of) monthly?

Yes, here's the methodology they are using (which to me, seems a BIT overwhelming and which will do a great job of taking teachers away from doing their job but hey - what do I know - I just have a master's degree).

They were supposed to be done by March 28, 2008 (each school yet nothing has been posted on the FWCS website). They do have "generic" plans for Middle School - so maybe this means that one size fits all, and whether you are an exemplary school or a probationary school, your approach to improvement is still the same.

Sigh

Something happened between the 2003-2004 school year and the 2004-2005 school year. A quick check of each school's snapshots comparing those two sets of year - half of FWCS dropped significantly from one year to the next (some by 20 points!!!) . Maybe someone can explain that to me.

Waynedale Elementary
Indian Village Elementary
Weisser Park Elementary
South Wayne Elementary
Frances Price Elementary
Nebraska Elementary (they tanked big time first, from 2002-2003 vs. 2003-2004 but then took another nose dive from 2003-2004 to 2004-2005)
Lindley Elementary
Lincoln Elementary
Merle J Abbett Elementary
Adams Elementary
Elmhurst High
Fairfield Elementary
Forest Park Elementary
Franke Park Elementary
Haley Elementary
Harris Elementary
Harrison Hill Elementary

ANYWAY

I promise tomorrow's blog entry will be light and fluffy because too many of these depressing postings aren't good for any of us :).

4th Grade, Indian Village Elementary - Mrs. Crowley

I told you earlier that 4th grade was an important time for me. Here is the first of many recollections re: that period of time in my life.


In 1976, I was nine years old and entering the fourth grade. I had attended Indian Village Elementary school since kindergarten and had felt pretty comfortable in my surroundings, although - and I know you'll find this hard to believe - I was an extremely introverted child. I had fantastic teachers for K-3rd and for fourth grade, I was looking forward to having Mrs. Mitchell. She was an older woman who ran a very strict classroom setting but I heard, she was the best.

Imagine my surprise when two days before school, we stopped by to pick up my books, and found out that my teacher wouldn't be Mrs. Mitchell. It was to be a new teacher, Mrs. Crowley. I was shaken up a bit but forgot about it quickly as I wanted to enjoy my last two days of freedom.

But so much for peace and quiet because rumor around the neighborhood was that Mrs. Crowley was black. This upset my parents - mostly my father - tremendously. Although I knew my father said horrible things about black people, I thought for some reason that a teacher would be exempt from his wrath. But no. The 'n' word was used like it was a typical part of everyday conversation. By the time school started, my stomach had a great ole pit in it.

On our first day of school, my sister and I caught the school bus and sat for the requisite 20 minute ride. When we arrived, there was a school bus already there, sitting directly in front of the school with curtains hanging in the window. How odd I thought. Why doesn't my school bus get to have curtains? The whispers inside the school halls was that a handful of black children had been bussed in to our school system. I was really confused. All of this chaos was a lot for me to handle on my very first day of school.

I walked down the hall to room 21 and stepped into the newly decorated classroom. I found my desk, took a seat, and then looked around to see if I recognized any of my classmates (hi Beth! hi Tom!). But then all of that became a moot point when I saw my teacher walk in the room.

Mrs. Crowley was an attractive woman with a hair-do that was pretty common for a white woman in 1976. I call it the Miss America hair-do. Her skin was black - and not light-skinned but dark black and that frightened me. Didn't it hurt to have skin that dark? I knew that when I stayed out in the sun and my skin got burnt, it really hurt! I was worried for her. Throughout the day, it was very difficult to concentrate because I kept on looking at Mrs. Crowley, trying to understand her. She looked so different but sounded so much like my other teachers.

Over the next couple of weeks, I still found myself stealing glances at Mrs. Crowley and once in awhile, she would catch my stare and smile back at me. About two months into school, I was picked to work on a special project which required that I stay after school. When I went back to pick up my homework, Mrs. Crowley was still there, cleaning up, and setting up for tomorrow's class. For the first time, I was face to face with the teacher that I was both fascinated with and scared of. We were alone and I could tell she was going to initiate conversation. It was a very casual conversation - she asked about my project I was a part of and I commented on how late she was staying. Whew! I had escaped.

Meanwhile, back at home, my dad still had not let up on the "n" word. Every day he still made it quite clear to me and my sister that our education was in jeopardy because the school system had hired "her". The hateful messages I received from home were so confusing because my gut totally felt the opposite. I was learning so much from Mrs. Crowley. She was a fantastic teacher. It got to a point that I needed to know, once and for all, what the real story was.

One day, I volunteered to stay after school to re-arrange the desks. I did it on purpose and I even lied to my parents about it. They thought that I went to my best friend, Beth's house (and to this day, Beth has kept my secret). When Mrs. Crowley and I were alone, she asked me some questions.

Kris, I see you staring at me throughout our day and I was wondering if there's something you want to say to me.

She said this all with a smile. For the first time, there was no fear in my body.

Mrs. Crowley. Does it hurt to be black?

She looked at me and crooked her head, looking for more information.

How do you mean, Kris?

I told her that her black skin seemed so dark and that it reminded me of someone who had been burnt. Did it hurt her? She smiled from ear to ear and gently touched my shoulder.

Sit down with me.

She then talked to me about everything. We started with skin color and she continued answering any and all questions I threw at her.

Why do people call black people the "n" word?
Why does my daddy hate "n" people?
How come my school bus doesn't have curtains?

I touched her hands. They were smooth and soft. Her nails were painted a dark color - maybe a brown. They were perfectly manicured. I touched her hair. It felt so much different from mine. It was straight like mine but it didn't feel nearly as soft as mine. I hugged her and it felt so nice. And she smelled incredibly good, a smell that is still with me today.

It's absolutely, one of the most memorable moments of my elementary years. I was anxious around my teacher because of her skin color. Can you imagine that? Can you imagine any one in the year 2008 saying the stuff that I said and thought as a nine year old fourth grader??!! I can't. It just totally blows my mind.

It's hard to believe that 32 years ago, I had these types of questions because today, skin color is so irrelevant to me. But it's that way because Mrs. Crowley took time to answer the bizarre, but innocent questions of a nine year old girl raised in a very ignorant home. By the time the next semester rolled around, my parents had pulled me and my sister out of Indian Village and placed us in a Catholic school. I only had Mrs. Crowley as my teacher for four short months however, it was an extremely valuable four months for me.

In 1976, Mrs. Crowley influenced and inspired me more than any other historical black American figure has. Here was a woman who was willing to subject herself to the ignorance of an entire community just so that she could teach and make a difference. And she did. Probably more than she ever realizes. Her influence and actions has had a rippling affect on my life. It's because of her that I never thought twice about dating someone of a different color, race, or religious background. It's because of her that I'm a better parent. It's because of her that Ethan's outlook on life is to evaluate every one by their actions and not by their physical attributes. She taught me that what was inside mattered most, a lesson I should have learned from my parents.

PART 1 - Indian Village Elementary School - 4th Grade

Alrighty. It's time for another class picture. Feast your eyes on a group of pre-hormonal Hoosier kiddies. I'll tell you a little bit more about fourth grade - and in particular - the people who were a part of this class...tomorrow.



Row 1: Tony Lude, Tom Stinson

Row 2: Cathy Caldwell, Errol Stech, Janice Smith, Brian Rice, Skip Shock

Row 3: Tom Elston, Kelly Miller, Melanie Davis, Ralph Barva, Shonee Bobilya, Lori Schmidt

Row 4: Glen McCormick, David White (?), Joyce Lloyd, Billy ? , Mike Sharp

Row 5: Tim Bush, Kelli Biddle, Brian Blazer, Shelly Vasquez, Beth Fruechtenicht

Row 6: Rodney Rider, Kristina Frazier, Danny Gould, Lewis Mastin

Row 7: Kim Spore, Robert Stone, Belinda Flotow

First Grade - Indian Village Elementary School

Say hello to my first grade class from Indian Village Elementary School. The year (according to the picture) is 1973 and Mrs. Marci Lawson is the inspirational teacher - keeping us all in check.

We were located in Room 19 (yes I know - scary that I remember this).

Our desks were simple, in a complicated way. They weren't the fancy ones that opened up on top. Oh no! They were the kind that opened up to your waist area.

Many things could get lost (and subsequently - GROW) in this area. Emptying these types of desks out at the end of the year was always an anxiety-filled moment because one never knew what people like Brian Blazer and Ralph Barva would pull out of the nooks and cranies of these wooden hothouses.

ANYWAY

If you attended Fort Wayne Community Schools (the elementary ones) in the early to mid 70's, I bet your class pictures looked just like this.

Every year, the photographer would come into our classroom and he would bellow out instructions to our teacher that went something like this.

Okay. Move dem desks to the middle. We gotta make this look like a real classroom

What he meant was that the lens was only so wide and therefore - if the desks were required to be in the picture (by the way - I'm still trying to figure out who made this rule) - then - in order to get everyone in, we had to move all of the people and desks into a small area, sit behind them, and smile for maybe 3-4 shots.

In other words, it took much more time to move the desks around then to actually take the frickin' picture.

The boys really liked to scrape the desk chairs as hard as they could across the concrete (but hey - it looks "tiled" - floor).

I have a ton of great memories from first grade. My first grade experience was extremely profound and I can't even begin to tell you how lucky I was. I think I was just in the right place, at the right time.

Anyway - there will be a lot more to write on this subject of first grade. But for now, let's get scary for a moment. I remember just about everybody's name.

So here it goes. And if I'm missing someone, or if I have spelled their name wrong - please let me know. By all means, if you know where any of these folks are today - let us know!

(Left to Right)

Row 1: Rusty Cramer, David Nelson, Melanie Davis, Kristina Frazier-Henry

Row 2: Skip Shock, Rita ?, Jody Ellis, Bruce ?, Chrissy Boner, Brian Rice, Kathleen Caldwell

Row 3: Ralph Barva, Wendy Shipley, Tracy Nimbles, Betsy Barrett, Kelly Miller, Billy ?, ?

Row 4: Eric Busenbaric, Brian Blazer, Kelly Biddle, Lisa Smith, Tom Stinson, ?

Row 5: Beth Fruechtenicht, Karen Brunette, Stuart Williams, Marla Magditch, Chris Starn, Mike Sharp

Row 6: Tom Malott, Brian Butcher, Janice Smith, Kim Spore