Ball Pits, Bus Rides and Buddies

Ball Pits-Until recently, the last time I had thought about a ball pit was Silver Dollar City, circa 1980. My sister and I had to wait while my brother jumped in the pit with total strangers. Don't feel sorry for us though. I'm sure we were eating a funnel cake while he played. Fast forward to 2017. I went to a conference in February and the presenter showed us a video of strangers who got to know each other after answering questions in a ball pit. I knew at that very moment, I was going to figure out a way to bring that idea to Carver. After much thought, I came up with Mrs. Burr's Ball Pit. I decided when new students enrolled, I would call them into the pit with a classmate and they would answer questions I had written on a beach ball. Some favorites are, If you had a superpower, what would it be and why, If you could meet anyone, who would it be and why, and Create a Secret Handshake. That one is a little hard for us, but we have a great time trying to create one. I knew I needed to reach more kids though, so I decided to call a different student to the pit at the end of the school day. Yes! It has been AMAZING. I can't go into a classroom or even walk down the hallway, without being asked how they can get into the pit. As I was thinking about how fun it has been getting in the pit with kids another idea came to me. You guessed it...Call the staff into the pit. So now, when the PRICE IS RIGHT music comes on over the intercom, you never know whose name is going to be announced followed by COME ON DOWN. It's been a game changer. I've learned so much about the kids and staff who have gotten into the pit that I would have never known before. I won't reveal what Mrs. Shuler mentioned about her own detention in school. While I realize the kids love playing with the 2000 balls, I choose to believe they want to get in for a more meaningful reason. I believe it's because they feel important and trust has been built. I'm not only taking time to talk to them, but to listen to them as well, and I believe it makes a difference. I know relationships are being built every time we step into Mrs. Burr's Ball Pit.


Bus Rides-I rode the school bus from the time I was 5 until I was 13, so I can definitely say I had the bus experience. I have sweet memories of riding Mr. Neal's bus with my friends and siblings in the 70s and early 80s. . Well, they seem sweet now. I'm not sure I thought they were so sweet back then. As I searched Twitter recently for some new ideas to use at school, I saw an idea that intrigued me...SHADOW A STUDENT. A principal followed a student around for the day. I loved it! I wasted no time thinking about this idea any further. I went to school the next day and picked a third grade boy named Tanner to shadow. After I announced he was the winner (if having your principal follow you around school makes you a winner) I handed the microphone to Mrs. Sanny and went to sit by Tanner. I shadowed him during his classes and I must say that math stresses me out more in 2017 than it did in 1979. My fourth grade teacher will read this so no comments Mrs. Turner. I promise I got better at multiplication. We played outside on the playground equipment and ate lunch together and just enjoyed talking and getting to know each other better. The highlight, though, turned out to be riding the bus home with him. I heard the kids whispering, "Mrs. Burr is riding the bus home with Tanner". I know it was pride I saw in his eyes as he heard the whispers. Tanner had been so sweet the entire day. He made sure I had a spot right beside him no matter where we were and the bus was no different. As we sat together, he told me who lived in each house and how much further it was to his home. I even got to know bus driver Donna a little better that day too. Tanner is no different than the kids in the ball pit. I believe Tanner trusts me because I made him feel important that day. I listened to him and conveyed to him that I was interested in what he had to say. My actions conveyed to him he mattered. When I see him in the hall now, I'm immediately taken back to our bus ride together and I bet if I ask him, he would say the same.


Buddies--I take on a new role each time I get in the ball pit with the kids...buddy. That's also how I felt that day with Tanner. Kids need buddies. They need to feel important and they need to have someone they can trust. Perhaps if there had been questions in the ball pit all those years ago at Silver Dollar City in the 70s, my brother would have made lifelong friends with some of those strangers. It's not just kids who need that though. It's adults as well. During a recent collaboration on Friday, I was visiting with our first grade team and a veteran teacher, who is new to Carver, mentioned that you don't realize how important buddies are until you don't have them anymore. I knew her life experiences in the workplace had contributed to this comment. The team has worked hard on building trust this year and it's been exciting to watch as an administrator. I've worked in four different schools over the past 24 years and if I hadn't been made to feel important or had people I could trust I wouldn't have wanted to stay. I've experienced situations where trust was lost, or perhaps I realized it was never there from the beginning, and that's a sad realization. I recently read, Lead Like A Pirate by Beth Houf and Shelley Burgess. If you know me, you know I believe everything Beth Houf says. There is a chapter in the book on trust. A quote that stuck out to me was, "Trust is the oxygen of our school systems. You can't see it, hear it, touch it, or feel it, but yet without it, you will find yourself struggling to survive". I have found that to be true. If you can't trust your colleagues, you have nothing. You must put the work in to build it or in some cases rebuild it. It takes time, work and being committed to building it, but it can be done if the desire is there. Ask yourself if you are a trustworthy colleague? Are your actions showing you are trying to build trust or destroy it? Do you make your kids and your co-workers feel important? If the answer is no, perhaps you need to spend some time with ball pits, bus rides and buddies.

Why Goodman School Is So Much More Than Good

As I entered Goodman School last week after the tornado struck, and rounded the hallway that lead to my old classroom, my breath was taken away. I wasn't prepared for what I saw. My eyes were immediately drawn upward and all I could see was blue sky. The roof of the main hallway was gone. After coming to the realization of what I was actually looking at, I noticed I was standing outside what was once the library. Tears filled my eyes at that moment.  Keith Rook, who I've known my entire administrative career, was standing there. He patted me on the shoulder and I remember thinking that he must know how hard this is for me. Keith's not a real touchy feely kind-of-guy, so I appreciated his gesture more than he knew. I've been gone from Goodman for 9 years, but as I walked into the rooms I used to know so well, it was amazing the memories that came back to me.

I walked over what seemed like dozens and dozens of blocks that were once the outside wall of the library.  The beautiful library.  I remember when we got the dial up computer in there and how excited we all were.  I remember sitting in there when Mr. Clemons' asked me to become a looping teacher. I remember the tears in my eyes as I stood in that room the day I told the faculty I would be leaving to become the principal at Carver. Keith helped me step over the blocks as I continued walking down the hall to my old classroom. I looked inside and immediately noticed the windows weren't broken, although the roof was gone.  When I looked at the windows, I didn't notice if they were shattered because at that moment I was taken back to 1998. I could see Ronda Hall knocking on them to give me the homework her daughter, Lindsay, had forgotten to bring back to school. We still laugh about that one.  Next, I noticed the closet wall was still in tact. It was bare now, but back in 1999 it had the cutest wallpaper tree covering it. That year, Ronda Hall, Roxie Barnes, and I decorated every inch of that room.  More Ronda and Roxie, but I surely put something on the walls.   I stood there in awe trying to comprehend what I was looking at while having flashbacks to what used to be.  Others would look inside and only see a mess, but I saw so much more.  I saw nine-year-old Kasha Neff sitting at her desk intently reading a book while some rowdy boys were being noisy and Alan Duda swelling with pride as he showed me the limousine valentine box it took him weeks to make.  I pictured Michael Woodrum's mom in the back of the room questioning me about dictation sentences on my first Back to School Night at Goodman. I could hear Addison Rainwater and Ashton Cooper arguing. It happened on most days, so it was easy to remember. I could even see Mr. Clemons sitting there scripting everything I was saying as I taught my lesson on adjectives. I noticed the roof of the school mangled on the blacktop out back. I saw more than mangled metal.  I saw a classroom of kids circled around the turtle race we held on that same blacktop and the turtle that wouldn't let go of Billy Webb's finger.  Of course, I called for Charlotte Miller and she came outside immediately and knew exactly what to do. I left the room, looked down the hallway toward the library, and imagined Herb Heath walking towards my classroom with his Santa hat on to pick up Sarah. He walked down that hall with confidence as Sarah cried with embarrassment. Before I left, I took one more look into the gym that was special to so many.  I could still picture Sarah Heath and Lindsay Hall sitting on the bleachers looking a little nervous (as was I) on their first day of third grade. I could see Les Shelton, Fred Hall and so many other veterans sitting there in attendance at our annual Veterans Day program. My last stop was what was once the art/music room and I could picture my kids sitting at the table as we ate our Thanksgiving Day Feast. Mr. Clemons wouldn't let me have it in my classroom with carpet, so we had to have it in there. I know exactly what I had on that day. I was pregnant with Allison, but no one knew, and my black and white Hard Rock Cafe sweatshirt was hiding it well.

I went back to Carver to greet the fourth grade teachers from Goodman that would now call Carver home for the next few weeks. After checking on them, I sat in my office and processed the day. I looked at all the items I brought with me from Goodman when I moved into Carver years ago. While others may question the decor in my office, I've always been quick to point out that everything in there has meaning.  I cherish the WELCOME pillow Bonnie Gary made me that I keep on an old desk as well as the pictures of the sweet, Amish children in a school setting that Mr. Clemons left when I took over for him. They were the first pictures I wanted hung in my new office.  The plaque the teachers gave me the night of my going away party sits on the shelf behind me. I have other gifts from Michelle Cooper, Sherri Rose,and Connie Bryant that take me back to Goodman as I get glimpses of them every single day.

Allison wanted to go down to Goodman so I headed back that afternoon.  She wanted to see the classroom she had been in the two years she attended Goodman.  I knew she wanted a keepsake and Mr. Sandford suggested a brick.  Perfect! We both headed out the north doors one last time where the bricks now lay in piles.  We both took one and headed to the marquee to take a picture.  I still remember seeing that cute marquee with the crayons on each side for the first time when I brought my resume to Mr. Clemons so many years ago. I had a feeling that day, that Goodman Elementary was a special place, and I was right.

While these are my special memories, everyone working there now and in the past will have their own as well.  I know Goodman is just as special to them and I would love to hear their stories. I would challenge everyone to ask yourselves if you are taking time each day to appreciate the people you work with, the kids you teach and the families you touch.  Are you taking it all in?  Are you making memories? Although, it was a tough day for me, I know it was obviously harder for Samantha Hamilton, her teachers and staff,  the kids and the families who still call Goodman Elementary School home. Together We Will Rise and rise we will. I hope I have conveyed in this blog how much Goodman School meant to me and I hope you have a small glimpse of why in my eyes Goodman School is so much more than good.