Grandma, Juicy Fruit and Victory in Jesus

Every single Sunday morning in the 70s and early 80s, the Applegates, party-of-five, could be seen headed to Union Hill Baptist Church in Oldfield, Missouri.  We were undoubtedly in a station wagon listening to Merle Haggard or Hank Williams on KTTS. Notice I said listening, because I can assure you we were not doing much singing and we for sure were not fighting.  The Applegate kids were raised to be seen and not heard.  We didn't see much on the road to Union Hill.  It was a quiet ride. Lots of hills and crooked roads along the way.  I would always look at Linda and Jackie Wallace's house when we turned at their corner. Their son Lane recently posted a picture on facebook of that road and it took me a minute to process where it was. The photo brought back memories of those Sunday rides to our destination...Union Hill.  It' s been a few years since I've driven that route, but once I saw that photo, the vision of the little white church, that seemed to be out in the middle of nowhere, and the memories inside and outside of it came flooding back.

1. Juicy Fruit Gum-As I walked into church after Sunday School taught by Betty Sweppe and Donna Ruth Hull, I sat down in the same pew week after week. It was just a matter of minutes before one of us kids would ask Mother if we could go sit by Grandma Applegate. I can still see her sitting there now. As soon as we sat down, she would always grab her purse to get out a piece of gum. Juicy Fruit.  To this day, when I see juicy fruit or hear it's name, I'm taken back to sitting by her in that old, wooden church pew.  Years ago, Northside Baptist remodeled and my mother-in-law bought one of their pews. When I became a principal, she let me have it to take to school.  I still have it in the hallway. Sure, it's old and has a lot of scratches, but every single time I walk by it, I'm reminded of Robert's mom and the Sundays I got to sit by my grandma. As I sat in my comfortable, padded chair at First Baptist Church Sunday and heard Dave Marty ask his grandchild if he wanted gum, I leaned into Robert and said, "Sounds like Grandma Applegate offering me gum. I bet Dave's isn't Juicy Fruit though".  My mind drifted to simpler times when I chewed my gum, sat by my grandma on an old church pew and listened to my grandad preach.  I didn't realize at the time how special those Sundays were, but I bet my grandma did.

2. Hymnals-Victory in Jesus, Are you Washed in the Blood, Bringing in the Sheaves, Standing on the Promises, Power in the Blood, When the Roll is Called Up Yonder and many other hymnals were the songs I grew up listening to every Sunday morning, Sunday night and Wednesday night. I remember searching the pages trying to find each song in those old books.  The words weren't up on a screen and there was only a piano to accompany the congregation, but in those days, that was enough. A few years ago, a sweet mom at school gave me a Christmas present that took me back to those years. It was an angel made out of a church hymnal. I look at it everyday with a smile on my face. It sits beside the school books that belonged to Grandma Applegate. The angel reminds me of the old songs many of us growing up in the 70s learned to sing. I will admit, I love hearing contemporary music now, but I always smile and sing loud and proud when the old music is played. Those lyrics never leave you once you've learned them.  I can still see Ira Maggard leading the small choir at Union Hill pumping his fist with his thumb out with every song he lead. We recently sang Victory in Jesus and I felt like I was in Oldfield, Missouri again, if just for a few minutes.

3. Baptisms-I got saved in April when a young Bruce Love preached his first revival at Union Hill. My baptism took place in May but there was no baptismal back in 1979.  At Union Hill on that Sunday afternoon, the congregation just walked across the road to Swan Creek. It was a hot day, but the creek was freezing.  My Grandad Applegate baptized me and I remember the congregation singing Shall We Gather At The River after I came out of the water. I recently got re-baptized at First Baptist Church and as I entered the warm water in the baptismal, I remember thinking, "I'm definitely not in Swan Creek". Shall We Gather At The River was replaced by a new favorite though, "How Great is our God".

So many memories I could go on and on about from all those years ago in that sweet church. I remember the picture of Jesus hanging on the wall looking out at the congregation. I remember being excited and nervous every year on my birthday because, after the anniversaries had been acknowledged, it was time for those who had birthdays to take their money up to the preacher, put it in a can and listen to Happy Birthday being sung. I remember the sign on the wall that displayed the attendance each week and how much money had been given during the offering. I remember the Christmas programs and getting our brown paper bag with an orange and an apple in it when we left. I remember getting there early when mom and the other deacon's wives had to get the bread ready for the Lord's Supper. I remember going to grandma and grandads after church every Sunday and eating lunch and then often getting to pick gooseberries in the field across the road from church. I remember crying and Melanie Williams going with me to the altar the day I got saved. What stands out to you about the church you grew up in?  Have you thought about the impact it and the people inside those walls had on you? If the people are still around, let them know how you feel.  If I could go back to a Sunday in the 1970s, one more time I would. I would cherish every moment of my grandma, Juicy Fruit and Victory in Jesus.

I've Been Slide Certified

I slid down a slide last Thursday. It was just a regular, plastic, enclosed, blue slide with a quick turn in the middle.  That's where the "regular" part ends though. You see, this slide wasn't in a park or on a playground.  It was inside the most amazing school I've ever seen.  A school that was once a run down factory in Atlanta, Georgia. A school that was at one time merely a dream of one of the most impressive educators I've ever had the pleasure of watching teach.  A school that houses 128 of the most captivating students I've ever met.  The name of this school you ask? The Ron Clark Academy. After I slid out of the slide, one of the students quickly placed a sticker on my shirt that read I've been slide certified.  I had only recently heard about his slide, or for that matter his academy at all.  In fact, when one of our teachers told me she wanted to apply for us to go see his school through district PD money, I really wasn't all that excited. I told her I would go if they granted us the request and didn't think much more about it until we heard we were going. I flew to Atlanta unsure of what the big deal was about Ron Clark, but I came back inspired and ready to make some additions to our already amazing building. I haven't quit talking about him since I got back. In fact, my husband, Robert, says he can tell anyone anything they need to know about Ron Clark now as well. You get the point.  His visit was a game changer.

As we flew to Atlanta, I started thinking about what we would see during the next two days. I imagined there would be maybe 100 teachers and administrators in attendance.  Wrong.  There were 500 plus lined up outside the locked gates each morning.  As they opened on Day 1, you could hear the music playing. It was so loud your body vibrated as we got closer.  You didn't have time to focus on that though because the man himself was greeting everyone at the doors into the school. My "I don't care" attitude was now replaced with excitement I couldn't contain. Ron Clark had a suit coat on along with shorts. multi-colored tights and some very loud blue shoes that caught my eye immediately.  He greeted us all with a huge smile and a "good to see you" as he himself moved to the music.  The crowd in front of us was dancing the entire time as they entered and it suddenly occurred to me we were all going to be expected to dance our way into the Ron Clark Academy. I'm not gonna lie. Little Satotha Applegate from the 70s emerged for a moment and I was a tiny bit stressed at the thought of dancing in front of anyone. I quickly made the decision though that while in Rome... The atmosphere was electric as we moved past the students who were lined up to greet us. They were, of course, dancing themselves and doing a much better job than me.  Kids were everywhere. High fives were flying. You heard laughter and saw smiles wherever you looked.  It was incredible. Our day just got better and better. We moved from one amazing classroom to another. Teachers stood on desks. Students taught lessons. Chants were sung.  During Ron Clark's session, he told how he reluctantly started out as a young teacher in North Carolina and then eventually felt called to teach in Harlem. We hung on his every word as he told stories about Oprah, traveling on his annual trip with the eighth graders to Africa and visiting with parents during home visits. He shared his philosophy on professional development.  Not everyone is chosen to attend workshops. That's right.  For Ron Clark, he only sends runners. But the most impressive thing I saw the entire time I was there was the math lesson he taught. He never said a word. He used sign language while teaching algebra to fifth graders and every student responded with the answers to his questions simultaneously. Did I mention he never said a word? 100% of the students were actively engaged and they were the ones doing the talking. It may sound chaotic. It wasn't. It was inspiring! I'm not usually at a loss for words, but it's hard to explain to others what we actually saw those two days. We listened to Ron Clark, Kim Bearden (co-founder of the academy), Hope and Wade King and many more.  Of course I had to buy a keepsake or two to remember the experience. Yes, I brought back a t-shirt. Yes, I brought back a pen. Yes, I brought back a bookmark, but more importantly, I brought back some valuable life lessons as well.

1. Surround yourself with colleagues who make you better. Those of us lucky enough to experience RCA (Ron Clark Academy) and see the amazing teachers, were left in awe after watching them and listening to their stories and experiences. There was not one more impressive than the other. They were all amazing. They were all runners. Not a walker or rider in the bunch. But besides that, they had each other's back. Each one of them clearly brought out the best in each other. They weren't trying to outshine anyone. There were no jealousies. They praised each other publicly and you knew it was genuine. They were a family and that was evident from the minute we danced our way inside the academy.

2. Create an experience. The teachers didn't just teach. They inspired the kids by creating experiences and they do it every. single. day. There were no bulletin boards or student work showcased in the hallways.  Instead, there were pictures of the kids in settings all over the world as they had experiences most of us would only dream of. We don't have to stand on desks like Ron Clark though or have students playing the drums during lessons, or visit Japan. We do, however, need to be working to find ways to create experiences for our kids. That means getting up from behind our desk or table. Be active. Move and expect that of your students. Try new ideas. We saw no worksheets and no one was working alone. There was collaboration and engagement happening through meaningful experiences throughout the entire building. We heard chants being sung about the scientific method and saw students answering questions as they stood on desks (alongside Mr. Clark). Those kids will never forget the experiences they are being given and ours shouldn't either.

As I entered Carver after being at the Ron Clark Academy, I was struck with how quiet it was. Obviously, there was no music playing...yet. There were no kids singing chants...yet.  There was no one dancing...yet. It just wasn't alive...yet, but it won't be like that for long...

So as the current year has just ended and a new one is on the horizon, ask yourself if you surround yourself with colleagues that make you better. If they don't, why do you stay beside them? Do they have your back or do their jealousies cause them to turn on you? Do you create experiences at school or do you find yourself looking on Teachers Pay Teachers for the next best worksheet?  Do you take risk or are you happy with the status quo? If these answers aren't what they should be I suggest you beg to be sent to the Ron Clark Academy and prepare yourself for the experience of a lifetime, where you will be changed forever and leave there being able to say I've been slide certified.
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