A few months ago, while in Branson, I received a text message from one of our instructional coaches, Laura Watkins. It was a picture of a principal riding a bike through the halls of her school, with a bell on the handlebars and a basket full of books on the back of the bike. Her mission was to deliver books to her students. Why had I not thought of that before? It took me about 5 seconds to reply to Laura with the message, "I'm on it". I looked up "bikes with baskets and a bell" at walmart.com and ordered what would turn out to be one of the best purchases I've ever made. I had our librarian, Heather Overton, go to Scholastic in Neosho (what a gift to have them in our town) and purchase $100.00 worth of books, and just like that Mrs. Burr's Book Bike was ready for its maiden voyage.
Everyone loves Fridays this year because jean days have made a comeback in our district, but for me Fridays are enjoyable for another reason. At 8:00 a.m. I head out on my bike, ringing the bell as I go down the hallways, stopping in front of every classroom. My favorite part? Listening to the kids say, "Here she comes! Here she comes!" and watching them run to the doorway waiting to hear who their teachers pick to receive a book that is to be their very own. Many of them have asked me if they get to keep the book and I love seeing their faces light up when I say, "Absolutely". I haven't enjoyed riding a bike so much since I was a kid on my 10 speed. You can't crash on this bike though, since it's really just an adult tricycle. I wish I would have had this one back in 1980 when my bell bottoms got caught in my bike chain. That's a memory I've never been able to shake. My goal is to replace it with new memories and a new bike. One that brings joy to the kids as they dig through all the books in the basket looking for just the right one.
The bell ON the bike, though, isn't the only bell that's new at school. This year Carver has our very own RING THE BELL bell, just like the one the Neosho High School Football team rings excitedly after a win at Bob Anderson Stadium under the Friday Night Lights. I thought about why those boys ring the bell at all. Goals, Unity, Team are all words that came to mind. They ring it after giving 100% as a team to get the W. Our task? How to convey that same idea to elementary students. It turned out to be quite simple really. They would ring it for the same reasons the Boys of Fall do...Goals, Unity, Team. So with their teacher, they set class goals they would strive to reach together. So far, it's been rung by students who, as a class, have read 250, 000 words, 1 million words and even 2 million words. Maybe someone in class read more words than others did, but each child contributed to the accomplishment of the class goal. Others have set goals for behavior and met those as well. Since every student participates in the accomplishment of their goals, when it's met, every student gets to RING THE BELL. It's done a little differently at an elementary school though. They line up in a single file line instead of storming the bell, but it's still pretty cool to watch. I love hearing it ring while I'm in my office working. I can't help but be reminded of the scene in It's a Wonderful Life when George hears the bell ringing as Clarence gets his wings. When I hear that sound, I know a class has met their goal and it always brings a smile to my face.
Who knew a bike and a bell would become so symbolic at Carver Elementary this year. The bike means excitement, hope and joy, while the bell means teamwork and accomplishment. Sure there's fun thrown in there, too. The kids love seeing me pedal quickly through the lunchroom with Clifford the Big Red Dog in my basket and I MAY have had trouble getting through a classroom door a time or two. To think when I first saw the picture from Laura, I actually thought I would wheel into classrooms. I apparently forgot I would need to turn around. So I'll keep pedaling and delivering those books and the kids will keep ringing the bell. My questions for this blog are simple. If you're in education, what are you doing to bring excitement, hope and joy to kids? How are you building teamwork? For all of us at Carver this year it's easy. We do those things with a bike, a bell and books.
