Coaching in the Classroom Happenings
by Kim and Frank Spillers
January 17, 2012
Hello, Crusaders!
Happy New Year to you all! We're having a great year with your 7th - 12-th grade students in our Coaching in the Classroom, CIC. class. They are terrific young people and you should be proud of them!
This fall, we've talked about elections, voting, registering to vote, the importance of each and every vote. This was fabulously illustrated in November by a number of local elections, whereby mayors to oversee local governments were elected by 1 - 3 votes, and in the Iowa caucus, where Mitt Romney beat out Rick Santorum by only eight, count 'em again, 8 votes! The morning-after-caucus, in our January 4 CIC A class in the afternoon, there were 8 students, so we had the opportunity to paint the picture with their attendance that their votes would swing an election. There are three students who will be eligible to vote in November, so we've talked about registration and the wonderful opportunity we have to lift up a voice for who runs our country. We'll likely conduct a deliberative dialogue this spring sometime and teach them some finer points to healthy conversation that seeks to understand before being understood.
During December, we've been watching and discussing a really incredible movie, Akeelah and the Bee. It's about an 11-year-old girl with a gift for spelling and the challenges of mixed family and community support, low-income school with encouraging administration, fellow students jealous of her gift who jealously call her a "brainiac," and the tutelage of a college professor to coach her toward becoming the national champion of the Scripps Spelling Bee. It's about friendship, choices to become who you want to and can become, having a community encourage you, and the fortitude required to make your dreams come true. It's what we teach in CIC! We've talked with them about their personal fears and how they are working toward and planning to succeed, as Akeelah had to do. We'll finish that movie this month.
We are looking for community opportunities in the Bayard and Coon Rapids area for our students to be engaged in community life. We very much appreciate any ideas you can put us in touch to do - soup suppers, clean-up drives, help with citizens and/or businesses. We can be reached at school every Wednesday, or call us at 712-250-0275 Kim's cell phone, with your suggestions. Thank you!
January 4, we also talked to the students, particularly juniors and seniors, of the importance of taking the ACT test if they are planning to attend college. We told them that registration is about 5 weeks ahead of the scheduled test, posted the dates on the door to our room, reminded them they are also posted outside Mr. Orlano's office, and told them to ask for help if the $50 fee is a challenge for their family.
As always, we thank you very much for the privilege of working with your students. We hope they are gaining knowledge of what is needed to thrive beyond high school and be productive citizens of the communities in which they will reside, and likely run, someday. We're always open to hearing from you, so please get together with us or come to class! The schedule is posted on the wall right by the calendar on Mr. Zanders' wall in the commons area. You are welcome!
Take care.
Kim and Frank Spillers
