Regional
(2009-12-21)
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GREELEY, CO
(KUNC) -
With only a few days left until Christmas, KUNC commentator Laura Bridgwater has a gift idea that is sure to get there on time and will mean even more than anything you'll find at the shopping mall.
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I received an early Christmas present back in September, though it wasn't meant to be a Christmas present. I'm just calling it that because I'm going to regift it. Here's the great idea. Feel free to copy it and regift it, too.
I recently got an email from a former first grade student I taught. I haven't been in touch with him since he went to second grade. Michael is now a college student, captain of the Ultimate Frisbee Club and finishing his last year of studying chemical engineering.
When you teach, there are students you remember for better and for worse. I remember Michael clearly because he was one of those great kids who were eager to learn.
I can still remember a question he asked me when he was in my class. We'd just come inside from hunting spider webs because we'd been waiting for a foggy morning. You can spot an overwhelming number of glistening webs in the fog horizontal sheet webs in bushes, tubular funnel webs in the grass, and vertical orb webs in trees.
The desks were arranged in groups of four and Michael was sitting at a cluster near the front of the class. He raised his hand and when I called on him, he said, "Are you German?"
"No, I'm not." I said. "Why do you ask?"
He answered, "Because all good scientists are German."
What Michael didn't know was that I wasn't teaching science because I loved science. I was using science. When you instruct 32 squirmy first graders with the attention span of well, first graders you need a good classroom management strategy. So instead of stickers on their spelling tests or ten minutes of extra recess on a Friday afternoon, I would tell them, "Finish your seatwork and we'll blow something up."
Don't worry. We blew things up in a first grade way - like pouring vinegar into the bottom of a Ziploc bag, clipping a clothespin around the middle, then adding two scoops of baking soda to the top of the bag and sealing it. The fun began when we took off the clothespin, stood back, and watched chemistry happen.
Anyway, besides using science as a reward, I also ended the first day of first grade each year with a science experiment. The first day of school is mostly about rules: where to put your lunch, where to hang your backpack, and how to hold your pencil. It's not inspiring, but it is necessary if 32 students are going to get along and learn how to read and write.
But I wanted my students to end their first day on a high note, so when their parents asked, "How was your day?" they could watch their mom and dad's eyes widen when they answered, "We blew something up!" Even seven year olds understand that knowledge is power.
So, unaware of my motivation for teaching his favorite subject, a few months ago Michael called his old elementary school and spoke with the secretary. Emails were forwarded until his contact information hit my inbox.
When we finally corresponded, he wrote that he had finished reading The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch, the Carnegie Mellon professor whose upbeat speech called "The Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams" became a popular YouTube video. Pausch gave his speech and wrote his book as a legacy to his three young children after he was diagnosed in 2006 with terminal cancer. He died in 2008.
In his book, Pausch refers to the influential people in his life. As Michael was reading, he said he started to think back on the people who had been influential in his life. That's when he felt compelled to find me. He thanked me for believing in him and inspiring him in science. I was touched by this unexpected gift.
But more than that, I've been surprised by how Michael's email has continued to spur me to think about the people in my life who have inspired me and believed in me, especially my husband. This seems like the right time of year, during this season of believing, to be thinking about giving a gift of thank you. I think Randy Pausch would agree that good things come in virtual packages.
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