Dear Ravi,
I am back where my heart belongs, a Title I school. Daddy and I have begun tutoring reading at a local elementary school supported by St. Clement’s. This is now our Tuesday and Thursday morning gig. Right now, I have students from kindergarten to grade 3. Some are fluent readers; others are just learning letters and sight words. Next week I get to meet not only with them but with a 4th/5th grade split class for a book group. I can’t wait. This group loves books and loves to discuss books. What more could I ask?
With Halloween coming up, and yesterday being dress as your favorite character day, the energy in the school was off the charts! Wisely, the district decided not have school today but have a trunk or treat instead. As a teacher, I heartily approve this move. Teaching right before Halloween is next to impossible. The students come in already hopped up on sugar and proceed to bounce and boogie their way through the rest of the day. The best a teacher can do is read some slightly spooky stories out loud, have extra recesses to run off the wiggles, and show a few videos. Learning can resume in early November when the kids come off of their sugar high and sleep deprivation from late night trick or treating. Then, if a teacher is lucky s/he can have 3 good weeks of teaching until Thanksgiving, and then it is mad dash into Christmas, Chanukah, and Kwanza. One does not really hit a good rhythm again until January when there are very few out of school vacations. The winter is a good time to hunker down and really attack those basic learning skills, or better yet, those higher learning skills.
As a teacher, I always dreaded the 10:30 am crash I witnessed with my students. Kids usually came in without breakfast and by mid-morning were famished and in no state to learn anything. You could literally see their blood sugar crashing through the soles of the feet and their moods quickly followed. I learned to have emergency snacks on hand just to combat the midmorning blues. Shortly into this tutoring gig I could feel myself gearing up for the midmorning crash. To my amazement it did not happen! Kids kept right on learning and there were no major mood swings or non-compliance. Then it dawned on me, all students K through 12 get free breakfast and lunch. No one is coming to class hungry or unsure of where their next meal will come from. Doors to the elementary school open at 7:15 am and the students know that a hot breakfast and caring teachers and aids will greet them. If there is still time between breakfast and the start of school they can help out by running errands, emptying the trash and recycling, or just curling up with a good book. I thank our governor, Tim Walz, for the free breakfast and lunch initiative. Before he was a governor, he was a high school teacher and a football coach. He knew that no child could learn when they felt hungry or unsafe. Soon after the initiative started teachers noticed a trend. There were less students tardy or absent. There were fewer behavioral problems. In short, it was just easier to teach. This does not mean that teaching become all sunshine and rainbows, but it did mean that teaching at least became possible. So, the old adage is true, breakfast really is the most important meal of the day!
So, my dear son, where I am going with all of this? I am thrilled to be back in the classroom. I love the energy of the school, the endurance of the teachers and paras, being able to pass my love of reading on to other children. In a way, Bridge View was a trend setter. Your school had free breakfast and lunch for all students before this became a state mandate. What I also love about this mandate is that all the local schools provide free lunches when there is a lengthy vacation, like winter, spring, or summer break. Often parents only have one meal a day for their kids in the family budget and this really takes the load off of them. As usually, we will reach out to Bridge View and Focus Beyond to see what families we can help over Thanksgiving and Christmas.
Boo, it is 4 days before Election Day, and our country and our state have a lot riding on these elections. The polls look good and in favor of the Democratic party right now, but they also did in 2016 and 2024. This is not the time for our country to relax. I implore all of our readers, to make a plan to get out and vote. Vote early if you can, we did and then make a plan to help others get to the voting booth on November 3. The polls are open from 8am to 8pm. Even if you get in line at 7:59 pm the day of, you still have the right to vote. Do not let anyone turn you away. Ravi voted for your rights in 2020. Do your part. Be a good human and vote for basic human rights and decency. Do it for yourself. Do it for Ravi. Be a good human and I will talk to you on the flip side. Best, Harriet.
