Sarah Retires After Thirty-One Years
Sarah finished her teaching career in the same school system in which she began her education. She graduated from Pontotoc High School in May of 1969. She then attended Itawamba Junior College, Fulton, MS, graduating in 1971. Sarah worked one year for Keystone Metal Molding in Pontotoc, before furthering her education. She graduated from the University of Mississippi with a Bachelor of Arts degree in English within the College of Liberal Arts in 1974. Though certified to teach high school English, she began her teaching career in August, 1974, at D.T. Cox Elementary in Pontotoc, MS, which necessitated she attend summer school for a few years to attain certification in Elementary Education, K-8. Sarah began her career teaching Grade 4 but later taught 5th, 6th, and 7th Grades. In 1993, she moved to the high school to teach 9th Grade English. At various times, Sarah taught English for each grade in Pontotoc High School, but for the past six years, she taught 11th Grade English/ American Literature. It’s easy for "the man on the street," to presume a teacher’s life is a simple one, on the order of a well-paid babysitter with an extended summer vacation, but such is a presumption rooted in ignorance. Instruction of students in classrooms is only part of the job. Just as their professional counterparts in the medical field must ever be vigilant of new procedures, techniques, and discoveries, teachers also face similar professional requirements. Pontotoc High School, Pontotoc Junior High School and D.T. Cox Elementary School have each been recognized as a Blue Ribbon School. In every instance, Sarah served on the steering committee, which submitted the narratives and paperwork in order to receive the award. Of course, much of the work was completed after business hours. Persons who pull a work-shift in a factory or spend a forty-hour week in a retail environment are not normally subjected to in-service training on his or her day off, nor are these required to work at sporting events such as basketball and football games. Teachers also are expected to assume roles of sponsorship for various student clubs and organizations. Somebody among the teaching ranks must direct the Junior Play and the Senior Play, give guidance to the cheerleader squad, and spearhead whatever banquet is in season. Largely, these activities, like developing teaching plans, are after-hours work. Then, there are those teachers who must find a second job to supplement their meager income. Sarah has worked part time for the past four years in E.R. Admissions at the local hospital to help her two children complete their college education. I asked Sarah what individual awards or recognitions she received during her career. "Well, in 1977, I was named Outstanding Young Educator," she stated, quickly adding, "And it’s been downhill ever since." However, over the course of several months, Sarah completed an intense series of study and examination in the 1999-2000 school year to become a National Board Certified English Teacher. It’s true that a pay raise accompanied the effort, but it’s also true the bulk of the certification effort occurred outside of business hours. Adding to the honors category, Sarah stated, "It’s mostly an honorary position, but for the past four years, I’ve chaired the English Department at the high school, and Miriam Clark and I chaired the committee helping prepare for the last onsite SACS visit." SACS is short for Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, and is the body responsible for determining whether or not a given college or school meets its all-important accreditation requirements. Whenever I hear about someone retiring, I suppose I’m like most folks in that I wonder what he or she plans to do. In Sarah’s case, I asked, "What are you going to do, now that you’ve retired from teaching?" "The first thing is catch up on my sleep," she responded, though I doubted she might accomplish in the next few weeks that which she’s been unable to do in a lifetime. "And then I’m going to celebrate with a trip to New York. Then, in August, Felicia and I are going to Destin." "Are you hoping to pick up more hours at the hospital?" "No, I don’t want to work more hours, plus I’d still be part time, right up to 39 hours per week," she replied. "Anything else?" I probed. "Yeah, when I get my retirement check, I’m going to get one of my four cars running again."
Teaching Profession For Better Or Worse For better or worse, the teaching profession is not what it used to be, and I’ve the feeling things are much worse in public schools today than at the time I "retired" in 1972. There are plenty of folks who would have us believe that the schools of Pontotoc and Pontotoc County are superior to other area schools and that the school districts here are experiencing the golden years of public education. They point to the statistics that show the public schools of Pontotoc County have consistently rated Level 5, the best ranking a school can achieve. However, I’m not convinced students are getting a better education, just because they attend a Level 5 school. I remain a skeptic when it comes to the use of standardized testing to measure educational achievement. Once teachers discover area weaknesses they will immediately strive to strengthen those areas by devoting more classroom time to the particular area. The problem with such an approach is that teachers soon begin "teaching the test." By this I mean that the tests, which are used to measure the success or failure of a given school, become the principal focus of teaching. If students learn enough about taking tests and how to score well, then the school system gets a good rating from the State Department of Education. The good ratings keep administrators happy, and parents feel the schools are educating their children. The community buys into all of it and life is good. As I see it, the problem lies with the ratings. To achieve better ratings, administrators pressure teachers to push students for better test scores. Teachers are then less free to experiment with new teaching methods, provide for individualized learning activities, or to challenge gifted students. In short, classroom teachers are too busy "teaching the test," to do the job they were hired to do. However, I imagine the average parent is more concerned with a school’s academic rating than whether his or her child can quote the prologue to the Canterbury Tales or the Pythagorean Theorem. That it’s important for a student to be able to recite a speech or poem in a classroom setting is of lesser importance to many parents than a school’s athletic program. There was a time when public schools sought to provide a well-rounded education for students, but, today, there seems to be far more emphasis on athletics and academic rating levels than a general education. A lot has changed in the teaching profession since I "retired," and I expect the next thirty-three years will see a lot more change for teachers and students alike. I doubt I’ll be around in 2038, but I’ll bet somebody will be noting that for better or for worse, the teaching profession is not what it used to be.
About Me Folks Keep Asking Sunday May 29th, will be the fifth week since a coronary stent was inserted to improve blood flow to my heart. Hardly a day passes without someone asking how I'm doing, and I don't think the question is meant to be rhetorical. Typically, I respond that I'm doing fine, and that's an honest assessment of how I feel. Taking medications has become part of my daily routine, as has walking for exercise. I swallow three pills each morning and one nightly, all of which are prescribed to help my heart accomplish it's task without undue stress, but for all I know the unclogged artery deserves most of the credit for how I feel. Barbara and I have walked daily, since the first week following my heart attack. Lately, Sarah has joined us, too. We either walk four to six laps around Dogwood Circle, or else plod down Ridgewood Drive to the cul de sac and back. The distance is about the same, but due to rolling hills, the latter route is more demanding. Following the guidelines for healthy eating proposed by the American Heart Association is the greatest challenge I face in striving to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Barbara has presented a lot more chicken at mealtime than I care to remember, and she's feeding me ground turkey about once a week. I've not had a beefsteak or pork chop since my heart attack, and this week is the first week I've been allowed a pork barbecue sandwich. However, I still eat an occasional hamburger and we continue to use lean ground beef for dinner dishes that have included western potatoes, tacos, and hamburger steaks. I've cut back to eating a single fried egg and one sausage patty, usually reserving this treat for either Saturday or Sunday morning. I have a couple of packs of country ham in the freezer that is being saved for a special occasion, perhaps a breakfast meal at suppertime. The most significant change I’ve observed in my daily routine is an increased need for sleep. Prior to my heart attack, I hardly ever went to bed before ten-thirty p.m, unless there was a need for me to arise before five-thirty a.m. For some reason, I now have trouble staying awake past nine-thirty each evening. As best I can determine, I’m averaging sleeping one hour longer than before. I continue to be careful not to lift anything heavier than twenty pounds, at least not until the collagen plug in my femoral artery is fully absorbed. Fortunately, my hedge trimmers and weed-eater are all within the weight limit. Yet, Barbara still watches me like a hawk and scolds me for doing any yard work, even riding my John Deere mower. Assuming I don't drop dead in the yard in the next few weeks, I expect she'll get used to my working outdoors by the end of summer. Surely, there's something to be said for "all things in moderation." If my dietary changes and exercise regimen coupled with medications are insufficient stimuli to maintain a healthy heart and cardiovascular system, then it really won't matter whether I overexert myself or not. In the long run, a man's going to die due to something, so he may as well die doing something he enjoys.
Number One Google - Ridge Rider Several weeks ago, I reported that the website for Ridge Rider News was ranked at or near the top of several Internet search engines. I should explain that the ranking is related to the relevance of the words in the search. Since the name of my website begins with the words "Ridge Rider," I occasionally open a search by typing "ridge rider," without using the quotation marks. Until recently, whenever I searched for ridge rider using the search engine GOOGLE (www.google.com), Ridge Rider News Online came up in the twelfth position. Yet, search engines are continuously updating results by use of "crawlers" that monitor specific websites. Fortunately, those of us who use search engines to find answers to our questions don’t have to understand how a search engine works or establishes relevancy. Therefore, I don’t know why or how my website suddenly turned up in the number one position, after being in the twelfth position for months, but I’m pleased to report that searching for "ridge rider" on any major search engine now yields a top-ten ranking for Ridge Rider News. In the case of Google, RRN is number one in relevance among the more than a million (1,340,000) references located, and any way I slice it, it looks good to me.
Bodock Beau Hollywood Squares Many readers of RRN remember the comical answers Peter Marshall of TV's Hollywood Squares often received from various celebrities who appeared on the show, answers such as these contributed by Ken Gaillard.
Q. Do female frogs croak?
Q. If you're going to make a parachute
jump, at least how high should you be?
Q. True or False, a pea can last as long as 5,000 years. Q. You've been having trouble going to sleep. Are you probably a man or a woman? br> A. Don Knotts: That's what's been keeping me awake.
Q. According to Cosmo, if you meet a stranger at a party and you think that
he is attractive, is it okay to come out and ask him if he's married?
Q. Which of your five senses tends to diminish as you get older?
Q. As you grow older, do you tend to gesture more or less with your hands
while talking?
Q. It is considered in bad taste to discuss two subjects at nudist camps.
One is politics, what is the other?
Q. During a tornado, are you safer in the bedroom or in the closet?
Q. Can boys join the Camp Fire Girls?
Q. When you pat a dog on its head he will wag his tail. What will a goose
do?
Q. If you were pregnant for two years, what would you give birth to?
Q. According to Ann Landers, is their anything wrong with getting into the
habit of kissing a lot of people?
Q. Back in the old days when Great Grandpa put horseradish on his head, what
was he trying to do?
Q. Who stays pregnant for a longer period of time, your wife or your elephant?
Q. Jackie Gleason recently revealed that he firmly believes in them and has
actually seen them on at least two occasions. What are they? Share this article with a friend.
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Sarah
Carter Brown has retired from teaching. A reception was held at the Pontotoc
Community House on Tuesday, May 17th to honor teachers retiring
from the Pontotoc Separate School District. Honorees pictured at left are:
Sandra Shepherd, Sarah Brown, and Michelle Benjamin. Honorees not pictured
include: Sara Bramlett, Betty Crane, Jeanette Floyd, and Mary Floyd.
