It was built and put into service in 1911, over a hundred years ago.  It has been abandoned since 1994.  And it still stands there, in the middle of Oklahoma City, just down the street from the OU Medical Center - an empty testament to times past.  Page Woodson is a structure of historic significance, still listed as a "Segregated Negro High School".  It was called the Page Woodson Fifth Grade Center, and it's the site of my first teaching position.  In fact, the picture at left looks very much like my original classroom. 

I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared to face my first class in 1990.  Part of my apprehension must have been due to the interview process.  I was not the master of the job interview, and I had been on a few with no job offers.  When I met Principal Higgins, I was more than a little nervous.  My first impression told me that this man was like Joe Clark, as portrayed by Morgan Freeman in the uplifting movie, Lean on Me.  In the interview, Mr. Higgins asked be the unusual question, "What kind of car do you drive?"  When I described my 1984 Ford Tempo, he said that was good "because they like to steal Chryslers from the playground (Yes, we parked on the playground, and they locked the chain link fence during the school day.).  I really believe my car got me the first job in my professional career.

During the week before school was to begin, teachers were called in for training.  That's nothing new, but the subject matter of the training was more of a shock to this rookie.  It was not facilitated by some educational guru or even by a principal or teacher leader; it was led by the Oklahoma City Police Department.  There I was, hoping to teach children, and learning instead about gang hand signals, tagging, Satanist and gang symbolism, drug deals, and how to take a gun away from someone.  This did nothing to squelch my apprehension!  To top it all, Mr. Higgins expected me to teach students from cultures quite different from any I had experienced.

That said, I held my own during the first week of school, and my fifth grade class did not have any discipline issues.  We were learning history in most of my classes, but I was also responsible for teaching reading to my homeroom class.  Unfortunately, there were no reading books.  "No problem," I said.  "I'll use my history books to teach reading."  Meanwhile, kids were freestyle rapping and break dancing in the halls between classes.

If I could say nothing else about my school, I could say it had character.  We didn't need the radiators since it was over 100 degrees.  The box fans in the windows drowned out most of my teaching, and our endless sweating drowned out any attempt to focus.  Nevertheless, I pressed on.

I had a good friend at the time who was in the Air Force.  He was going to Iraq in the war effort after the Iraqi military invaded Kuwait.  I asked my students to write letters to him, and we soon earned the attention of the local media.

Then came the word that the student population had not met expectations, and Mr. Higgins needed to downsize the staff.  Being the new guy, he told me I needed to find another position in the district (I interviewed for three other schools and was offered all three positions.).  I upgraded to a school in a less violent area.  Later in the same school year, Mr. Higgins was reported to have taken several knives from his students, and there was at least one gang shooting across the street from the school.  I was only at Page Woodson for a few days, but when I found the pictures of the school on the Abandoned Oklahoma website, it all came back to me - the parking lot/playground, the staircases, the hallways, the auditorium, and the swimming pool.  Yes, this school - a Segregated Negro High School put into service some 18 years before Martin Luther King Jr. was born - had a swim program, and a rather large pool facility (The pool was already closed when I worked there, and I never laid eyes on it until I found the AOK website.).

I suppose it is just a building, but it seems to me that there was a lot of history there.  I didn't appreciate that history when I was there, and I'll probably never drive through the area again, but it does provide one thing for me now:  it reminds me of how close we are to a major part of American history, so close, in fact, that I touched it every time I walked through the doors, up the stairs, and into my classroom.  I saw it in every wooden floor slat, every door knob, and every window frame.  I just didn't know it at the time.

I can't even imagine the teachers who came before me, the lessons that were taught in that second floor classroom.  The teachers didn't look like me.  They didn't use the same methods.  They read from different textbooks.  They adhered to oppressive laws.

The water fountains were not for "Negroes", and the restroom weren't labeled for "Colored Only"; the fact is the whole school was labeled as such.  To think I was working, daily, in such a place - surrounded by such a history - really is unbelievable.

Conduct an internet search for "rudest generation" and you will find reports of a study about the way 18- to 34-year-olds treat other people.  Generally, the study reveals that this age group is 23% less likely to carry out common courtesies.  More specifically, we can note the differences in people over 55 and the 18- to 34-year-olds:

Of course, these are just a sample of the study results.  I can't say I do all of these things myself, but the study does indicate a decline in kindness from one generation to the next.  I am a little baffled that my age group is in between the two shown, and I wonder if those numbers would fall in between the two generations that have been contrasted here.

Does this reveal a decline in society?  Are there implications for the under 18's?

Are schools to blame?  Parents?  Churches?

How have advances in the media's reporting procedures?  Advances in technology?

Is anyone paying attention to anyone else?  Or are we too wrapped up in our own cell phones and facebook accounts to care?

Finally, where do we go from here?  Is there a solution?

I was a fan of the original design for the 2003 Missouri quarter.  That design was altered for the final striking of that limited-edition coin.  The final quarter, not as beautiful or as detailed as the artist's original design - still portrays Missouri magic.  Indeed, it is an excellent example of Missouri history touching United States history.  When I think about the images on "our" quarter, I am proud that our state was so crucial to our nation's history.

On the reverse (back) of the Missouri quarter, before a separate image of the "Gateway to the West" (the Arch in St. Louis), are three men rowing in a dugout canoe.  The men in the front and rear of the boat are Captains Meriwether Lewis and William Clark - two incredible explorers who made history in ways that put their exploration in the background.

Did you know...

1. When the group of worn-out men in the Corps of Discovery finally reached the Pacific Ocean, Sacagawea, the young Shoshone Indian girl who assisted them in their journey across the Rocky Mountains, was given a VOTE to help them determine where to stay for the winter.  This was long before women...or Native Americans...were allowed a part in the democratic process.
2. York, the third man on the quarter, was also given a vote.  Clark was raised alongside his slave, York, and he brought him with him on the incredible journey.  No other black man was allowed to vote for some 150 years.  This is absolutely incredible.  In fact, are you aware that York is the first black man to appear on a circulated U.S. coin?  A fitting tribute!
   

There is a page on our class website that focuses on this amazing scientific and historic expedition.  The page includes links to some very interesting information, along with some videos (accessible at home, but blocked at school).

Of course, I can't leave the discussion about the Missouri quarter without mentioning some anomalies:

• The real Gateway Arch in St. Louis sits on the Mississippi River, but Lewis and Clark were primarily on the Missouri River, basically beginning at the confluence of the two rivers.
• The river on the quarter flows between the two legs of the arch, not down the hill from the arch as in reality.
• It goes without mentioning (but I'll mention it anyway) that the arch was not constructed until 1965, not at all near the same time that our heroes made history.
• The curvature of the arch on the quarter is not the actual inverted catenary shape of the real monument.
  
• Their canoe would not have been alone, since there were 30-40 other men accompanying the captains.
• The picture on the quarter must represent the men's glorious return to civilization:  there were a couple of large canoes on the trip west, the men had to make their own dugout canoes after crossing the Rockies and on the return trip.  However, it would appear - due to the water flowing behind their oars - that they are rowing upstream instead of going with the flow of the river.

Upon studying the journals of these men, one must recognize that the journey of Lewis and Clark is perhaps greater than the man's journey to the moon in 1969.  How so?  Not because Neal Armstrong had computers, but because Armstrong had contact with Mission Control.  Lewis and Clark were completely on their own - with no emergency contact, no guidance from experts, and no way to communicate their feelings with their families.  A true study will reveal a great appreciation for a very romantic story from our history - both rugged in its depiction of survival in all kinds of elements and romantic in its deep revelation of humanity and its forward-looking treatment of minorities.  What an amazing time in our past!

There may not be many better examples of my basic teaching philosophy - that we need more wonder, exploration, and discovery in our classrooms.  If you're interested in digging deeper, I encourage you to visit our webpage about the Corps of Discovery.

Three questions up front:

1. Just because everyone else is making resolutions, does that mean I have to (If everyone jumped off a cliff, I wouldn't follow them?)?
2. Who said I can only attempt to improve yourself on January 1 every year?
3. Is there a rule that says I can't make more than one resolution?

That being said, if you are one to make resolutions, consider the following:

• Get my child to school on time every day.
  
• Ask my child every day about his/her day.
• Diligently read every note that is sent home from school.
• Listen to my child read every day.
• Take time to explain things to my child, including daily news and ethical choices.
  
• Finally get my child to master basic facts in all four computation areas (addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division).
  
• Read to my child every day.
• Start and maintain a back-and-forth "journal" with my child.
• Help my child with homework when necessary.
• Ask my child to explain his/her homework when s/he does not need my help.
• Get both sides of the story before advocating for my child.
• Set a good example for my child, knowing s/he watches the same screens I do, sees the places I visit, listens to my speech and my tone, and notices how I treat my spouse, family, and friends.
• Attend family events when they are offered at the school.
• Begin a positive family tradition.
• Work to make my family a safe, stress-free place for my child.
• Stop to appreciate the responsibilities and blessings that come with being a parent.
  

I don't make formal resolutions, but I think and pray about these things every day.  These suggestions, and others, guide me in my very serious task of parenting (Of course, I have a number of similar thoughts concerning the children I teach.).

John Adams, our second president, said famously, “Be good, do good.”

His wife, Abigail, expressed the same sentiment when she said, "To be good, and do good, is the whole duty of man comprised in a few words.”

Of course, we may be more familiar with the phraseology of J. Fred Coots and Haven Gillespie.  They wrote one of my favorite songs for the season: “…so be good for goodness’ sake.”

I wonder how many times I've told my children that Santa Claus is watching them, when I should be teaching them that "Character is what you are willing to do when the spotlight has been turned off, the applause is over, and no one is around to give you any credit” (Ann Landers).

Find more Meaningful Quotes about Character - and other topics - under the Positivity tab at the top of our website.

I spent some late hours creating pages on this website for parents, students, and teachers to access external links on the interweb (Yes, I know that's not the real word.).  These pages are essentially lists of games and sites that can help students improve skills and learn information.  It would be nice if students would use these links to improve on needed skills and not only to practice what they already know.

Fair warning:  at this point, some of the links lead to dead ends; most, however, should be working well.  Also, while I monitor students' computer usage at school, I hope parents will monitor usage of these links at home.  There may be other links and lures on some of the pages that will lead to unsavory locations.  We should share in the responsibility to protect our children and teach them to make appropriate decisions concerning the internet.  If you discover something that I need to remove or change, please let me know immediately.

All of these pages are located by clicking Bookmarks under the Digital School Supplies menu in the Exploration tab at the top of our website.

Friday was a half-day for students, so at 11:15, they hit the road to leave teachers to recover, celebrate, and record assessment data.  I suppose there will be some work for me to do over the holiday break, with report cards due on the day we return, a couple of preaching engagements at local congregations, and of course family get-togethers.

Monday, January 6, brings us back together to embark upon the second quarter for this Class of 2022.  Imagine their potential!

In all my years of visiting Silver Dollar City at Christmas - since the very first year they opened for the season - I have never toured Marvel Cave during Old Time Christmas (For those of you who don't know, Marvel is a part of the Silver Dollar City admission price.).  Since we recently finished our Hoggatt Cave project, and since it was brutally cold, we ducked into the Marvel, this weekend, to warm up.  Once at the bottom of the Cathedral room, the guide turned off the lights and gave the signal to light the Christmas lights.

This simple display extends from the entrance at the top to the bottom of the room - a room that is taller than the Statue of Liberty.

You might notice the brick at the top of this photo.  Since the photo, the brick has been extended across the entire back wall.  One might have thought the bricks would be laid from the bottom of the wall, but these begin at the halfway point.  This appears to be because of the corridor that has yet to be constructed outside our existing hall.