Embracing Change

A New Paradigm

I had many new experiences in 6th grade. Ms. Pyron was my first African American teacher. I really appreciated her teaching and the respect she expected and showed toward me. This feeling was not universal in the all-white class.

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Her classroom grouping practices were ahead of her time.

Her classroom grouping practices were ahead of her time. Students were clustered facing one another in groups of four. Three longtime friends were with me. These buddies knew that when I laughed hard, tears would stream down my face, so their daily challenge was to get me to laugh uncontrollably. Although she did not split us up, Ms. Pyron quickly quelled this disruption.

A Teacher Provides for Her Student

After a class presentation about pollution, Ms. Pyron encouraged me to form an Ecology Club. We published a monthly newspaper that engendered a level of trust we did not deserve. While meeting in one of the empty classrooms to plan, we discovered how to get on the roof of the building. We got up through a trap door and while returning, one of my friends decided to slide down the ladder. He almost fell through the trap door directly above the stairwell 20 feet below. We thought we were in big trouble because a class of students saw my friend’s feet. Miraculously we were never called to the office.

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I remember thinking, influenced by my biased world view, that Ms. Pyron was

just easier. However, I soon discovered that she knew her craft.

As a sixth grader I felt more confident as a student, and school became more interesting. I was getting top marks for the first time. I remember thinking, influenced by my biased world view, that Ms. Pyron was just easier. However, I soon discovered that she knew her craft. She encouraged my creativity and allowed me to tell stories to the class, I wrote a love song to a girl that I performed in the auditorium, I started playing the trumpet, and I was chosen to sing in the district chorale. School became meaningful.

She Came to Us

1971-72 must have been a very challenging year for Ms. Pyron. As the district moved toward busing it first integrated teaching staffs. Many of the white teachers at Normal Park retired or left. Ms. Pyron was not only stepping into a hostile community but was joining a beloved colleague: Ms. Lyon. I had Ms. Lyon for Language Arts. I Learned from both.

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I was fortunate to have two teachers who seemed to appreciate my work and

encouraged my strengths.

I was fortunate to have two teachers who appreciated my work and encouraged my strengths. I learned that I could compete with successful students academically. In my language arts class, I received praise for my writing and even earned awards for district contests.

As I look back to Normal Park, the teachers I had, the strengths of my family, along with the social changes taking place around me, all influenced my choices later in life in a very meaningful way

When Life is Hard

There were two African American brothers in the first sixth grade class I served as an assistant principal. One had learning disabilities while the other was often in trouble with the law or in school. They had great personalities, and the teachers loved them both. However, they could also disrupt class, pick fights, and be disrespectful to adults.

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Despite her hardships, mom would find a way to get to school when her sons

got into trouble.

They were being raised by their mother who worked hard hours at a dry cleaner 20 miles from school. She suffered from terminal cancer. Despite her hardships, mom would find a way to get to school when her sons got into trouble. She and I would have great conversations while working with staff to help keep the boys in class.

Shame Instead of Tolerance

The district had a very strict no tolerance discipline policy as we entered the new millennium that frequently prescribed suspension. This was a challenge to the mother’s full time employment. We tried to find ways to minimize this hardship, and teachers worked hard to prevent disciplinary violations with the two boys.

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The young man was called before the judge who summarily placed him in

juvenile detention.

This led to my first professional encounter with the court system. The second son committed an offense that required criminal charges. He had been in court before for theft and other charges with this being his fourth trial. In the previous three offenses he had gotten warnings. The young man was called before the judge who summarily placed him in juvenile detention. I recall looking at the surprised mother as they walked her son out of court in hand cuffs. 7 days later he was dropped off at school after serving his sentence. The courts hadn’t notified his mother.

The Remedy of Instability

I began working with a county social worker who reached out to me to advocate for housing for this family. I discovered that the family had been living in a hotel. I learned that the mother was paying $199.00 a week for the room. It dawned on me that I was paying roughly the same amount on my mortgage. She could not get the support to be in a good home, despite her dependability as an employee, where I, due to my privilege, could own a home that was growing in value.

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I was disappointed that we couldn’t maintain our relationship.

The social worker found a rental home through a county program for the family. This meant that they would be moving to another school. I was disappointed that we couldn’t maintain our relationship. I was glad they would finally be in a proper home, but as with many in poverty, perpetual transitions in living arrangements, schools, and social settings challenged academic success. It was my first encounter with generational poverty. Circumstances matter and we, as a society, continue to ignore them.

© Paul A Bonner