Procurement News Notice |
|
| PNN | 3510 |
| Work Detail | Cracking into the fortune cookie last Wednesday after a quickie Chinese food lunch with friend Rob Artley, I found this message: "Be considerate of your teachers." I handed the fortune to Rob and said, "This should have been yours." The oft-time, beloved columnist for the Post-Bulletin's op-ed page is a retired teacher and school administrator. Rob returned the favor, sharing his fortune, one that could have been written for either of us: "Do it because you love it." The topic of my column this week — and next — will focus upon vocational callings. Often the J-O-B is how we identify ourselves. "Hi, I'm Randy Chapman," I say upon meeting someone new. "I am the publisher of the Post-Bulletin." Instead, what I could say — but don't — is any number of descriptives about me: I am a married father of two, a grandfather of three, a fan of historical nonfiction and biographies, a supporter of community art and social service initiatives, and that I love down-time best in free-flowing conversation with close friends over good food and wine. Should I dare to lay all that information about me during an initial introduction with a stranger, it would likely startle a potential friend. Beyond the classroom Back to fortune-cookie consideration of teachers and their profession of imparting knowledge. I never knew the joy and the burden of classroom teaching although I am teacher-trained. My college degree is in secondary education. Teaching jobs in my fields of history and the earth sciences were scarce in the spring of 1968. After a couple passes at "finding my way," I landed a newspaper advertising sales job at the Journal and Register-Star in Rockford, Ill. I never have felt my teaching degree was wasted. Advertising sales professionals must be good at educating their clients and prospects about the value of community newspapers as an effective marketing vehicle. Later, as I rose to management roles, I soon realized that managing people to be their best is an ongoing educational process. Moreover, as a leader in business and in the community, I have supported business-education collaboration at every opportunity. After all, isn't the kindergartner's first day of school for the first step toward a career? Confronted with a meant-just-for-me message in a fortune cookie last Wednesday, I considered the coincidence uncanny. An hour earlier, my daughter-in-law, Megan, in Wheaton, Ill., had texted photos of our oldest grandchild, Lizzy Chapman, on her first day of first grade at Washington Elementary School. I share without embarrassment just one of the photos with this column for two reasons: First, some readers tell me they want updates about my grandchildren, and secondly, it serves the purpose of this column to ask parents to be considerate of their children's teachers. In the photo, it seems that my darling Lizzy is now under the tutelage of a caring first-grade teacher, Debra Willems. Her broad smile and the smile-crinkles around her eyes hint that Willems is as excited as the students about the beginning of a new school year. In advance, I take opportunity to thank Willems for the effort she will expend during the school year ahead, shaping the mind and intellect of Lizzy and her classmates. In my research for this column, I happened across a poem, "Ode to Teachers," by Pat Mora. The opening verse is expressed as if spoken by a new student like my Lizzy: "I remember the first day, how I looked down, hoping you wouldn't see me, and when I glanced up, I saw your smile shining like a soft light from deep inside you. On the right path "Teaching is the profession that launches every career," said John B. King, U. S. secretary of education, recently at a conference. If true — and I believe it is — neither students nor parents appreciate the importance of the formative role of early elementary school education. Education of the very youngest of minds is the first step of the journey of learning on how to become an independent-thinking and job-skilled citizen of the world. The public school year already has started in a few communities within the Post-Bulletin's readership area. Just in time, I send out this message asking for consideration of teachers everywhere. Herewith is a blessing for all educators, be they teachers, staff, administrators or classroom volunteers. These are the last two verses of Pat Mora's "Ode to Teachers": Slowly, your faith grew into my courage and for you — instead of handing you a note or apple or flowers — I raised my hand. I carry your smile and faith inside like I carry my dog's face, my sister's laugh, creamy melodies, the softness of sunrise, steady blessings of stars, autumn smell of gingerbread, the security of a sweater on a chilly day. |
| Country | China , Eastern Asia |
| Industry | Education & Training |
| Entry Date | 03 Sep 2016 |
| Source | http://www.postbulletin.com/opinion/randy-chapman-education-has-the-power-to-launch-carreers/article_30679eb3-de16-58a5-af46-e3fed9a7ff72.html |
