The Saints Are Golden..But Homeless


In Newport News, the Saints are without a home.

Amazing as the statement may seem, Chaplain Deborah Mitchell from the World Outreach Center in Denbigh insists it is true. For years, the Golden Saints, the football and cheerleading teams representing the Center in the Peninsula Youth Football and Cheerleading Organization (PYFCO), have played games here, there, and everywhere…else.



For the record, the Saints are not a small operation. There are four teams, players and cheerleaders, for each of the age groups represented in the PYFCO. They include the Mites (ages 6-7), the Mighty Mites (8-9), the Midgets (10-11) and the Juniors (12-14). In all, the Golden Saints are represented by a contingent totaling over 150 individuals - 91 players, 32 cheerleaders, 19 volunteer coaches (16 for football, three cheerleading), and another volunteer staff of 13 which handle everything from equipment, parent volunteers, photographs and the team website (www.leaguelineup.com/goldensaints). Their annual budget exceeds $20,000, which pays for uniforms, referees, league fees and other necessary expenses. It is a figure which is becoming increasingly harder to reach.

By comparison, PYFCO, (www.pyfco.org/home) known as the Peninsula Youth Football Association (PYFA) until this year, is also a fully built organization. The league, now in its 52nd year, has expanded from a four-team league centered in York County to a regional force with over 60 teams representing 16 groups from around the Peninsula, as well as Gloucester and Middlesex. In all, over 1,700 athletes and nearly 800 cheerleaders participate in what the promoters like to call the “Best Game in Town.” It is the culmination of a dream started by Vernon Taylor and George Teagle, Jr., long time youth league supporters and the driving forces behind the success of PYFA. Both men passed away recently, Taylor in 2007 and Teagle in 2008.  

The culmination of each season is the league “Super Bowl”, when the championship games for each division are played in succession. Last year, the finals were held at Wanner Stadium in Williamsburg.

Because of the strong community support for the league’s teams, all of the organizations enjoy a home field to practice and play their games on. While the Golden Saints are allowed to hold their practices at nearby Lee Hall Elementary, it is not a marked field; therefore, it is unsuitable to play games there.

Somehow, it is ironic that the only Christian-based team in the PYFCO league is also the one searching for a permanent home.

“There are two things we need,” says Mitchell, herself a beacon of positivity and hope, known for greeting everyone with a “How are you?” and “God Bless You!” “Mike Barber from the Newport News Department of Parks, bless his heart, was kind enough to give us Lee Hall to practice. In the month of October, it’s very hard because there are no lights. We make a formation and use the headlights from cars.”

The problem is greater than the lack of lights.

“It doesn’t have a community feel because we don’t have a place to call our own” adds Mitchell. “All these other teams have theirs (home fields). Some teams have had theirs for years.”

The team does have substantial support when it comes to sponsorship.

“We are thankful for the help we have received from various organizations in the community. Out of 123 children, 34 are sponsored. The church itself sponsors 10 individuals who wouldn’t be able to play otherwise. The dad or mom might be in jail or strung out on drugs. Single moms with three or four children can’t afford to pay $110 for a child to play ball. But by them practicing every night in August with us, they’re off the streets.” Indeed, the Saints practice four nights a week through the fall, leaving only Wednesday open so the families can fulfill their religious obligations. The church, in cooperation with Newport News Public Schools, provides meals, which they can’t receive from school because of the summer holiday. Because of their Christian affiliation, some of the traditional moneymakers, such as raffles and the like, are off limits because of the gambling nature of such activities. “We did car washes every month in the summer. It’s not enough to bring in sufficient income; we’re still in the negative right now.”

What Mitchell and the Saints need are a blessing and a helping hand.

“We would like to find somebody who sees the work that we’re doing and is willing to say, I like what you all are doing, let me help you. We need two things – a home and land to play on from August to November.”

In other words, a saintly act.







Doing the Right Thing


For this week, we are going to try something different. This will be our first guest blog entry and to do the honors is my partner in education, as well as life, Elizabeth McGrath. Looking at the amazing series of news stories streaming out of Happy Valley, otherwise known as State College, PA, over the past several weeks, I was inclined to dedicate some of this space to sharing some of my views about the incident and its rippling aftereffects. However, after listening to what Mrs. McGrath had to say, I happily deferred..... Elizabeth..you're on... :)


Normally, I reserve comments regarding recent events until all sensationalism subsides. In reference to the recent news involving Penn State, I will make an exception. The following is not about football. It is not necessarily about Joe Paterno, Jerry Sandusky, the Second, Third our Fourth Miles. The entire scope is about "Doing the Right Thing" honoring and protecting children. Despite age differences, experiences, and vocations in life, we in the world are all someone's child.




It is acceptable, commendable, and expected to call authorities in a time of need. Without coaching (and please excuse the word choice), common sense prevails that an ambulance is called for medical emergencies and the police in regard to criminal investigation. The general subjects appropriate to treatment are "who", "what", "when", and "how." The "whys" and particulars to the behavior vary with each inquiry. Blackened eyes, bruises, and broken bones do not happen alone. Someone and something inflicted the pain.

The same thought applies to sexual abuse--who, what, and when. Based on several published documents, Sandusky first abused his authority and position during 1996 to 1998 with a participant in his Second Mile organization. With courage, the young man told his mother, who immediately reported the incident to campus officials. Criminal charges were not filed, though investigators eavesdropped on conversations between Sandusky and the victim's mother where the coach reportedly expressed remorse and shame.

Coach Sandusky retired from the university the following year but maintained entry to the university campus and facilities, after the first allegation? Reporting the incidents to a superior was the most crucial dimension to the case. Those who first reported sexual abuse needed to double and triple check on investigations. Now, it is almost 15 years later and there are eight victims.

What is the right thing? Tell. Document and take every piece of evidence to the police as well, not just university police or college officials. This advice includes every instance of assault--from child abuse, spousal/relationship abuse, to college date rape. The right thing includes additional safeguards in following through each report, training all who work with children from preschool to university for signs of all abuse. When it comes to the right thing for children, break the chain of command and tell.

The modern point of view with any type of activity is to 'not snitch.' That is a huge barrier to overcome. The right thing is to not think of the revenue generated by names and sports brands. If speaking the truth prevents further abuse but decreases revenue, then fine.

Young man, you did the right thing by telling your mother. Thank you for your courage. Mother, you did the right thing by reporting the abuse to the university. Again, thank you for reporting the incident. As for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, university officials and community: how could it grow to at least six additional known reports of abuse without anyone doing the right thing?

Pilot Study Update - Characteristics and Pedagogical Techniques of ESL Teachers

My pilot study into the characteristics and pedagogical techniques of ESL (English as Second Language) Teachers is in full swing. I have conducted four interviews with local teachers and am in the transcribing, member checking and coding process now. The transcribing is becoming difficult as elementary teachers tend to be more rushed and have the capacity to communicate a lot of information in a very short time, thus turning my 4.5 minutes for transcribing each minute of the interview into a 7:1 ratio. Thus, a 17 minute interview is taking two hours to type out.

However, I am gathering great information and developing a number of significant codes. Working with 21 right now, which fall into five categories, but feel that the number of codes will flesh out to 40-50 after I complete the transcription process.

After the class presentation on December 7th, I will certainly aim to post some highlights of the study. Of course, there are issues of maintaining the anonymity of the participants, who I am indebted to for their assistance. Their love for the job is obvious and the energy with which they talk about their students is infectious.

There are a couple of items which I can probably address right now. First, I did not realize how important such a study could be for this region at this time. Granted, a pilot study only clips the top off the iceberg, but I am becoming aware that a more in-depth type of study, especially for a dissertation, could assist a number of school leaders not just here, but in other regions where the ESL program is in its infancy stages. I am seeing the challenges that come when such a program is put into place. There are issues of teachers earning the necessary endorsement, the balance between how often the ESL students should be included in regular education classrooms, testing and accountability, and certainly a number of sensitivity issues, which lead to the larger topic of cultural competence.

At this time, I don't have the answers. But, to mimic a recent Anderson Cooper show commercial, I am developing the questions, and this current study is helping me a great deal to view the larger issues with a keen lens.

PHONICS: A Large Phoneme-Grapheme Frequency Count Revised – Was Fry Right?


Recently, I was looking back at an article that I reviewed a few years ago. Written by Edward Fry for The Journal of Literacy Research and published in the spring of 2004. Fry aims to retrieve previous data gathered by academics such as Hanna et al (1966), Thorndike and Large (1944) and to simplify this data and make it more usable. Fry’s research centers around two questions:

  1. What are the most useful (highest frequency) phoneme-grapheme correspondences?
  2. What are the most frequent ways of spelling these phonemes?

I found the author’s research to be well prepared and well presented. By using data from over a half-dozen
studies covering a sixty year period, Fry brings a wealth of data to the table. He can divide his study between vowel classification and consonant categories, One interesting note about the former comes from the tidbit that Merriam Webster dictionary’s vowel classification system went from 33 vowel sounds to 22 to facilitate their original algorithms.

The consonant section gets more technical with multiple phonemes and consonant digraphs mentioned at the forefront. Fry points out the differences among the studies while focusing on certain items – such as the digraph TH and how it is used in high frequency words (i.e. this, that, these), but only used in 411 different words. I was surprised by the intensity of the findings and how the author attempts to make sense of such a plethora of information.

It surprised me at the beginning of my English teaching career to learn how little I knew about phonics. I gained a new respect for the remarkable work that reading teachers accomplish on a daily basis. Working with their students is like detective work, in that the teacher employs different techniques to find the problems while simultaneously developing solutions to the specific problem. When I first read this piece, I looked forward to using some of the methods myself to help reading students, but in a sense, I felt like the student. In summary, Fry makes a compelling argument.

A Soldier's Request Yields 9,000 Golf Balls


My most recent article for the Town Square - Newport News section of the DAILY PRESS (10/20/2011). Somewhat amusing,  but a good example of how a mother's love and some old fashioned elbow grease can do wonders. I'm still not sure if the 9,000 golf balls have arrived in Kuwait, but feel free to continue reading and learn how they got sent in the first place.

The initial request from the young soldier stationed in Ali-Al-Saleem, Kuwait was simple enough.

Army Specialist/then PFC Louis Adams was lamenting over the inability to keep his golf game in tune, mainly because of the lack of equipment, particularly in the golf ball department. Being August, the young man was eager to get out and hit some balls. On a whim, he e-mailed his mother Sandra Wilkins, who works in the material management department at the Newport News Shipyard. Louis knew of her connections with his sister’s cheerleading board and decided to approach from that angle.
“Hey Mom, can you ask your friends if they or their husbands play golf? If so, could they spare some golf balls for me and my buddies?”

It seemed like an odd request, but Wilkins diligently went to work.  Looking to be “a good Mom,” she started asking her friends from the cheerleading board.

One of these friends was Sherri Bush. Wilkins had previously worked with Bush’s husband Darryl at the shipyard but was unaware of his special connections. One of these connections was Joey Maben, golf coach at the Apprentice School. Maben set into motion a chain of events which turned Louis Adams’ request into a full blown mission, one which succeeded in procuring over 9,000 golf balls for the soldiers in Kuwait.
Maben’s search developed into a two-pronged plan of action. First, he approached his athletic director, Keisha Paxton. Paxton was in tune with Maben’s initiative to “give something back” to the troops overseas. Together, they met with Everett Jordan, director of the Apprentice School. Jordan was eager to jump on board, and immediately approved a plan to send a shipment of Titleist golf balls. However, one does not simply call the company and order a dozen boxes of balls. According to Maben, “the thing I remember is that the required order was a strange number.” Strange indeed. The order to be placed had to be for 504 dozen balls. In layman’s terms, that totals 6,048.

But Jordan was interested in knowing what more could be done for the soldiers. In the end, he directed an effort to prepare another care package, complete with plenty of knick-knacks, including Apprentice School memorabilia and apparel.

With the wheels turning on the one end, Wilkins looked toward her contacts in Newport News. Sheri Crocker was one of those friends and she was also willing to lend a hand. Crocker went to her boss and presented a simple question. “With regard to the city owned golf course, what does the city do with their used golf balls?” As it turned out, they toss the balls out, and were about to renew the process of replacing all of their range balls.” With good timing on their side, the city was happy to donate 1,500 balls to the cause.

Over at the shipyard, Maben wasn’t finished working through his contact list. Thinking of his team’s practice facility, the coach made a call to William Carson, owner of the Peninsula Golf Center. Carson added to the cache by donating 1,800 more gently used balls. The total was now over 9,000.

This presented one previous overlooked problem. Says Maben, “I thought, how are we going to get these balls to Kuwait?” Thinking of his own close military connection, Maben placed a call to his daughter Amanda, who works with the 82nd Airborne Division, based in Ft. Bragg, NC. Although members of her outfit were about to be deployed to Kandahar, Afghanistan, the younger Maben had time to get the word out. This led to a connection with Chief Warrant Officer Jason Milligan, who was stationed on the Army ship Gross. Milligan agreed to take the balls overseas, as long as they could be delivered before his deployment on September 10. Mission half accomplished.

Now the problem became more immediate. How does one get 9,000 golf balls to a ship? Says Wilkins, “my feeling was that if the Army was willing to take this shipment all the way to Kuwait, I was going to find a way to get these balls to them.” Like the others, she turned to the military and found another helping hand, this time in the form of John Belkers, head of Community Services for Langley Air Force Base and Ft. Eustis. Belkers “responded very quickly” and offered to get the golf balls on the ship, provided that they could be delivered to Ft. Eustis. Now thinking outside of the box, Wilkins agreed.

With the help of a friend, the determined woman removed the seats of her minivan and made the ball pickup rounds, until her vehicle was loaded to the top with little white balls. Happy with her accomplishment, Wilkins successfully made the trip to Ft. Eustis and completed her drop.

All checkpoints were reached and at this moment, the golf balls are floating somewhere in the Pacific Ocean on the Charles P. Gross.



School Discipline - A Look Back


I must be in a reflective mood. Last weekend, I visited my old high school, Bishop Ireton, in Alexandria, VA. This time, it was for Homecoming, but also to present my cross-country and track teammate, Sam Imhof, for induction into the Ireton Athletic Hall of Fame. The weekend was great fun, celebrating the 30-year celebration with Sam's Class of 1981 (our 30th reunion is next year).

This weekend, I'll be at one of my other alma maters, Wagner College. I haven't been to Wagner in a shade over 20 years, and it will be totally different this time since I'm going for our first meeting as elected members of the National Alumni Board of Directors. Seeing as we also had a reunion of the Class of 1978 for St. Mary's Elementary School at Kathy Sutton's house back in May, it looks like the trifecta has been completed for 2011.

Anyhow, I found an earlier writing about my thoughts on classroom discipline with youngsters and figured that today would be a good time to re-display these thoughts from a few years ago. Guess the walk down Memory Lane is going to last a few more days.

XXX


My childhood experiences with discipline, at home and at school, have had a great impact on the philosophies of classroom discipline and management of children which I believe in and use today.

My early educational experience was in a very liberal situation. I began school at the age of four at the now defunct Chichester School in Alexandria, VA. I don’t have lucid memories of my two years there, except that it was a much different setting that what I found later in parochial school. The teachers at Chichester probably followed the discipline models of that time period, but I remember it was a very nurturing atmosphere and very laid back. I don’t recall ever being disciplined at Chichester. In fact, I only spent a week or so as a first grader, and got bumped up to second grade. Fortunately, my parents re-enrolled me into second grade at my next school, St. Mary’s Elementary, also in Alexandria.

Discipline was taken more seriously at St. Mary’s and to a small degree I bucked its presence. At school, I wasn’t really a problem child, but grew up in an environment of problem children. The kids from my neighborhood were different from the children I went to school with. Suffice it to say, I usually knew the curse words before my classmates, hung around with people who had started smoking before my classmates, and knew people that went to detention center or jail, unlike the St. Mary’s students. I do remember not enjoying the few times I was disciplined at St. Mary’s. However, instead of making me stop, my first thought was always that I would never be this mean and cruel to somebody else. That remembrance has had a large impact on my discipline philosophy. For the record, a lot of these mean and cruel thoughts were mirrored by my classmates at our May 2011 reunion.

After seven years with the sadist nuns, I graduated from St. Mary’s with most of my pride in check. My next stop was Bishop Ireton High School, and the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales. The Oblates are a religious order dedicated to teaching. Their teaching methods were very avant-garde and laid back. The year before I arrived, they were still working on a class schedule which they called (E.A.), or Education by Appointment. The classrooms were mostly study coves and students made appointments to meet with their teachers a few days a week. Most assignments were self-taught and the teachers acted more as facilitators at the one-on-one meetings. To some extent, students roamed the halls and worked on assignments at their own pace. There was little formal discipline in this environment, and it lingered throughout my high school years. We did have a formal disciplinarian for a principal, and for our dean of students. Unlike St. Mary’s, my memories of being disciplined at Ireton are not bad ones at all. When I think of going to detention, I recall being able to get out early by answering one of our dean’s trivia questions, such as “Who’s buried in Grant’s tomb?”

These experiences have influenced my feelings about discipline and managing children. I know that my dealings with children involve a good deal of two-way communication and letting them have some input into what we do in class. If I raise my voice or discipline a child, it usually draws attention because it is unlike my normal demeanor. Of course, in that case, I do it for effect because it does get attention. When my students see me angry, they know that I am really upset because it happens so rarely. They also know that they can talk with me about school related problems, or anything else. Fortunately, I had parents and many teachers who listened to me. I try to remember that when dealing with children at school.