A lesson with the president

One of my main goals as a teacher is to provide my students with the opportunity to go beyond the traditional curriculum.  For the past several years, I have taken students on a variety of optional field trips to various locations.  We have traveled both near and far to tour special museum exhibits, participate in Civil War reenactments and even talked with an Abraham Lincoln impersonator on the 200 year anniversary of his birth.

One of the most interesting things that we have done through the years has been a special road trip up to Americus, Georgia to tour the site of the infamous Civil War prison camp of Andersonville.  What began each year as a fairly small group, has now blossomed into quite tradition that they look forward to all year.

As part of the weekend, we also attend a church service with President Jimmy Carter in his hometown of Plains, which is just a short distance from Americus.  For years, President Carter has been one of the primary Sunday School teachers at Maranatha Baptist Church and the public is always welcome to attend.  

The church itself is very small and unassuming.  It reminds me of my grandmothers old church with the unmistakeable "church smell" of old lady perfume hymnals.  Many times, our families and students who have attended, pass by the church thinking that there is no way a former president would be teaching there.  Oftentimes, everyone is looking for some sort of mega church. 

President Carter is still provided(or required) to have Secret Service protection and my students are usually a bit freaked out by them, but they are nothing compared to Miss Jan, who has been with the Carters for years.  She is highly protective of the Carter family and proceeds to tell everyone all of the many rules she expects you to abide by when President Carter comes out.  She tells you how to address him(President Carter is fine), she tells you not to stand up for him nor clap for him.  She explains that he is no longer the president, so rising for him is not required and that he is there as a teacher so clapping at the end is just silly.  She does all of this with a cantankerous zeal and you disobey her at your own risk.  

In between the subtle threats, Miss Jan also humanizes President Carter.  A gifted carpenter, Carter personally made the wooden collection plates and large wooden cross at the front of the church.  She loves to point out that President Carter inscribed his initials on the bottom of the wooden bowls and that JC was just a happy coincidence.  Since she has known the Carter's all of her life, she loves to dish about their marriage and how Rosalynn remarked that after their first date, she wasn't all that impressed with him.  Apparently he really grew on her because they have been married a whopping 68 years!

After roughly 30 minutes of going through "training" Miss Jan asks everyone to bow their heads for a prayer.  She blesses everyone in the church and the upcoming lesson.  When the prayer is over, President Carter is in front of the congregation.  This is one of my favorite parts of the entire service, because the look on my students faces are priceless.  Although, we have not really covered President Carter's presidency in class quite yet, they are still filled with awe at being so up close to a former president.  

President Carter typically begins each lesson with getting to know the audience a bit by asking some questions and then proceeds to relay what he and Rosalynn have been up to.  Despite being 89, he is still incredibly active in his role as a former president.  Last year he talked about he and Rosalynn had just gotten back from South America and had ridden to the top of a mountain on mules. I can only hope to be that active at his age.

The lesson itself often a blend of scripture combined with anecdotes from his world experience.  During our most recent trip he talked about peaceful resolutions and how Jesus surrounded himself with the wretches of society and offered them forgiveness when all others shunned them.  He made the point that the United States has much work to do if they are to live up to the ideals that Jesus espoused.  President Carter expressed concern about how we treat our poor and how in our current political environment, the poor and even immigrants are being cast as enemies and a bunch of freeloaders.  Yes, the system must be modified, but to deny access to many because of abuse by a few is unacceptable.  The entire lesson was quite compelling and eye opening.  

Although the subject matter is often quite heavy, President Carter injects humor into every lesson I have ever seen him teach, often at the expense of Rosalynn who is seated in one of the front pews.  To see them riff on each other is great fun to watch.  Seeing the various small town characters that attend is also what makes the whole experience special.  One little old man strolled in late and President Carter poked a little fun at him for being tardy which led to a whole exchange between the two lifelong neighbors.  

Despite what one might think of Carter's presidency, it is impossible not to be moved by hearing him and witnessing him teach.  It is such a unique experience and one that I treasure each year with my students.  Although historians will always point out his mistakes as president, it is my hope that he will also be remembered for his kind spirit and generosity that he has truly made his life's mission.  

Will this make you a SuperTeacher?

In every teachers lounge across the country, the same scene plays out every morning.  The tired and weary teachers line up at the coffee machine for that first cup of coffee to provide that first necessary jolt in the morning.  I remember that our coffee machine at school broke down on the first day of school one year and you would have thought the entire was going to become one unending disaster. 

I am a self confessed recovering coffee addict.  As a young kid I would whine and complain until my mom finally relented and gave me a morning cup filled with enough sugar to make it more like pancake syrup than coffee.  I made the switch to green tea a couple of years ago and saw major improvement in my mood and energy.  My students appreciated the change because there was no more hideous coffee breath to deal with.  Sorry, no Altoid can cover up that rank smell.

Like many, at the beginning of the new year I did make some resolutions.  One of which was to eat better and make healthier choices.  Admittedly, I am not the picture of health.  I would love to say that you could bounce a silver dollar off my rippling abs, but that is simply not the case.  I did, however, do 20 push ups before beginning this article, so I guess that is a start.

With all the craze about "green drinks" recently, I decided to give it a try and went through a variety of green based drinks.  I discovered that a majority of them taste like total crap.  I would be better off running out into the front yard every morning and grazing like cattle.  Finally, I have discovered one that tastes decent AND has the added benefit of truly revitalizing me throughout the day.  Amazing Grass, when mixed in with Welch's Lite White Grape Juice is the perfect and more healthy substitute for coffee and even green tea. Do not under any circumstances mix it it with just water.  It's pretty darn revolting that way.

After having been drinking it consistently for a month, I have noticed I simply feel better and have more energy throughout the day.  I have also noticed my skin is even better.  What I usually do is mix up a few batches in a large Mason jar and keep it handy at school.  Yes, it looks like swamp water in the fridge but you are guaranteed that no one will be stealing from you.  I drink an 8 oz glass in the morning before heading to school and then have a a glass in the afternoon.  Students are pretty grossed out by me drinking it, but it has led to some nice discussions about healthy eating.  Some are even drinking it themselves now.

Amazing Grass comes in a variety of sizes and flavors, but my favorite is the ENERGY one.  They also make individual packets for those on the go.  

So much is written about student health these days, but we as teachers also need to take care of ourselves too.  By doing so, we are benefitting our students in a way that is often overlooked.  Alright, time to do more push ups.