Last week, the day after my trip to Georgetown High School, I was able to visit Mayo High School in Darlington. In case you’re not from this area, Mayo is a public high school that gears instruction toward math, science, and technologies, and it is home to some phenomenal students, teachers, and programs. Additionally, it is home to one of my most influential teachers. If you’ve heard me speak, you know that I had a great English teacher when I was in tenth grade. Her name is Josie Stratton, and I always tell my audience that she was loud. After my recent visit with her, I will maintain that as the truth.
I’ve always been a reader since way back in second grade when Mrs. Pam brought books to life for me. However, I don’t think I ever really appreciated more challenging literature until Mrs. Stratton’s class. She is by far one of the most brilliant individuals I know, yet as my teacher, she established a community of learners, and that community included her. She never just stood at the front of the room and imparted her knowledge (of which she has plenty), but she made us think critically, asking those “how and why” questions and refusing to give answers! She sat down and learned alongside us, and she made such an impression on me. Just as a fun side note, when I was named Teacher of the Year and it aired on the local news that night, her daughter said, “Momma! It’s your Amy!” Precious, isn’t it?
On my visit to Mayo and Mrs. Stratton the other day, I got to visit with the Teacher Cadets. They were amazing and extremely ambitious. They don’t all want to teach, but teaching isn’t for everyone. However, I think it’s important that students experience Teacher Cadet so we can grow advocates for public education. So these kids, y’all, when they’re operating on hearts or premature babies, they will definitely be rooting for what we do in our classrooms every day. And since they’ll be making the big bucks, maybe they’ll fund some DonorsChoose projects for us, too!
I didn’t go to Mayo on just any day. Eleven years ago, Mrs. Stratton started this community/school event she called Novel Tea. Students read a contemporary young adult book and select an adult who will read the book along with them. On the day of Novel Tea, students decorate tables according to their books, and the adults (mostly parents, but not all) come in and discuss the book with them for about 45 minutes. Originally, they served tea, like hot tea…and cookies! The event is too big for that now, but the participants still get lemonade and homemade cookies. Apparently, the red velvet ones were exquisite! On this day, they had 87 students registered to discuss books with adults. It was amazing! I wish there were another word that trumped amazing, but I can’t think of one. For about 45 minutes, I heard adults discussing books and literary elements with their students. Some of the kids went all out with their tables. One group of guys read Ghosts of War: The True Story of a 19-Year-Old GI, and in order to get supplies for their table, they went to the army surplus store. They had real uniforms, face paint, and MRE’s that they actually cooked!
I was so very impressed by the involvement of both the students and their parents/adult readers, but I wasn’t surprised that this phenomenal idea was born from the brain of Josie Stratton. I’ve been in awe of her since I was 15!
Invite me to your schools! I miss kids! And my mommma said not to invite myself!
What a great idea! I love this, and I may be borrowing it. How lucky you are to have such a wonderful teacher!
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