Teacher Tuesday: The Gift of a Smile

I love this saying:

“A laugh is a smile that bursts.”

Each word is simple, yet so uplifting and energetic when strung together in this sentence. I smile every time I think about it.

So if a laugh is a smile that bursts, what is a smile?  And I’m not talking about the kind of smile that’s just a social nicety or expectation – like the kind I paste on my lips when someone is holding a camera in front of my face. I’m talking about the kind of smile that starts in your heart and soon bubbles its way up and out. The kind that wrinkles your face, makes your cheeks glow and your eyes crinkle and sparkle. The kind that makes you momentarily forget that you’re self-conscious about the gap in your teeth or that you’re nervous about a Board presentation or that you’re worried because you just overheard your teenage daughter say that she thought nose rings were cool. The kind that others stare at because it’s attractive, and bask in because it’s like relaxing in a pool of warm, liquid sunshine.

I believe this type of smile is the outpouring and overflowing of love –

Love of the moment,

Love of the person you’re with,

Love of God,

Love of who God created you to be.

At Shepherds College, we see smiles like this regularly – our staff are people who find deep joy and satisfaction in knowing the love of the Lord and loving Him in return. Our students, even in their homesickness or worries about schoolwork, smile genuinely and often – they love making new friends, pleasing their teachers and learning new skills. 

Even with all these beautiful smiles in the hallways, classrooms and dorms, there’s one teacher that absolutely owns this expression – Miss Laura Pollard.

Last year, Miss Pollard and her dog Lucy moved to Wisconsin from Tennessee.

 Lucy

She started working at Shepherds College as Residential Life staff in Home A. This year, she’s teaching a first-year female Health class, two sections of a second-year Communications class and the third-year Trained for Life class.  She’s also an Academic Advisor for eight of our first-year students.

Along with that generous smile, she brings her easy-going, fun-loving, quirky personality into the classroom. As a teacher, she’s not afraid to go to an extreme to make a point during her lessons. If she has to teach a concept by dressing up in a bizarre costume or singing at the top of her lungs, she’s going to do it, and she’ll be laughing at herself along the way.

Is this how you dress for an interview?

Don’t let all the smiles and laughter fool you though! Miss Pollard recognizes that God called her to Shepherds College, and she takes this calling very seriously. She’s known since high school when she started volunteering with a hippotherapy horseback riding program for kids with disabilities that she would be working in this field as an adult.  After teaching for a year in the public school system, it became clear that she wanted to navigate toward post-secondary education for adults with intellectual disabilities. 

Miss Pollard prefers the hands-on and facilitator methods of teaching. As the facilitator of activities and discussions in the classes she teaches, she enjoys watching her students take charge of how the discussion is directed. She is aware that each student comes into her classroom with their own stories and experiences, and that they can teach her as much as she can teach them. There are days when these practical life lessons communicate far more than a PowerPoint ever could. It is her hope that one day her students would become content and confident in the way God has fearfully and wonderfully created them.

We at Shepherds College are blessed beyond measure to call her friend, teacher and co-worker. She wraps up her great energy, caring spirit, welcoming personality, positive attitude and cute, southern accent with one enormous, soul-warming smile - and offers it as a gift to everyone she meets.

Miss Luchterhand and Miss Pollard

“Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing.”  ~ Mother Teresa

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

Shepherds College Character Trait #1: Diligence

Definition of Diligence – constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind.

As I wrote in the blog, A College with Character, Shepherds College emphasizes six character traits to equip students for internships and life after college.  Over the next few weeks, I’ll be showing you what each trait looks like in our program.

After reading the above definition for diligence, I had this thought, “Wow. I am so not the person who should be writing about this topic.”  

I am the woman who purchased birthday cards for every friend and family member at the beginning of the year – in 2005. They are still sitting in pristine, unsigned condition at the bottom of my sock drawer.  They’re Hallmarks, so I figure in 93 more years my descendants can sell them at an antique fair and feel the love at that time. 

I’m the woman who began writing a journal when I was nine or ten years old. I told everyone that I would daily document my life’s journey with the written word. I kept at it diligently for about… about… well, hmmm, the last entry I remember making went something like this, “My goldfish Killer died. I forgot to clean his stupid tank and my stupid sister didn’t remind me. Good thing Jaws and Orca are still alive, but they look funny. It was a bad day.” Jaws and Orca died that night and my last memory of those poor fish is wrapping them up in a paper towel and putting them at the bottom of my sock drawer to await burial in the spring.

I’m the woman who made the resolution to become the oldest power walker in the 2016 Summer Olympics after hearing that these athletes have the lowest percentage of body fat compared with the other Olympic athletes. I trained a total of about 5 minutes then realized I was too sinfully proud to waddle around the neighborhood in Spandex. My cute, new athletic socks ended up at the bottom of… um, my sock drawer.

I’m also the woman who intends to clean out her sock drawer every weekend, but always finds something else more pressing – like sorting magazine recipes by dominant vegetable used, or color-coordinating my hangers to match my shirts. To be truthful though, I’m also a little bit scared to find out what other guilt/shame/horror-inducing items lay at the bottom of my sock drawer. I think I’ll leave that for my descendants to discover too.

So now that I’ve come to the realization that sock drawers = the death of diligence, I’ve decided to go with my original instinct - I really shouldn’t be the one writing about this. I’m going to let the Shepherds College staff tell you about it themselves:

Angela Houk, Dean of Shepherds College, said, “At Shepherds College, diligence means investing my time and energy to complete each task assigned to me. Students learn this character trait by completing class assignments, chores and service projects. When students invest time completing assignments, their grades reflect their efforts. When students complete chores, the students and those living in their residential area all benefit from a clean community. 

It may be easier to take the quick way out, but when we invest time to complete tasks, we receive the satisfaction of a job well done.”

Miss Luchterhand is one instructor who teaches diligence in her classroom. She is having the students do research projects in Language Arts. The students have to find information about a state using books and the internet. They wanted to give up when she told them that they can’t use Wikipedia, but that gave her the opportunity to talk about the importance of diligence.

In Study Skills, the students show diligence by keeping their lockers clean. Miss Luchterhand randomly performs locker checks. Usually there will be at least one messy locker which gives her another opportunity to discuss diligence with the students.

Mr. Andrus supports the teaching of diligence through his use of repetition in the classroom. He asks his students to repeatedly perform tasks on the computer until they learn the skill – a great example of diligence in action!

Mr. Gaschke, Residential Life Faculty, teaches diligence through the use of tools such as check lists, instruction notebooks and chore charts. These tools keep the students accountable for their tasks and also serve as reminders until the jobs get done.

The character trait of diligence is a vital one in the work force so we teach and support it in multiple ways throughout our program. The students learn to give 100% of their time and energy to important tasks. 

At Shepherds College, the students will learn to diligently follow their dreams of Appropriate Independence - as long as they stay out of my sock drawer.

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

The Office: As the Dust Settles

My son Mike played high school football. Every Thursday night before game day, one football family would host a pasta night at their home for the entire team.  I LOVED it and looked forward to my turn. 

The planning for this dinner was intense - What to serve, how much to serve, where to serve, where to eat, food to buy, paper goods to pick up, a tanker truck filled with Gatorade to rent, and a house to clean (although I’m not sure why I bothered with this one. Once you cram all the football players in the house, there are no visible surfaces left anywhere.)

I planned months in advance, completely stressed myself out, cooked for days, and counted the minutes until Thursday night.

That's me in the middle wondering where all the food went.

After practice, 70 large, wide, hungry young men took over my home, swarmed the food like a plague of locusts, and left mass destruction in their wake.  A rim of dried pasta sauce in the pans and cookie crumbs on the floors were the only signs that my kitchen once held food. Serving spoons were bent in the middle from hungry guys trying to fill their plates with one economical, but gigantic scoop of meatballs. The fact that my sink was piled full of dishes amazed me since I only set out paper and plastic to eat with. Where did those dishes come from?  

For a moment, the house was filled with loud, dirty, laughing, yelling, beefy guys and then, after a brief flurry of “Bye Mrs. G!” and “Thanks Mike’s mom!” the house was empty and strangely silent.  I sat on a kitchen stool, exhilarated and exhausted, and waited for my heart rate to return to normal.  There was always a feeling of extreme satisfaction combined with melancholy. The event I put so much time, energy and emotion into was a success! But it was also over - and soon these years, and these dinners, would pass.

Mrs. Harvey is going through something similar right now. As Administrative Assistant for Shepherds College, a lot of her time during the last several months was invested in preparing for Orientation weekend, and now those days are in her rear view mirror. She’s cleaning up and moving forward.

Here are her thoughts from The Office:

“The flurry of Orientation is already past tense.  Students have been in class for 2 weeks, and coming ‘round the corner in another two weeks is Labor Day—already!  I’m still stuck in last year and can hardly believe last year’s first-year students are already this year’s second-year students, spending their mornings studying their major specialty!   

Brian, Christian & Lindsay in their Culinary Arts jackets.

I feel lost. 

I made it to Day 1 of Orientation weekend, but then slipped out of the picture with a back injury.  My first day back was yesterday, and everyone seems to have settled in.  Lockers are full, the weather is glorious, students seem to know their way around, and the remains of Orientation signage and paperwork fill my office table.  

Christian

Joe

Sean resting after working hard at his internship

Ray & Tess clean their tools after a day at the farm.

Our faculty roster has just about doubled, third-year students rise to the challenge of their internships, and the dust has settled as year 5 of Shepherds College is unwrapped.  All that is left from this office view is for me to catch up!”

Cathy catching up.

“…let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us…” Heb. 12:1

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

Teacher Tuesday: BIG

When you read the title of this post, did you think about the Tom Hanks movie about a young boy who makes a wish to be big?  I did, and even though the movie was about growing up too quickly – and my post is not - I chose to use the title anyway. 

Once you meet John Andrus, you’ll see why.  BIG just fits.

BIG presence

This is what a size 17 looks like

John is our new Computer Skills teacher for the first-year students.  He’s a man that commands a classroom simply by standing in it. At 6’6”, with a size 17 shoe, he towers over the students, but he rarely comes across as intimidating. He uses his natural authority in an appropriate and sensitive way to better connect with his students.

John’s personality also ensures that his presence will not go unnoticed. He’s a loud and humorous extrovert who still manages to portray a gentleness that the students are comfortable around.

BIG job

Not only does John teach Computer Skills during the day, but in the evening he’s the new Residential Life staff for the young men living in Home B. He helps the guys with their particular struggles, maintains order in the Home, supports the daily living skills lessons, and works closely with the Academic Advisors to resolve problems that occur with the students.  His insight and intuition allow him to handle tough issues with a thoughtfulness that’s appreciated by staff and students alike.

BIG heart

John was born with a special gift. He easily loves people – all people – even those that others reject. When he was in college at Iowa State, he became friends with a co-worker, Turbo, who was hired through the McJobs program for adults with disabilities. John and Turbo got along well and eventually John asked Turbo to become his roommate. Turbo loved to be included, and John loved including him.  Turbo lived with John and his friends throughout college and, after John got married, Turbo moved in with John and his new wife.  He stayed for 12 years. 

Do you know how some men learn to hide their sensitive side as they become adults? Not John.  He wears his heart on his sleeve like a badge of honor.  Patience, acceptance, love, service – it’s all out there for the world to see and his students to experience. 

BIG plans

John’s desire for the students is to see each one reach the highest level of Appropriate Independence that he or she can possibly reach. For some, that might mean showering without a reminder and making dinner without assistance. For others, it could mean holding down a job, driving themselves to work, and acting in a disciplined manner in public. John understands that every person is unique and it’s his goal to help each student grow more independent than even their parents thought possible.

BIG family

It seems that John doesn’t do anything small. He and his wife Jenny have five children ranging in age from six to thirteen years old - Elijah, Trinity, John, Nyah and William.  His experience being a father to such a large brood proves to be a blessing as he “parents” his guys in Home B.

After meeting John, you’ll become as convinced as I was that this BIG man with a BIG heart will make a BIG impact on the life of every student at Shepherds College.

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.

A College with Character

Back in 2009, Shepherds College had just completed its first year. We had only a handful of students, but we could already see the potential in the program.

The leadership was dynamic, hands-on and visionary.

The teachers were warm, energetic and creative.

The curriculum was simplified, yet groundbreaking.

The program was comprehensive, life-changing and one-of-a-kind.

We all knew it could be successful in bringing hope for a brighter future to students with intellectual disabilities.  But, how would we reach the prospective students, where were they, what were they like, and what would the students be like after completing three years of our program?

This was the stuff of marketing, so in 2009 we brought in professionals who helped us develop a plan to reach young adults with intellectual disabilities who wanted an advanced education - people who needed to hear that there was a new post-secondary option available to them.

The marketing company gave us a lot of good information and a solid plan for moving forward with college recruitment, but the one area they couldn’t help us with – the one area we needed to work out on our own – was “values.” What values would underpin the whole college program? What values would resonate with all individuals? What values would we teach to the students to impact their future relationships, influence their decisions as independent adults and equip them to excel in their internships and future careers?

After many marketing and faculty meetings, we decided on six values – or character traits - that we hoped to instill in the students by the time they graduated:

Diligence – Investing their time and energy to complete each task assigned to them

Discernment – Perceiving the difference between right and wrong

Initiative – Recognizing and doing what needs to be done before they are asked to do it

Integrity – Knowing and doing what is right all the time

Respect – Recognizing and showing value to God, authority, others, property, and themselves

Responsibility – Knowing and doing what is expected of them

The students would hear about and learn these character traits in a variety of ways every day in their classes. The Residential Life training would support the development of these character traits in the students’ living areas. The faculty and staff would exemplify these character traits in their own lives so students could see them as role models for the values of the college.

And what company wouldn’t want an employee who exhibited these traits in the workplace? 

They are a cornerstone for the success of our program, and they provide a solid path for the students’ journey toward Appropriate Independence.

Watch this blog in the coming weeks. I hope to give you an idea of what teaching each character trait looks like in different classes, in Res Life, and in the activity of the students.

“Watch your thoughts, for they become words.
Watch your words, for they become actions.
Watch your actions, for they become habits.
Watch your habits, for they become character.
Watch your character, for it becomes your destiny.”

                                                                                                        Unknown

Shepherds College - Guiding Your Transition to Appropriate Independence. Please visit us at www.shepherdscollege.edu.