People
Smiling Faces, Faraway Places

Photo by Rachelle Omenson

New Jersey teacher Christine Stockton leads the Lawrence High School Operation Smile youth club, part of an international effort to help kids.

"This is the most rewarding thing I’ve done in my teaching career," says Christine Stockton, faculty advisor to the Operation Smile youth club at Lawrence High School in Lawrenceville, N.J. "You can really see the before and after results.’’

You may have heard or read about Operation Smile. It’s an international nonprofit that sponsors doctors who voluntarily perform plastic surgery–on cleft lips and palates, club feet, burn scars–for poor people around the world. Lawrence High’s 160 enthusiastic members helped raise $10,000 over the past year to pay for more than eight operations that put smiles back on mostly kids’ faces.

Stockton and 14 of her students have been chosen, via a rigorous selection process, for overseas medical missions to Thailand, Vietnam, and Ecuador (see inset photo). Others have gone to local hospitals, where they meet the operation candidates, teach health awareness, assist with pre-op, and help in the recovery room.

"Two students go on each mission, and they get so much out of this,’’ says Stockton. "It raises awareness about handicaps.’’

Stockton started Operation Smile five years ago, in response to student interest. A veteran educator, with 27 years in the Lawrenceville system, Stockton currently teaches sculpture, pottery, and computer graphics. She’s been at Lawrence High for 12 years.

"I enjoy teaching,’’ she says, "but as far as giving back, in a humanitarian way, this project is really tops on the list."

Photo by Craig Cunningham

At the stroke of midnight on December 31, you won’t find Tom Vogel celebrating the next millennium. January 1, 2000, says Vogel, is a year too early for celebration.

"We shouldn’t be celebrating the millennium until 2001,’’ says the West Virginia math teacher. "And we shouldn’t teach our kids something that’s fundamentally wrong.’’

Vogel feels so strongly about the issue that he drafted a new business item about it for consideration at the NEA Representative Assembly last July in Orlando. In a close vote, delegates aopted the item, which calls on NEA to promote the mathematical "true beginning" of the millennium.

Back home, Vogel continued to swim against the tide, writing letters to local newspapers and television stations, as well as to national programs and notables like "Dateline" and President Clinton.

"It’s all tied up in money,’’ says Vogel. "Next year, we’ll have the sequel, Millennium 2, and everyone will make more money.’’

Ohio Teacher Boosts National Board Certification

Photo by Sandy Schaeffer

Carole Moyer from Ohio is an ambassador for national certification for teachers. And, like most ambassadors, she came to Washington, D.C. recently ... and went right to the top. At the National Board for Professional Teaching Standards annual meeting, Moyer had the honor of introducing the President of the United States. For Moyer, an elementary teacher and one of 1,800 nationally certified teachers, the moment was quite a thrill.

"National certification is important," says Moyer, "because teachers need to adhere to rigorous and high standards. I finally felt like a real professional when I was certified after 28 years of teaching."

In his remarks, President Clinton voiced strong support for national board certification and for legislation, passed later in the fall, that will allocate more federal funds to help hire 100,000 new teachers.

A Painter’s Pride

Photo by John Heller

A full-time groundskeeper at Beaver Area High School outside Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Becky Quigley wanted to do something to make children’s experiences at Brighton Township Elementary as memorable as they could be. What better way, she figured, than by immortalizing students in a school mural.

"I wanted to do something for the school and, most importantly, the children," says Quigley. "Children are the reason we’re here."

Brighton Elementary’s cafeteria had just been painted pink, and Quigley, a part-time custodian at the time, saw an opportunity to add life to the blank concrete block wall via a mural. She took her idea to the school principal and won a go-ahead. Then Quigley was off to the races.

"Initially I sketched the images of just a few children," says Quigley. "But, while I was painting, more children asked to be a part of the mural, and I just couldn’t say no."

No kidding! Soon the number of faces grew to 385, and the project went on to span more than two years, beginning with the sketches, then on to detail and color, all with the help of friends.

"I get to leave a lasting contribution," she says. "It’s something all the children who pass through Brighton Elementary can appreciate."

Best Writers Come Calling

Photo by Jennifer Giesey

Famous people keep showing up in Dowagiac, a town of about 7,000 people in western Michigan. That’s no coincidence. Nine years ago NEA members Rich and Teri Frantz were trying to come up with a way to spark their high school students’ literary interests and hit on the notion of inviting famous writers to come to their school to talk about their craft. Famous writers have been visiting Dowagiac ever since.

Amy Tan’s been here, so have Joyce Carol Oates and Kurt Vonnegut, too. The school visits coincide with the town’s annual Fine Arts Fair.

"The writers are usually willing to meet the students, because most are professors themselves," says Teri Frantz.

Gwendolyn Brooks was the first author to come to the 75-year-old, unconditioned auditorium at Dowagiac Union High School. This fall, Joseph Heller, pictured here with Rich and Teri Frantz and two other faculty, visited to talk with students during the day, followed by an evening lecture and a wine-and-cheese book signing.

"After meeting the authors, students learn to think beyond their little hometown, and they start considering things they had never thought about," notes Teri Frantz. "But the main purpose is to inspire students to want to read."