Find It on Freebay

On kindergarten teacher Randi Beckmann's Freebay Web site, generosity is contagious.

Beckmann knows a little kindness can go a long way. That was the motivation behind her Web site freebayforus.org . Now, one year after its launch, this New York teacher's creation has provided dozens of Ithaca City educators with the classroom supplies they sorely needed and some they couldn't even have imagined getting.

"It popped into my mind just how often teachers want something for a lesson and how often people have things to offer," says Beckmann. "The problem was, no one knew how to get things to where they needed to be."

Beckmann solved that problem with a little ingenuity: a Web site that allows visitors to offer or request a variety of regular and unusual school supplies that can make all the difference in a cash-strapped classroom. There's no buying or selling; all transactions are acts of charity.

The listings go far beyond your standard classroom supplies. One donor offered a parakeet as a classroom pet. Another volunteered a baby grand piano. The Cornell Veterinary College provided medical gear and stuffed animals for a classroom "veterinary" center. 

As parents and community members become more aware of teachers' needs, they're becoming increasingly involved with the site. "Some people have been so kind as to go out and purchase requested items," Beckmann says. "I call them Freebay Fairies."

Now Beckmann's trying to alert neighboring businesses to the site. She believes corporations have plenty of items they can no longer use but that could be valuable to a school.

"There is a really wonderful feeling of goodwill associated with our site," she says. "When you mention Freebay around here, people smile.

—Daniel Moise

Compassion Through Art

Nicole Gnezda hands her problem children paint brushes instead of detention slips.

Gnezda, a visual arts teacher at Worthington Kilbourne High School in Ohio, spent her career developing alternatives to conventional models of discipline. In 29 years of teaching art, she's discovered that troubled students often benefit more from compassion and freedom to create than from punishment. That's what inspired her to begin Creative Mondays, a weekly after-school group that allows students to use art as an outlet for their emotions.

Each week, students choose a social issue and get their hands dirty confronting it with paint, markers, newspaper, and other expressive media.

Gnezda has outlined her methods in a book, Teaching Difficult Students: Blue Jays in the Classroom, which explains how to work with difficult students and help them with their behaviors. Gnezda peppers her philosophies with colorful anecdotes of her experiences with "blue jays," students she likens to the cackling, aggressive birds whose beauty is often difficult to find. 

But is Gnezda's altruistic approach successful? Her blue jays' stories speak for themselves. One is of an emotionally troubled boy who drew violent images. Later, he explained that drawing the pictures kept him from acting them out.

"Students show me," says Gnezda, "in their artwork and in our conversations, very poignant examples of what it means to be a student these days.

—Megha Rajagopalan

The Sound of Music

After years of writing songs with her sons, Wisconsin educator Maria Simpson has given her students something to sing about.

The staff at Dean Elementary School, in Wisconsin, discovered an unlikely resource when trying to find fresh material for an annual music concert. Much to their surprise, one of their own second-grade teachers has a hidden knack for songwriting.

"When music teachers write programs, it's expected, explains the school's music teacher, "but when a second-grade teacher writes them, that's pretty special!"

Maria Simpson's penchant for penning tunes led to "What Will I Learn Today?" a collection of original music performed by Dean Elementary's entire second-grade class last February. All of the tunes applied to the students' curriculum, including making change and telling the time.

Simpson first began writing music, mostly ballads and gospel hymns, at age 13. When she became a parent, she drafted instructive ditties to further her sons' development. Now that her boys, Jaron and Taylor, are teenagers, writing music is a collaborative effort. "Writing children's songs with my sons has created a special bond between us," she says. "We have special memories from their toddler years to the present day that have kept us smiling and singing." 

Both sons witnessed their mother's labor of love come together at the second-grade concert. The auditorium was filled to capacity with parents, school staff, and students who raved about the magnificent melodies. The program was such a hit, Simpson is already slated to write next year's concert about character development.

"I was teary-eyed throughout the concert because it was a dream come true," says Simpson. "My sons and I have always believed other children would enjoy the songs as much as we did.

—D.M.

Talking Up Family on TV

Retiree Ken Musko tackles the airwaves to help marriages and families.

After retiring from a teaching job that had him working with troubled kids and broken families, Ken Musko had one question for his wife, Sandy, "What can we do to help families and keep marriages together?"

Their answer—a faith-based TV talk show featuring experts on marriage and family living—hit the airwaves last month. Musko, a Pennsylvania State Education Association-Retired member who taught for 32 years, hosts Family Magazine TV, which airs on select networks (see www.familymagazinetv.com for details). Musko has recorded some 60 episodes of the program, which he says aims to help viewers "keep the love alive for life."

Preparation makes things run smoothly. Musko reads up on his guests, who include well-known authors, artists, and entertainers. He also enlists their help. "We ask them to come up with five questions they would want us to ask them concerning their area of expertise," says Musko. "It's a lot better that way because they know some of the important points."

Some critics blame television and other media for eroding traditional values. Musko's outlook? "Television can be an evil, but it can be a blessing and a good thing too," he says. "Our program is going to bring wholesomeness, it's going to bring values and standards, and these are things that have been neglected."

—Emily Goodman

Photos: Cheryl Covell; Will Schilling; Peter Zuzga; Steven Dietz