EDUCATIONALLY SPEAKING

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As you read this column, with any luck, I am somewhere in New

Mexico, on a train to Albuquerque, then on to Santa Fe. As you might have

guessed by now, vacations are a time for another Sandoval adventure, not

a time to sit around and relax. Stay tuned for an update on Jan. 10.

As we have had a respite from my daily dinner update on what is happening

at school, I realized just how much I learn from my children’s

outstanding education. I can only imagine how much our district’s

collective children learn. My older daughter has mailed off all her

college applications. This gave me another chance to reflect on the

educational and extracurricular pursuits provided by the school or the

teachers guiding students to golden opportunities.

For instance, Web page design is one of the fastest-growing industries,

as more and more businesses want a page of their own. Our kids have the

ability to learn it during Web design class. The school furnishes them an

expert teacher and the latest equipment. Most of the district schools

have their own Web pages, where the school can communicate to the

parents, students and community, be it the local community or one

somewhere else in the world. The school can post pictures, schedules and

important news. One school has set up a Web page for students to talk

with prominent scientists in the community about their science projects.

While most schools have offered journalism classes throughout the years,

now reporters can e-mail in their stories and load in their pictures from

digital cameras. With the use of up-to-date software, newspaper layout

takes on a whole new technological experience. These skills are useful in

school projects, as well as in business. In addition, kids learn how to

sniff out a story and ask the right questions to get the facts they need.

My favorites are the opinion columns, where kids have to justify their

positions. Students are likely to write back with an opposing view, which

teaches logic and debate.

The TV class has served the district two ways. Not only are our students

learning interviewing, taping and editing skills, the district is able to

memorialize many of its special events. With its own TV station, the

district can show the community the great things that are done by and for

our children.

Choir classes have opened the door to math skills, where it is necessary

to recognize the mathematical nature of notes. The students learn to sing

in foreign languages. Entertaining at local venues has exposed them to

the plight of the homeless, the diseases of the elderly and the

lifestyles of the rich and famous.

Biology isn’t just about cells any more. By studying about dominant and

recessive genes, the melting pot of students in our district can see the

gene interactions at work as they look around the classroom. A lesson on

the biological nature of alcoholism makes some students realize they

possess traits that make them more susceptible.

English isn’t just a spelling test any more. The assignment is to become

one with a Greek god. Present the persona of that god, using visual aids,

which can include a power-point presentation. Not only are the students

learning history and literature, they are learning communication and

presentation skills. When you throw in the benefit of being able to

present the information using some of the latest tools of technology, it

becomes a super assignment. The teacher adds the right flavor by taking

on numerous roles himself in the Feast of the Gods. Our dinner

conversations about the unit let me brush-up on some long forgotten

information.

Band teaches that one can’t always beat the drum to a different rhythm.

Maybe it is because bands don’t really make it with just one star player.

Band members seem to have a camaraderie that goes well beyond the

classroom. It is a skill they can use their entire lives, even if it is

only for their own enjoyment.

As I watched the kids beam with pride after the recent round of holiday

concerts I attended, it made me realize we need to give our kids standing

ovations more often for all of the things they learn, and the long hours

they put in learning it. So as we start the new year, let’s resolve to

focus on all of the good things that happen in our kids’ lives every day.

Let’s take the time to listen about all of the little things that happen

in and out of school each day. Let’s take the time to thank the teachers,

even if it is with a fast phone message. Let’s take the time to applaud

for our kids’ efforts. Let’s see what our kids can teach us.

GAY GEISER-SANDOVAL is a Costa Mesa resident. Her column runs Mondays.

She can be reached by e-mail at GGSesq@aol.com .