Educationally Speaking -- Gay Geiser-Sandoval

Today marks the beginning of another school year for Newport-Mesa

Unified School District students. There is a freeze on hiring more

teachers while staff members count the whites of students’ eyes at each

campus. Once the freeze has thawed, it will be difficult to fill the

shoes of one teacher who will be missing from the classroom this year.

Even though my children left sixth grade many years ago, this teacher

has still left an indelible impression on them and on me. She wasn’t

anybody’s favorite teacher, and she wasn’t there to administer hugs and

kisses. But the schools will feel the void in her absence.

Judy Riley taught at Paularino Elementary School during the many years

our family was enrolled there. Before that, she taught at Lincoln, and

afterward at Davis. She was known for three things at Paularino: the

winter program and grade level assemblies that were put on once a month,

with her playing piano while the students sang; the spring musical, in

which every sixth-grade student participated, and for which she

accompanied the production on the piano; and making sixth grade so tough

that high school seemed easy.

There were three sixth-grade teachers at Paularino during those years.

Because she was committed to having children sing and perform when music

programs were cut, she would take each grade level and work with them

during the month they would perform at the assembly. She taught them how

to stand on the risers and how to pay attention. Often, the songs were in

different languages and different parts. To do this, her best friend and

fellow teacher, Mary Zillgitt, had to teach two classes of sixth-graders,

but she never complained. Ms. Riley taught songs to all grade levels for

the winter program, and you could often hear her singing along to keep

the kids on note and on the right words.

With all of this training in the early grade levels, the sixth-graders

were ready to tackle the spring musical. Because each student had to be

in it in some capacity, they didn’t have to protest that acting was

uncool. With the endless patience of the three sixth-grade teachers,

these raw recruits were singing, dancing and acting in no time. Most will

never perform again in a musical, but they know they can do it, and they

bonded as a group.

In addition, the three teachers took their classes to Astro Camp for a

week, taking turns patrolling the hallways at night and doing projects

with the kids by day, while hormones peaked and clashed precariously. Ms.

Riley always retained her role as taskmaster and enforcer, believing

every child could and should behave. As my kids recall, all students

could behave for Ms. Riley, so they can’t blame any bad behavior after

her on never having learned their manners.

What I appreciate most about Ms. Riley now, which I didn’t during

those weekends when I had to stay home with my daughters for them to

complete assignments, was her belief that students should rise to the

level of her expectations, instead of allowing the students to set their

own benchmark.

If most of the class members won’t do their homework, many teachers

stop assigning so much, leading to a downward spiral. Not Ms. Riley. The

word “inquiry” still sends shudders down the backs of her former

students. She devised a way for students to pick mediums to complete a

multi-task assignment. They could manufacture papyrus, build a pyramid,

write a diary, do a research paper, give a speech, create a play, prepare

some food or other tasks. They got organized and planned ahead or felt

the pain of trying to get the assignment done with an all-nighter. A due

date actually meant the date it was due; no extensions.

Ms. Riley spent much of last year struggling with a disease that she

conquered so she could get back to teaching her students. Unfortunately,

she was snapped from us recently. I wish that every teacher would care

enough for his or her students to make them try new things and reach to

their highest levels. For those gifts to our students, I thank her and

all the other teachers that carry on her mission.

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

Tuesdays. She may be reached by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .