IN THE CLASSROOM -- Back to school

Danette Goulet

* IN THE CLASSROOM is a new weekly feature in which Daily Pilot education

reporter Danette Goulet will visit a school within the Newport-Mesa

district and write about her experience.

Little arms stretch skyward, waving frantically as students strain in

their seats in an effort to be seen, heard and called upon.

The sights, smells and sounds haven’t changed all that much. The walls of

a fourth-grade classroom are still covered from floor to ceiling with

every imaginable color of construction paper, showcasing students’

artwork.

The alphabet, in both lower and upper case, runs across the top of one

wall, just as you remember.

That smell can only be that of school pizza, wafting down the walkway.

The bell at Kaiser Elementary School is not the familiar shrill, but more

like the croak of a dying frog.

As the students file past their teacher, Kirsten Ingham, at 8:15 a.m.,

she shakes each child’s hand. It is an opportunity, she said, to gauge

how each child feels that day -- if anyone is sick or didn’t get a good

night’s sleep.

It is also an excellent time, she said, to get the inevitable little

tidbits of information out of the way.

“Mrs. Ingham, it’s my aunt’s birthday today.”

“Mrs Ingham, my cat slept on my bed all night.”

Nine- and 10-year-olds mill about, sharing other vital pieces of

information with friends before finally wandering to their desks.

They know the routine. Some students immediately begin their first task

of writing down the next day’s homework assignment while others

procrastinate until they are directly reminded of what they should be

doing.

At the croak of a second bell, all the children stand facing the corner.

With small hands somewhere in the vicinity of their hearts, they begin in

unison -- “I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of

America ...”

The memories of saying those words every day for more than 15 years come

flooding back.

After taking their seats, students pass forward different colored folders

containing their homework. One lucky student gets to collect from each

row.

“Lets keep your notebooks open -- it’s time for DOL,” Ingham says in that

serene teacher’s voice.

DOL, or Daily Oral Language, may be an unfamiliar term, but the lesson is

familiar.

“Today, we’re not only going to find the subject, simple subject,

predicate and simple predicate, but we’re also looking for an adverb and

an adjective,” Ingham instructed.

After 20 minutes in their seats, the antsy students were told to rise and

find a partner.

Students scrambled to pair up with their friends. They were instructed to

spell out the days of the week with their fingers on their partner’s

back.

It was one of those fun learning assignments -- the ones you wished would

take up the whole day. I never knew the ulterior motive behind them until

Ingham told me. She tries to get the students out of their seats every 20

minutes in order to keep their attention -- and the peace.

That peace is important, considering the admonishments haven’t changed

much, either.

“I’ll wait until you’re listening politely,” Ingham said with that tone

of voice that’s terrifying to a 9-year-old.

At 10 a.m., after a reading lesson, a third bell croaked, signaling

recess time.

For students and teachers alike, it’s by far the best feature built into

the elementary school schedule.