EDITORIAL

Last week, the students in Penny Norton’s fifth-grade class at Harbor

View Elementary took part in an old lesson on America’s Founding Fathers.

That bit of information is not particularly noteworthy, we admit. But

what unfolded in that classroom was.

As we and our readers know, history can often be boring and dull. And

getting young charges interested in things such as the signing of the

Declaration of Independence can be an impossible task.

So we were surprised and heartened to see the pupils in Norton’s class

glued to the discussion, which included them dressing the parts of the

historical figures and reenacting the highlights of the country’s

beginnings.

It is a bitter truth that too often our children are not engaged by

school, for whatever reason. It is even more bitter that we -- parents,

educators, community members -- don’t seem to be able to find ways to

make school more interesting and our students more in love with learning.

Norton managed to solve that problem, for a day at least. And her

students one day will be able to thank her when they’re able to remember

who Patrick Henry was.

And the rush of innovative teaching didn’t stop there. The next day,

Newport Coast Elementary fourth-graders received real-life lessons in the

struggles of California’s migrant workers. Along with learning about

migrant worker leader Cesar Chavez, the students also spent time picking

beans at a farm in Irvine, sweaty work that taught more than a day in the

classroom.

Finally, in today’s Pilot, another story showcases the re-creation of

Ellis Island at Lincoln Elementary School. Parents and teachers made the

experience difficult, just as it was for immigrants passing through the

gates.

The language barriers, the confusing specifics of passports and

notifications, even the possible corruption involved were all

dramatically enacted for the students.

In each of these cases, the students talked about how memorable and

exciting the lessons were. And while it is not teachers’ jobs to be just

entertaining, they do need to grab and keep students’ attention so they

can learn.

Judging by the past week, we applaud the Newport-Mesa teachers who are

finding ways to do just that.