Right or Wrong?

We recently read Langston Hughes' short story, Thank You Ma'm, which emphasizes numerous literary elements and influential themes throughout the text. The story starts when a young African American boy attempts to steal a pocketbook from an elderly lady late at night. Instead of reporting him to the police, Mrs. Jones takes Roger to her house because she realizes he is roaming the streets for a reason. He tells her that he at home alone and hungry. She demands to know why he tried to steal her purse and he admits he wanted money to buy new blue suede shoes. Mrs. Jones told him that all he had to to do was ask instead of trying to steal.

After reading this short story, it sparked many interesting discussion among our class members regarding right and wrong. I posed the question if a child was caught stealing candy, how would one deal with teaching that child he/she was wrong? Should the child be punished? Would you tell the child you never did that when you were his/her age? There were varied responses to this question simply for the fact we were all taught differently. Of course the students shared their own stories of how their parents taught them right from wrong. Some learned the best from the old fashioned "whippings", having toys or games taken away, time-out, or the look of disappointment from parents was enough to work. The students even told me that my "sermons" provided meaningful lessons.

That afternoon I reflected back to my own way of learning values. I definitely became more appreciative of my parents for instilling strong morals within my life at a young age. I have always claimed my sister and I had the perfect childhood because of our parents' disciplinarian techniques. They led by example by doing what was right and our dinner conversations every night proved to be a lesson learned. We never missed an evening of eating together...no television, no phone calls, just the four of us. My parents always seemed to know what type of disciplinary action to take and there were times we deserved punishment. For example, when we left crayons in the brand new car during 100 degree weather. We had created a rainbow of colors after the sun had melted the entire box. Let's just say we knew to always take our crayons inside during the summer heat after that incident. We laugh telling those stories now...I can honestly say we were not punished often because the disappointment on mom and dad's faces was usually enough for us to correct our mistakes immediately.

Thanks to Langston Hughes' story it made us all question how we still know the difference between right from wrong. As an educator, how do I teach my students to make the right decisions that may affect them forever? As my friends are now becoming new parents, I wish them luck teaching their own children this important life skill. I admire ALL parents for taking on this tremendous responsibility. I am forever indebted to my own parents and even now as an adult, I make sure to not see that disappointed look on my daddy's face.

Cindi Rigsbee makes the news AGAIN!

Exactly a year ago, Cindi Rigsbee was just a name and face on the DPI website. To me, she was just the Piedmont Regional Teacher of the Year from Orange County who was my "competition" for the NC Teacher of the Year. After all nine regional finalists had been announced, Cindi was the first one to send an email to all her "new BFF's." At that moment, I knew she was a natural leader and one who just loved people. That email was the beginning of a strong friendship among nine exceptional educators from the coast to the mountains. We share our backgrounds and interests while expressing our disbelief of making it this far in the Teacher of the Year process. Cindi is the one I credit for creating this instant bond...Judging from Cindi's personality, I knew that she and I would click immediately. I was right. Plus, some of her family roots were in northern Moore County and her father is actually laid to rest in the Robbins Cemetery.

In February we came together for the first time as a team to work for the Teacher Working Conditions Survey. It was great to finally put the names and faces with personalities. These individuals were no longer strangers and I was humbled to be part of this group. During this meeting, Cindi asked inquisitive questions throughout the entire meeting regarding the important survey given to teachers across the state. This confirmed the fact she was updated with current educational trends and didn't mind sharing her teacher voice. My gut feeling already told me she deserved the state teacher of the year recognition.

The next couple of months I was able to keep in contact with Cindi (along with various team members) regularly. I even called to ask if her daughter, Kelli, would speak with one of my students about her cheerleading experiences with the Carolina Panthers TopCats. Uniqua's story revolved around cheering for the Panthers, so Kelli's phone call changed her life (and writing) forever. I am indebted to Cindi and Kelli for this favor.
Well the end of April arrived quickly and the state competition was here! I arrived nervously at the hotel in Raleigh to prepare for three days of extensive interviews and speeches. Cindi was the last one to interview on Day #2, and she claimed to be nervous. I am sure after TAP dancing (Teachers Are Professionals) and sharing her stories in her beautiful white suit, there is no doubt she amazed every judge in the room.

It was no surprise to me when Cindi Rigsbee's name was announced by Dr. Atkinson as our new NC Teacher of the Year. Dressed in red, she stood out among the crowd, and made a speech that made everyone smile and cry, but mostly laugh. I didn't leave the ballroom upset at all that evening because I knew she would represent all North Carolina teachers well. I remained excited about learning from her and the other phenomenal teachers on my team.

The one thing I can always say about Cindi is she never ceases to amaze me with her adventures and luck! Since September she has been on Good Morning America after discovering her long lost teacher from 40 years ago, she has traveled from Manteo to Murphy speaking to teachers, community members, and college studetns, and now she is one of the four finalists for National Teacher of the Year.



When she called me yesterday morning to tell me the great news, I wasn't a bit surprised. Even though I was extremely sick from all the germs spreading around my school (and antibiotics from the doctor), I made the trek to Orange County in Efland at Gravellly Hill Middle School just to give the famous teacher a congratulations hug. She is not only my colleague, role model, and traveling clogging buddy, she remains my BFF...



So now google "Cindi Rigsbee" and see what appears...an educator who has excelled in our profession and who has dedicated her life to children. No longer just a face and name on the DPI website, but an inspiration to all teachers. I can already predict Cindi's influence and luck will not end here...Barack Obama will be honored that day to shake the hand of the lady in red as she will make our country proud of public education.

Hey Ms. Caviness!

Yesterday, I entered West Montgomery Middle School Gymnasium for the first time in three years. As soon as I walked in the door, I heard screams of "HEY MS CAVINESS!" It was obvious these were the screams of my first fourth grade class before I became Mrs. Muse. Now, they are eighth graders! At that moment, I realized the meaning of "time flying by too quickly." I have taught only five years, each year in Montgomery County, and it made me sad to see my kids all grown up. Imagine when they get to high school and enter adulthood.

The atmosphere was just like I had remembered when Will was a coach and teacher there. The lobby was still buzzing with excited Wolverine fans, but now mostly of young adolescents texting on cell phones and Ipods on their side. Most of these kids were my former fourth graders now towering over me. As always, they made me feel like a movie star embracing me with hugs and informing me of the latest middle school gossip. I repeated a million times: "Gosh, I feel old" or "What have they been feeding you?"

My core reason for being at the game was to watch former students cheer along with some who played basketball (both boys and girls). I decided to take two of my current fifth graders who have an interest in cheerleading, so I thought it would be the perfect experience. It was probably a little overwhelming for the girls because the gym was double the size of Page Street and we could barely find a seat due to the amount of people present. As I watched the West Middle girls take the win over South Stanley, I noticed the huge banner that still hung on the walls that reads "2004 Rocky River Conference Champions and Tournament Champions, Record 12-0." This instantly made me go back to the undefeated season that Will had with a talented group of boys. I was the devote fiance and new wife during that time, and didn't miss a game as I kept score trying to remain calm during those "nail biter games." As I was leaving the gym, one of those boys, told me to come to the trophy case. He immediately pointed to the team picture and game winning basketball from that unforgettable season. Now a junior, this young man emphasized they were the best basketball team that ever left West Middle School. As I glanced at the picture, that same feeling came over me as it did with my own former students. Those were my boys too and now they have grown into young men most of them now seniors. Some making the right choices while some drifted onto a much different path. It is unfortunate that less than half of that talented team is playing basketball at the high school. Will left the middle school that same year and coached most of them for one year during their JV season before leaving the county. It was never the same as that season.



When leaving the middle school that evening, I reminded myself to savor every moment of now with the group of kids we teach and influence. Change is inevitable and things are never the same...so those eighth graders will remain fourth graders in my eyes forever as I hope to see them excel in the future.

Moment in NC History

This past weekend, half of my fifth grade class was able to experience an important moment in our state's history. We traveled to Raleigh for the NC Inauguration to watch Beverly Perdue become our first female governor. She addressed the crowd with an inspiring inaugural address to provide hope for North Carolinians during these challenging times. She emphasized that education was one of the first priorities for changing the future. Since she was a former teacher herself, I am confident that our public school system will continue to excel as she leads the state in the right direction. We also watched other important government officials take office including Wayne Goodwin (his wife represents Montgomery County in the state legislature) and State Superintendent June Atkinson. I was amazed how many of our state representatives were connected in some way with education. To conclude the inauguration, we heard the famous Andy Griffith read a poem, which was written by his wife. He provided new Governor Perdue great aspirations for her term in office. This is a day that my students and I will never forget!