| There's no mistaking Chris Hodge, retiring principal of Frank Allis Elementary School, as she greets the children coming to school on a fine spring day. She has donned her orange safety vest and is constantly being hugged or greeted by the children. Some students give a fleeting "Hi" as they swiftly pass by. Others linger to tell Hodge something or to get that last bit of reassurance before they hit another day of classes. The place where children are at when they come to school is a lot different than when Hodge first began teaching. Back when she was growing up, all they had was a radio to find out about the world outside her home and community. Things have changed. "Kindergarteners who come into school are more knowledgeable because they have been exposed to a lot of things," Hodge reflected. "When I was growing up, we didn't have a television or a computer. I didn't even have a typewriter. I think kids have more exposure to media and what's going on in other parts of the world. But in terms of how they apply that information to what is expected of them when they go to school, that's different." And the circumstances that the children find themselves in are different too. The family make-up is different and the extended family isn't what it used to be. Grandma and grandpa, aunts and uncles are no longer present in the home. "I think there's more demand on the kids to take charge because their parents are required to be out working," Hodge said. "Kids have the big responsibility of getting themselves off to school. And a lot of these kids have to fend for themselves when they get home. I think there is a community piece where when they leave school, they do go into the community and a lot of these areas where my students are from, there are community centers. But there is not that piece of the family that I had when I went home and my mom wasn't home, my grandmother was there or there was a cousin or an aunt somewhere close who would treat me like my parents would treat me and give me that same support. I think that piece is really missing." The role of the teacher isn't to just impart knowledge; it's also to act as a motivator for the children, to get them in the mood to learn. "Most of these parents have high expectations for their kids," Hodge observed. "I've never gone into a home where a parent hasn't told me that they want to come to school and learn. When I greet my kids every morning, you can tell when they get off the bus who's ready to learn. We really need to encourage kids. If they want a better life, if they want to have the amenities of life, they have to apply themselves. And applying themselves means they have to go to school and do those things they don't want to do. When I first went off to college, I went to a Christian college for two years. This bishop used to come out and say 'Education is doing those things you don't want to do and that makes you smarter.' I tell my kids that all the time." Hodge believes that kids know there is a right and wrong and one responsibility of an educator is to teach the children ethics and values. "I taught 'old school' to my kids, morals, values, education, being respectful and responsible and being productive," Hodge said. "All of those things are things that made me and my brothers and sisters who we are. And I instill those same values in my own kids. Adults need to let kids know there is a right and a wrong way. If you don't respect yourself, you are not going to be respecting anyone else. That's a hard piece. When kids talk to me and I ask them a question, instead of saying 'naw,' they say 'No Miss Hodge.' That's how you answer people in the business world. 'Yes,' ' No,' or 'I don't understand.' That's significant. It's hard for people to educate kids if they don't respect you, you can't teach them. I realize that years and years ago, they used to say kids come to school with baggage. Kids nowadays come to school with trunks, trunk loads of stuff. And we have to give them the tools to unlock those trunks and to build and be what they really want to be. Most of these kids have aspirations of what they want to be. They want to be lawyers and doctors, but they don't know how to get there. And we have to open those avenues for them so they will be able to compete and be what they can be and want to be" As Hodge greeted the children as they arrived at school, it was clearly evident that she cared. And as the principal, the leader of the school, Hodge believes that it was up to her to set the tone for the school, to create a loving environment that would foster education. "What I have tried to do during my tenure as an educator is to make sure there is a teacher in every classroom at Frank Allis School who cares about every child and every day works hard to make sure that child feels like a human being," Hodge emphasized. "James Baldwin said something that resonates in my mind. 'These are all our children. We shall pay for or profit by what they shall become.' It's all about the children. It's never been about me. As an educator, it's never been about the teachers. It's all about the kids. We have to make it count when they walk in this door. Are all kids going to college? No. But the majority of them are going to work. And we have to make sure that whatever they do, whatever avenue they choose to go down, that they are the best for that. And that is all that we can ever ask is that every day, every child who walks in this door that every teacher makes sure that child leaves every day knowing something different. And we learn from each other. I tell you." "The only thing I am more passionate about than education is buying shoes," Hodge continued with a smile. "When these kids walk in this building, they want to share a book with me, a story with me and I always give out a pencil award or something saying 'My principal is so proud of me.' It may be a third grader reading at a first grade level. But here's a kid who hasn't been able to read anything up until now. They walk out and their chest is all stuck out and I say 'Oh, you are so smart. You ought to read that to somebody else.' I get a thrill standing outside my building on the first day of school and the kindergarteners come in with those oversized backpacks. And they have these big, big smiles on their faces, all of them. They are so happy to be here. But somewhere by third grade, those smiles start to be minimized. I don';t know what happens there. But I tell my teachers when we have an extended program the first week of school where we introduce everybody 'You see these smiles?' We want those same smiles to be on these kids faces when they graduate from high school.' That is so beautiful to see. I'm in love with what I do." Hodge isn't quite ready to put her chalk down and leave education behind. While she plans to travel some and do more with her brothers and sisters, Hodge will continue to be an educator in Madison. She may help set up a school at Mt. Zion Baptist Church after its second addition is built. Or she may set up a tutoring business like she used to do every Sunday after school. Whatever the future holds for her, Hodge will be there for the children. And as she leaves Frank Allis School, her thoughts are still on the children. "I want to put some closure to this with my kids, so I'm going to have an open house where they all can come in and sign an autograph book," Hodge said. "And I will give them a pencil that says 'Failure is not an option. Love Miss Hodge.'" |
| An interview with Frank Allis Principal Chris Hodge It's all about the children ByJonathan Gramling Part 2 of 2 |
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