Back to School

Friday morning was a bit like being suspended in time for me, and that time was more than 20 years ago. Prior to coming to Valley United Way, I was a teacher for many years (I'm not saying how long!). A decade of that time was spent as the boys basketball coach at Shelton High School, and for six years I was a teacher in the Shelton school system - and two of those years were spent at the Shelton Intermediate School teaching history. Friday morning I was back, but in a much more modern building as part of the Junior Achievement business education program.

Though the building may be newer,  the classroom and the students were much the same as I left them years ago. In preparing for the class, I was pleased that the first lesson that I was to teach was related to immigration and its impact on the history of the U.S. I had taught that in the past, so I was comfortable with the subject. Within a couple of minutes, I had surveyed the class, and found that we had about a dozen different ethnic groups represented in the class of just over 20 students. They were more than willing to share their own families' unique experiences in coming to America, and I was more than happy to share the story of my grandfather's emigration to Connecticut from a small townland in County Limerick, Ireland more than a century ago.

We had a second session on the importance of agriculture, and being in a city with active and innovative farms made that an easy topic for discussion as well.

A third session centering on the California Gold Rush showed the value of natural resources and the creation of boom towns that resulted from the rush for gold. The students were quick to discern the growth of business that results from a sudden migration of people into an area whether it be for gold or other factors. That translated into a discussion of the "boom" that has taken place in Shelton particularly along the Rt. 8 corridor.

In no time at all, the class was over. I scrambled back to my JA materials to make sure that we had covered the "curriculum" for the day. We had! I was very pleased and impressed with the students that I had in my class. They were a bright and outgoing group who actively participated and had a great background knowledge of the material that we were covering.

I think it was a nice break from the regular classroom schedule for them and a great opportunity to learn about the world of business at the same time. I enjoyed myself, and I hope they did as well.

For more information about Valley United Way, visit our website at www.valleyunitedway.org.