Teachers camp out after students read 1,443 books
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ST. IGNATIUS — Elementary students at St. Ignatius were given a unique opportunity to reverse roles with their teachers, and all they had to do was read.
Students read 1,443 books, an average of six books per child, enough to make five of their teachers, the elementary principal Cherie Stobie and superintendent Bob Lewandowski, sleep outside in a teepee for one night. The five teachers who participated in the overnight incentive were fourth-grade teacher Tim Krantz; fifth-grade teacher Lloyd Phillips, Native American Studies teacher Aileen Plant, Susan Weaselhead and third-grade teacher Dan Durglo.
Initially the group was going to sleep in two teepees set up outside the school, one for the males and the other for females, but they decided to share the teepee liner and warmth of the fire.
Lewandowski suggested the idea as a fun way to interact with students.
“I don’t have many opportunities to have exchanges with them,” Lewandowski said, adding that he endured a bit of teasing from some of the students as he walked down the hallways.
“It’s for the good of the kids. We think it’s fun to reverse the roles, make the teachers do something for a change,” Stobie said.
Each grade had different standards, with kindergartners drawing pictures to help describe what they read, to fifth-graders reading a 70-page book and writing three paragraphs. All students had up to six weeks to complete the challenge and tracked their progress with a graph of colored teepees.
The first goal was to read enough books to get three male teachers to sleep outside. Then students doubled their numbers enough to get three female teachers; and reached the ultimate goal getting Lewandowski to spend a night outside. Lewandowski even gave students an extra week for the project.
“We wanted to make goals attainable,” he said.
“It was a school wide-effort,” Stobie added, “I don’t think we’ll be too cold.”
On the night of the campout, which was rescheduled after a major snowstorm Jan. 19, the crew was cozy inside the warmly lit teepee as smoke filtered from the top.
Krantz held a large stack of papers, the book reports the seven had to read while camped out. In addition to enduring the cold night, they were also scoring student’s papers from all those books they read to get the group to camp out.
“This gives them a bit of control in their choices and a love for reading,” Lewandoswki shared.
