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Teach-In Keys On Careers

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: November 15, 2007

Updated: 11/15/2007 12:47 am

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Paratroopers, penguins and pizzamakers were among thousands of temporary teachers in Tampa Bay area schools Wednesday in the annual Great American Teach-In.

Grownups - and the creatures that accompany them - are invited into schools in Hillsborough, Pasco, Pinellas and Polk counties every year during American Education Week.

The visitors share their hobbies, work, special interests, even a favorite book. In return, they learn how students think, what they know and how to capture their interest.

Oak Grove Elementary: Penguins

Penguins Rocky and Sunny elicited lots of ooohs and ahhhs in the music room at Tampa's Oak Grove Elementary school, which had 49 speakers.

It was penguin facts, however, that brought down the house. "Why are all 17 varieties of penguins black and white?" Adam Duff, a biologist at The Florida Aquarium asked first-, second- and fifth-graders. "That's the way they were born?" one guessed.

Good answer, but actually the colors are "great camouflage" to protect penguins from predators, Duff explained. From above, dark backs blend with the water. From below, white bellies dissolve into light from the sky.

Now, how many penguins can a polar bear eat? Zero. Polar bears live at the North Pole, penguins in the Southern Hemisphere, Duff said.

The rapt students watched Rocky, a 10-month-old penguin, toddle across the floor to nibble gently on a shoe.

Marilyn Brown

Lowry Elementary: Paratroopers

Most of Lowry's 150 teach-in speakers came to the northwestern Hillsborough school by car. Three dropped in from 9,000 feet.

Paratroopers Ron Johnson, Vinny Savino and David Culpepper of the U.S. Special Operations Command parachute team at MacDill Air Force Base glided to the ground Wednesday morning in front of about 1,000 students, teachers and guests. They appeared first as plumes of pinkish smoke, and students shrieked as the parachutes popped into view. Kindergartners waved flags they made with glitter and cardboard in class.

"They were awesome," said 8-year-old Jade Scott.

The jumpers sailed over the play court and landed in a field behind the school. On the ground, they answered questions from Lowry's gifted classes. Were they scared? How do they know when to open the chute? Where else have they jumped?

Johnson, who has made about 1,200 jumps, about 200 a year, said he has parachuted in Central and South America. The crowd's favorites? Jumps he made into Raymond James Stadium and at Florida Gators games into The Swamp.

Courtney Cairns Pastor

Summerfield Elementary: Snake Breeder

Kalvin Valdez, 7, could hardly contain himself during Byron Ratcliffe's presentation on snakes. "What do you feed them?" he asked the 16-year-old speaker. Emily Anderson, 9, wanted to know whether the snakes could be found in a pet store. Some shied away but others sprang forward when given the opportunity to touch a snake.

Ratcliffe, a Lennard High School student and snake breeder from Balm, joined 30 presenters, including a cake decorator, firefighter and Disney chef at Summerfield Elementary School in Riverview.

"It was a positive day for ... students," said fifth-grade teacher Sandy Aman. "They were able to explore lots of opportunities that we will incorporate into our classroom curriculum and talk about the rest of the year."

Lois Kindle

McLane Middle: Quilter/Dollmaker

Renee Garrett of Brandon brought samples to the Brandon school of her sewn rag dolls with calico dresses and pinafores and yarn hair and a colorful quilt she has made. "I wanted to come because my granddaughter Erica Fields is in the seventh grade here," she said. "And I think it's a nice thing to do." She was one of 30 speakers.

Liz Bleau

Gibsonton Elementary: Soldier

Dressed in fatigues, Army Lt. Daniel Brown was barraged with questions from Alissa Coleman's and Jennifer Hack's first-graders. "Why do you jump out of airplanes," a boy asked. That was followed by, "Did you bring a gun?"

Brown was one of 20 adults presenting and, at times, performing for Gibsonton Elementary students. They included jazz and gospel singer Belinda Womack, a massage therapist, a youth minister, a magician and a pro wrestler.

As Brown described his life in the military, several excited youngsters interrupted him without raising their hands.

"Anyone out of line has to do 10 push-ups," he said. That quieted the room.

"I think the kids had a great experience," said Michelle Carrick, assistant principal. "They had the chance to see and hear about things they never experience in their everyday lives."

Lois Kindle

Marlowe Elementary: Pasco County Sheriff's K-9 Unit

Copper the bloodhound and Rob the German shepherd might look intimidating, but they didn't spook students at Marlowe Elementary.

That's because children at the New Port Richey school, which had six speakers, learned that police dogs' training ensures they don't use their fangs unless the situation demands it.

Doggy self-control is important because the same dogs who track escaped prisoners and bank robbers also search for lost toddlers and missing Alzheimer's patients.

Even the most hardened criminal can avoid the teeth if he surrenders.

"We've located over 200 people this year; I believe we've bitten only three or four of the really bad guys," said Sgt. Brian Brosnan of the Pasco Sheriff's K-9 Unit.

Brosnan and Deputy Robert Wilkins showed that Rob can switch from lovable lug to attack dog when a cornered suspect makes a fight of it.

Wilkins wore a pad on his right arm to provide Rob a target and to stay safe. Once Rob latched on to the pad, he stayed until Brosnan gave the command to stop.

Ronnie Blair

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