Hey, representing the Jerusalem group, we were wondering if anyone was going up to Starksboro Monday or Tuesday. If someone is, could you meet with Ruth Beecher and pick up some of the Jerusalem projects that her students did for us to use in our digital map? I will tell her and set up the time. Thanks all.
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Ruth Beecher was energetic and extremely enthusiastic about her classes and teaching. She gave me insight into the unique program at the Robinson School and showed me the creative projects that the kids have done. Not only does Ruth Beecher teach traditional academic subjects, but she teaches her students art, teamwork, cooking, community knowledge and experiential knowledge of nature. She brings in people from the community to impart skills and wisdom that they have. Looking at the projects that she was doing was quite stunning when considering their breadth and depth. The interview went very well, but it makes me sad that it is not possible to focus on Robinson School with all of its unique attributes and deep connection to the town as a whole.
0:25 Growing up in Vermont. Living in the city and in the country.
0:57 Family and siblings. Family life growing up.
1:46 Husband Will and moving to Starksboro. College at UVM.
5:13 Switching from teaching different grades. This is her first year with third and fourth graders.
6:03 “What’s interesting, even within a straight grade, there is a huge range of ability. . . there’s a lot of sharing going on. . .t he older kids can teach the younger kids. . . everyone is good at something, some are better at riding a bike. . . or climbing the pole at recess.”
8:28 Lucky at Robinson school to have small class sizes.
8:55 “I have this huge range, so whatever level the child is at, I try to have things available for them in reading.”
10:12 Team building and emotional development in the classroom.
10:45 “We try to have a school-wide climate with three basic rules: we respect learning, we respect each other, and we respect Robinson School. . . . [any rule] can be phrased positively . . . We try to have the kids help make the classroom rules, and then see how they fit into those three categories.”
16:40 Learning outside the classroom, in nature
17:30 Sled dogs and learning from community
18:04 Art grant and on trying to infuse art into the classroom. Visual art, music, dance and movement. Her students’ art projects.
20:00 Student Writing
22:25 Bringing in the community members. Examples: Native American knowledge, cooking; making salsa, making cornmeal and cornbread
22:48 “I really am into food and nutrition and want kids to prepare their food and see where it comes from, and then eat it.”
26:00 “They love coming to school.”
26:26 Persistence as school wide theme and the importance of teaching persistence. Persistence the musical.
29:10 Differences between teaching younger versus older kids. Third and fourth graders are into social interactions.
31:56 How do you asses students?
35:36 Conflicts between classroom and administrative requirements.
37:02 “I also love living in the town that I work in because I feel like I know a lot of the families so well.”
37:41 “School is just one part of their day and then they have this other family life, and their friend life . . . . and that helps me understand if someone is having a hard time.”
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In this interview I talked with three generations of the Cota family, a family that has been in Starksboro for four generations. Norman, his daughter Amy, and his granddaughter Rachel were all willing to tell me their stories. The Cotas were one of the older farming families and Norman farmed on his family farm until nine years ago. It was interesting to see the difference in how each generation grew up and the changes that they saw in the town through time. From Norman’s perspective especially, there were many more wholesome activities in the past for youth to do and life involved a lot less hassle and stress. Amy and Rachel talked to me about the school system and its role in shaping the youth of the town.
25: Norman early life
1:45: Family Home
3:22: Sold the farm, talking of the farm
4:40: “After that happened [sold the farm], we had to go out and find jobs. So, I’ve been working on a neighbor’s farm bout two miles up the road, and I’ve been there now for nine years, on that farm, so. And I do part time listing work here too, so I work back and forth.”
5:16: Location of Farm, condition of farm
6:30 Amy growing up on farm, young life in Starksboro
7:30 Challenge of working away from Starksboro
8:20 Norman talking more about growing up and about changes in the times. “There was less stress.” “You enjoyed yourself more, less pressure.” Talk about changes in family life.
11:25 Amy talks about all the family gatherings she had growing up. Talks about difference now.
12:40 Amy’s brother who moved out of state and about Norman’s wife.
13:50 “[Now] salary wise, it takes two jobs to pay for your house.”
14:30 “You weren’t under as much pressure back then as you are today.” Intophilosophy on raising kids.
16:11: Rachel’s favorite things to do. A younger perspective on Starksboro.
17:05 Rachel’s brothers
17:38: Are your sons going to stay in Starksboro? “My older son would like to go to college and play on a soccer team.”
18:29 Employment in Starksboro.
19:03 Amy and her husband as high school sweet hearts.
19:35 Rachel’s perspective on family and certain houses. Tells family relations and interactions. Jack the cat.
21:25 Subdividing the farm between Norman and his siblings. Difference in ownership of land now and then.
23:00 Other families with farms. Clifford farm. Lots of the big families moved out.
25:35 Trailer parks and IBM workers who commute to Burlington. “They might be here two are three years, and then be gone because they get transferred to another plant.” Commuter culture and how they don’t integrate into the community.
29:28 Robinson School. Changes in school from teaching in a trailer to now. Changes in the school system.
32:06 Norman: “When I graduated from grade school up here, there was six of us!” Talk about numerical changes in school system.
34:00 Why is Robinson school a good school? Amy: “The teachers are very nice, they are very involved with the students and their family lives. They are very much into asking, ‘So how was your game last nigh? Did you win? Did you lose?’ . . . They are very into what the kids have done after school.” More discussion of teachers.
35:29 The responsive classroom system.
38:44 Norman: “I enjoyed school.” Norman was a good student. Went to college. Was going to be a surveyor, but ended up just working on the farm.
41:35 Norman joining the fire department. Talking about his many positions in the town.
45:00 Norman’s mother and late father.
48:30 Kids who get into trouble these days because they have nothing to do.
50:09 Drugs
58:15 Changes in farming and the life of a farmer. Norman:”I put in twelve hours a day, up there. . . I get up between two thirty and twenty minutes to three.”
Can anyone tell me Robert’s email or phone number? i can’t see mto find it anywhere. Thanks all.