Students learned how to make elephant toothpaste, golf like a pro and more during Wednesday's Great American Teach-In.
By DONNA WINCHESTER
Published November 18, 2004
One of the youngest volunteers at this year's Great American Teach-In offered students at Lakewood Elementary School in St. Petersburg a message that harked back to medieval days.
"Back in the old days," said 17-year-old James Parrish, as he wielded a shield he made in shop class at Lakewood High School, "knights followed a code of honor. They lived for country, kingdom and king, and they did so without question."
The class of 29 fourth-graders focused on Parrish as he explained that knights had respect for their elders, including their teachers. They didn't lie or cheat. They worked hard and obeyed instructions. That code shouldn't be abandoned in the 21st century, Parrish said.
Parrish, whose mother volunteers at Lakewood Elementary, has taken part in the Teach-In since he was in middle school. This year, he was among thousands of volunteers who dazzled Tampa Bay area children with talks about their jobs, hobbies and interests at the annual show and tell.
In Hillsborough County, Tampa chiropractor Todd Cielo bounded into a Monroe Middle School classroom carrying a plastic 3-foot spine. Students at north Hillsborough's Walker Middle School were wowed by novelist Jim Swain, author of Grift Sense and three subsequent mystery novels based on the casino industry. Swain performed card tricks.. He appeared to repeatedly shuffle a deck, yet kept an ace intact.
"He would do it really fast," marveled eighth-grader Breana Favors, 13. "It was awesome."
In Pasco County, lab technician Angel Hernandez created a concoction called "Elephant Toothpaste." The simple chemistry lesson featured a mixture of hydrogen peroxide and potassium iodate that turned a multitude of colors and bubbled over, fascinating fifth-graders at West Zephyrhills Elementary. A Percheron horse from the Pasco County Sheriff's Office was the main attraction at Hudson Middle School. Other visitors at Hudson, where the Teach-in is a weeklong event, included a state trooper and a massage therapist who treated students to five-minute chair massages.
Kay Masters, an information specialist and Teach-in coordinator for Pinellas County Schools, said the event originated in Hillsborough County about 15 years ago. Many Florida counties have adopted it in recent years.
"It's such a great event for the kids and for the people who go into the schools," she said. "They get to share a job they love, a hobby that gives them incredible pleasure or a life experience that may help the children grow into better adults."
In some cases, Masters said, the presentations can help save a child's life.
"I watched a volunteer firefighter today talk to kindergarten kids about what to do if a fire starts in their home," she said. Other potentially lifesaving demonstrations included a talk at Oak Grove Middle School on disaster preparedness by the American Red Cross and an All Children's Hospital presentation at Cypress Woods Elementary on staying healthy.
On the lighter side, a member of Southeastern Guide Dogs brought a puppy-in-training to Cypress Woods. Lealman Intermediate School played host to miniature horses, while Anona Elementary in Largo welcomed a dog named Luca, who painted pictures of flowers with a little help from her owner.
Lorna Michaels, who ran across the United States, visited Oldsmar Elementary and former Pinellas Park resident Brittany Lincicome came to Pinellas Central Elementary to tell the students about her career as a golf professional.
Cultural presentations included a hip-hop dance demonstration at Thurgood Marshall Fundamental Middle School and an African dance demonstration at Seminole High School.
"The Teach-In is a tremendous amount of work for those folks in the schools," said Masters, the Pinellas coordinator. "There are a lot of things they have to do to make it flow. But when you see the kids' faces and you talk to the volunteers afterward, you realize that every second was worthwhile."
- Times staff writers Melanie Ave, Bill Coats and Michelle Miller contributed to this report.
