Mrs. Black enlightens tots gently and wholly

She's a parent's dream and a kindergartener's sage friend. With warmth, enthusiasm and song, she enriches character as well as the mind.

By MELANIE AVE

© St. Petersburg Times, published April 19, 2000

ST. PETERSBURG -- Kindergarten teacher Leslie Black likes to tell this story about a little boy who was misbehaving one day.

[Times photos: Cherie Diez] Each school year, Leslie Black arranges a visit to each of her students' homes. Johnnie Keys, 6, and his mother, Sherry, are the hosts of this dessert visit recently.

"I looked him in the eye and asked, "Who's in charge of your behavior?' " she recalled asking the obstinate youngster. "He pointed to me. I said, "That's the problem.' I said, "It's you.' I said, "I can help you make choices, but I can't make the choices for you.' "

This kind of character education goes on daily in the classroom of Mrs. Black, considered a district leader in character education. It is the philosophy behind her teaching at Bay Vista Fundamental Elementary School. She wants to teach children how to add, subtract, read and write, but she also wants them to become respectful, honest, kind and productive.

"Building a caring community is pivotal," said Mrs. Black, a 54-year-old who was inducted into the National Teachers Hall of Fame seven years ago because of her inspirational teaching methods. "I hope my children walk away knowing they are important individuals but a part of something bigger than themselves."

To that end, Mrs. Black recently spent $6,000 of her own money to produce an educational CD, with 20 songs that she wrote, called Connecting Hearts and Minds. It is being used by teachers throughout Pinellas County.

It features songs with titles like I Am Responsible, Respect, Lunchroom Manners, I Can Read and Character Rap. The simple, upbeat songs aim to teach children how to make good decisions and help them to read and count.

The CD is an outgrowth of Mrs. Black's classroom at 5900 Dr. M.L. King (Ninth) St. S, where she frequently mixes her curriculum with music.

"The first day of school, she's sitting in her rocking chair playing her ukulele and singing to the little children," said parent Ellen Siegel. Mrs. Black taught Mrs. Siegel's second-grade daughter, Bridget, during kindergarten.

[Times photo: Fred Victorin] At Bay Vista Fundamental, Leslie Black holds cans containing sticks used to count the days of school as Sarah Bostock and Patrick Rodriguez, both 6, look on.

"I came home and told my husband, "She's like Mrs. Rogers.' I thought it was great. She's a very grandmotherly, caring woman."

Parents and educators say Mrs. Black not only teaches children about integrity, citizenship and compassion -- she lives it.

Each school year, she makes it a point to eat dinner or dessert after school with each of her students along with their parents and siblings. After eating, she likes to play games with the students and read them a book. It's a strictly social, not educational, affair.

"It not only strengthens the relationship between the teacher and the family, it also makes her seem more human," said Bay Vista principal Len Kizner, who called Mrs. Black's dinners unusual and beyond the call of duty.

"It's a wonderful thing to do."

Recently, Mrs. Black ate dinner with her 6-year-old student Eric Newton, his mother and two younger brothers.

She waited outside in her gray Toyota Camry five minutes before dinnertime. "I've learned to never show up early," she said. "I just come for fellowship. I tell the parents I'm not coming for an inspection, so no cleaning."

Eric, a quiet boy who's missing one front tooth, was thrilled with his teacher's presence at his home. He greeted Mrs. Black at the door of the family's apartment and she greeted him with "Hi, sweetheart."

"He's been so excited," said Eric's mother, Kimberly Williams. "He said, "She's going to read me a special story.' He's been telling me all about it."

Mrs. Black brought a salad and salad dressing and Ms. Williams furnished the Papa John's sausage pizza and breadsticks. Mrs. Black shared teaching tips with Eric's mother and made it a point to sit next to the boy and praise him regularly.

"Raising sons, that's something I never had the joy of doing," said Mrs. Black, the married mother of two grown daughters.

In between bites of pizza, Ms. Williams laughed. "It's not easy," she said.

Mrs. Black briefly told the family her background. The Ohio native moved to Utah, Alabama and then to Florida in 1993. "That's where I met Eric," she said, smiling.

She has been a teacher for four decades.

"My father used to ask me why I wanted to teach," Mrs. Black said, continuing her story. "I said because I still like to play."

"Well, I have to commend you," Ms. Williams replied. "(The children are) so full of energy."

After dinner, Ms. Williams went to another room with her youngest children to give Mrs. Black time alone with Eric. Sitting next to each other on the couch, the teacher and student held the book Ship of Dreams and marveled at the pictures.

"Once upon a time, there was a little boy," Mrs. Black read, showing Eric the colorful drawings of a little boy waiting for the sandman.

"Wow," Eric said, gazing at the pictures.

"I know," Mrs. Black replied. "Isn't that amazing?"

Mrs. Black spends her own time making the hour- to two-hour dinner visits and does not get paid for them. Kizner said he believes in their value for the children and the families even though the school does not require or expect them.

"Kindergartener parents are very apprehensive," he said. "And this lowers the barriers, removes the frustration. I think some parents are apprehensive at first. But when they see what takes place, they like it.

"It really does make the teacher a part of the family."

Last school year, parent Sandy Sexton brought out her sterling silver and fine china and served Mrs. Black a dinner of curried chicken when the teacher came to eat dinner with her daughter, Kathryn, now 7. The family even videotaped the dinner.

"My daughter was on Cloud Nine," Ms. Sexton said. "She made her feel so special, and that meant so much to me that this woman would take the time out of her day to make my daughter feel special."

Mrs. Siegel was scared to have Mrs. Black over for dinner at first, but later bought into the idea. But she said she has been most impressed with Mrs. Black's "kind and loving" classroom, where students' artwork prominently hangs and a rabbit, birds and fish are fed and cared for by the children.

"There would never be a time where a child was ridiculed for not knowing something," she said. "And every day, at the end of the day, someone was always in the spotlight. Every child would go around the room and give that child a compliment. Each child responded to that. They just beamed because they were getting this compliment."

And during Hanukkah, Mrs. Black invited Mrs. Siegel's husband in to teach about the Jewish holiday.

"She sat on the floor, cross-legged," Mrs. Siegel said. "She asked her questions just like the children. She made us feel like we were all one big family."

Ms. Sexton, who has been substitute teaching this year next to Mrs. Black's classroom, said her colleague spends a lot of time before and after school preparing and planning.

"She has an energy that doesn't stop," she said. "She is just an Energizer bunny."

Ms. Sexton said Mrs. Black considers each child a special human being. Over the summer before Kathryn's kindergarten year, Mrs. Black mailed the girl a letter about the upcoming school year. And the teacher picked up on the fact that Kathryn had an unusual sense of inner order or logic "almost immediately," Ms. Sexton said.

"I thought, "Oh, my God. She's exactly right,' " Ms. Sexton said. "As a parent, you know your children's strengths and weaknesses, but for her to pick up on that was great."

After being in Mrs. Black's class, Ms. Sexton said, her daughter "oozed self-confidence."

Mrs. Black, who is married to University of South Florida mass communications professor Jay Black, served on a resource team of Pinellas County teachers for character education. She was named Alabama Elementary Teacher of the Year in 1992 and was a state finalist for the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics Teaching the following year. She earned her undergraduate degree from Miami (Ohio) University and her master's from Utah State University.

"You look at her and mention a child or kindergartener, and the woman beams," Kizner said. "She exudes enthusiasm for her program. This is not a job for her. It's a calling."

Songs for good little children

Here are some lyrics from teacher Leslie Black's educational CD, Connecting Hearts and Minds.

I Am Responsible

• I am responsible to make good choices,
• Responsible for all that I do.
• I am responsible to make decisions
• That are good for me and you.

Respect

• When I show respect, this is what I do:
• When I show respect, I'm thoughtful of you.
• I'm helpful, friendly, I play fair, I show courtesy.
• I'm patient, I work hard, I care about you and me!
• When we have respect, this is how we'll be:
• When we have respect, we're friends, you and me.

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