Document text
Photo by Bob Pennell 'Grandpa' Clarence Ewell helps sixth-grader Jose Munoz with reading at Mountain View Elementary School. 'Grandpas' help foster learning By PAUL FATTIG WHITE CITY -- The gray-haired fellow squeezed into one of the seats in teacher Wynn Wilson's sixth-grade class at Mountain View Elementary School would likely draw quizzical looks from first-time visitors. So would the gray-locked man towering over fifth-grade students in teacher Sherry Price's class. Not to worry. They're just "Grandpa" Clarence Ewell and "Grandpa" Tom Manes, popular participants in the Foster Grandparent Program, which aims to help students with their three Rs -- reading, 'riting and 'rithmatic. Each school day, from 8 a.m. to noon, you can find them hunkered down in class. And the two, both residents at the Department of Veterans Affairs Domiciliary in White City, are receiving straight "A's" from their charges. "When I have a problem, Grandpa Clarence always helps me," says sixth-grader Amanda Partida. "Yeah, he's smart and he's fun when he helps us," agrees classmate Ashlee Thomas. Manes receives equally high marks. "Whenever I have a problem, all I have to do is raise my hand and Grandpa Tom comes over to help," says Steven Johnson. "He sure helps us a lot." The veterans -- Ewell is 71, Manes is 68 -- say they joined the program as a way to give back to society. Ewell, who is in his second year in the program, served in the Army in the occupational forces in Japan following World War II. He completed his sophomore year in high school before dropping out, following a rough path he hopes his young charges will avoid. Taking part in the classes is "kind of like making amends for me," Ewell says. "But I've found it's so rewarding. Every day you can find something good about the kids that will pep you up." A Navy veteran of the Korean War, Manes, who has been volunteering at the school for five years, agrees. "You deal with a lot of different individual personalities," Manes says. "You have to learn how to address them, how to work with these kids. It's challenging, keeps you on your toes. "But I get more out of it than the kids do," he adds. The two volunteers fill both educational and emotional needs for many students, says school Principal Ruth Stiehl. "Foster grandparents give students another person to read with, to interact with, to question," she says. "That gives the students more personalized attention than they would get with just one adult in the classroom. "We don't have the intergenerational effect in our homes anymore," she adds. "Students really need that. They want to know what happened a long time ago, and why it's not the same now." More volunteer always are needed, says Becky Henson, instructional assistant as well as volunteer coordinator at the school. Many local schools screen and train volunteers for the program. "Grandpa Clarence and Grandpa Tom contribute so much in the way of nurturing and care," Henson says. "A lot of the kids don't have grandparents around. They make up for that. They are able to give them special attention they don't otherwise receive." Fifth-grade teacher Isabell Hillock, in whose class Ewell also volunteers, says he often works one a one-to-one basis with students who need a little extra help. "Grandpa Clarence has had a particularly powerful impact on students that have had a great need in the area of reading," she says. "He monitors their progress and checks in with me. He gives them a lot of encouragement, gives them a purpose to read." But Ewell, like Manes, shrugs off the accolades. Instead, he pulls out a folder containing handwritten letters from last year's students. "Dear Grandpa Clarence," begins one letter. "Thanks for helping us in reading, spelling, math. You are cool. ... I think you are the best teacher in the world." "You are fun to be around," reads another. "You have made reading time much funner for all of us. I will miss your company at reading time next year." One even suggested he transfer to the junior high school to be with the class. "That almost brings tears to my eyes every time I look at them," he says, then adds quietly, "You just can't buy those feelings." Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 1999, Medford, Oregon USA