Teacher's job tough, rewarding

In The Classroom: Ken takes an occasional look inside our schools.

It's Monday morning and Summer Pettigrew is busy teaching her sixth-graders that public education began during the Han Dynasty in China.

It's doubtful, however, that kids of 206 B.C. were as hyperactive as her students at Memminger School of Global Studies, aka Memminger Elementary School, on the Charleston peninsula.

But Chinese classes were, no doubt, about as homogeneous.

Of the 389 students at Memminger, nine are white.

Increasing diversity is the job of Anthony Dixon, the second-year principal, who's instituting a partial magnet program.

That's the long-term goal. The more immediate issue is getting the students to focus on the issues at hand.

Sixth-graders

When Pettigrew asked one young lady what a philosopher was, she said "Dr. Phil."

When she introduced a book called "The Egypt Game," a boy asked if the movie was out yet.

When she was teaching the root word "dict," as in indictment, one girl said, "Book'em, Danno," a signature line from the "Hawaii Five-0" television series.

"It's a challenge just trying to get everybody culturally aware," said Pettigrew, a native of Florence and a College of Charleston graduate who's been teaching at Memminger for six years. "But a lot of the challenges are just getting them up to grade level."

Pettigrew accomplishes that with a no-nonsense approach, blending social studies and language arts into a three-hour morning session that covers reading, writing and geography in one continuous lesson.

The students, in fact, are too busy creating travel brochures on Ancient Egypt, comparing opportunities in various cultures and playing board games to realize they are part of a seismic educational shift.

Good kids

Like all good teachers, Pettigrew works hard to keep her students' attention.

During the course of the morning, she constantly reminds them to face forward and not cover their heads with their coats.

But every now and then a student surprises her. One girl uses the word "befuddled" to describe her feelings about a project, a moment that brings a smile to her teacher's face.

"I had these students last year as fifth-graders and it was a lot easier," Pettigrew said. "As they grow and mature, they're trying to find themselves inside their little bodies. Your patience wears out a little bit sometimes, but overall they're really good kids. They work really hard and their test scores have improved."

By noon it was time for lunch and recess. But the work had just begun. During the afternoon, Pettigrew would tackle math and science.

"All in a day's work," she said with a smile.

Reach Ken Burger at kburger@postandcourier.com or 937-5598. Read previous columns by Ken Burger here.