The "It Was All About The Whole-Wheat Pancake" Story

It was an ordinary day.  That was for all but a young Lancaster inter-city teacher named Kyle.  A little over a week ago the Lancaster City School District administered the PSSA tests to all students.  PSSA stands for Pennsylvania System of School Assessment and is given to all students to decide how much money the state of Pennsylvania will be giving to the school district the next year.  School Districts that do well on the test usually fare better than those that do not.  Lancaster School District's Edward Hand Middle School is located in an impoverished area of the city with 95% of the students coming from households with low-incomes.  The school offers free breakfast and lunch to all students everyday of the school year.  For many they are the best, and perhaps only meals, they get each day.  It is also a proven fact that students perform better when they are well nourished.  On the day the test was administered, breakfast was offered to all students.  One young teacher, Kyle, took it upon himself to go one step further and prepare one whole-wheat pancake for each student in his classroom he was monitoring that morning.  There is nothing in the rules for administration of the test that says you many not give students a whole-wheat pancakes while they are taking the test.  There is a rule that teachers should not do anything that would interfere with actively monitoring the test.  So what do you think?  Well, when it was found that Kyle was passing out whole-wheat pancakes during testing he was visited by the administration and told he was being suspended without pay for making whole-wheat pancakes for his students while they took the exam.  He was also told that a vote for his termination would be held the following Tuesday evening at the school board meeting.  Kyle is a well-respected teacher by all his students.  He has taught eighth-grade social studies at Hand since 2013.  He carries the title in the school as the "eighth-grade dad" by not only students but by their parents.  He also is the Student Council co-adviser and coached the school's basketball team the past two years.  He was also the high school freshmen athletic manager.  Hey, do you know how hard it is to find someone like him?  I taught high school for close to 35 years and it's tough to find teachers who are willing to take on extra-curricular duties.  And here is a guy that goes way beyond the call to duty...and whose students love him.  Well, the next day, after finding out that one of their favorite teachers was going to be fired, one young girl organized about 30 other Hand students as well as a few high school students who more than likely had Kyle as a teacher in the past, and stood outside the school for over two hours in protest to his firing.  The young lady told the newspaper that the only distraction in the classroom was when the assistant principal entered to admonish her teacher, and not eating pancakes.  The young teacher told the Lancaster Newspaper that he was suspended without pay until the school board could vote the following night at the monthly meeting.  The newspaper contacted the school about the problem and they replied that no teacher can be dismissed without the School Board first approving a written notice that offers the opportunity for a School Board hearing.  This past Tuesday night at the School Board meeting over 100 parents came in support of their children's favorite teacher, as well and their own favorite.  The large group was told there was never any action taken to get rid of Kyle and there would be no vote taken on the problem.  He was still a part of the staff of Edward Hand Middle School.  No where did I read about the following applause and cheering, but I'm sure there must have been some.  Every school has teachers who are liked better by students than others.  Doesn't mean they are a better teacher or know more about their subject than other teachers, but it does tell you that special teacher have a knack of communicating better than maybe others can.  And, from my own personal experiences, Middle School, or in my case Junior High School, history was not one of my favorite classes I had as a student.  It is tough to teach and tough to learn and if you can get a teacher that can make history exciting, good for them.  And evidently Kyle was one of those special teachers and the students as well as their parents knew that.  I'm so happy the problem was absolved and if they don't want it to happen next year, the PSSA testing services should add to their rules:  No serving Whole-Wheat pancakes during testing!  If they don't, I'd be surprised if other teachers don't try to feed their students something nourishing also.  It was another extraordinary day in the life of an ordinary guy.