Sunday, March 26, 2000
Learning tools lead to award
Hands-on approach key for student
BY KAREN SAMPLES
The Cincinnati Enquirer
COVINGTON — David Schaefer used to hate school. Now he keeps the place running.
He is the first student at Holmes High with access to the intercom system and the phones. This is because he programmed them.
Around his belt are 34 keys. They'll open just about any room at Holmes, including the principal's office.
“I just started fixing everything,” David says, “and I wound up with more keys every day.”
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THANKS, TEACH
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“The teachers I've encountered were almost all good, especially from seventh grade up,” says David Schaefer, an award-winning senior at Holmes High School.
He gives special thanks to: Melissa Owens, formerly of 9th District School; Sheri Raleigh-Collins, formerly of Chapman Vocational School; Angela Dishman of Latonia Elementary; Christine Bevins of Holmes High School; Robert Winegarden of Holmes Junior High; and James Amato and Dan Johnson of Chapman Vocational School.
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On April 5, the 17-year-old senior will fly to Vancouver to pick up an award from the U.S.-based Council of Exceptional Children. Out of thou sands of students nominated from three countries, David is one of five to be honored for excelling in the workplace despite academic challenges.
There are many ways for students to flourish. David is proof that book learning isn't always the best path. The wisest teachers and parents encourage talent in any form.
Beginning around second grade, David struggled with schoolwork. His mother says he may have run too many high fevers as a child. The exact nature of his learning disability has never been determined.
David says he simply didn't understand the work. Even today, he has trouble comprehending what he reads.
In elementary school, he quickly fell behind classmates. While some teachers were understanding and helpful, others came to dread his questions, he says.
“I kept harassing the teachers to get help, but they wouldn't help me,” David says. “A lot of times, I would have my hand up for half an hour before a teacher would come near me.”
At home, the atmosphere was tense. David's mother, Barbara Schaefer, tried to help him with homework, but he would throw tantrums, cry, run out of the room. Mrs. Schaefer started calling him “argue head.”
She and her husband, David A. Schaefer, took their son to Children's Hospital for evaluations. They experimented with mirrors to see if he was reading backward.
A teacher suggested ritalin to control his fidgeting, but they knew that wasn't the problem. David could spend hours tinkering with appliances or toys. He wasn't hyperactive, and he certainly wasn't stupid.
“Every time I needed something fixed at home, I'd say, "Davey!'” Mrs. Schaefer says. “He fixed our doorbell, and it had been broke for 12 years.”
In the sixth grade at 9th District School, David was invited to operate video cameras for the school's news program. That was the beginning of his turnaround.
He learns with his hands. If he can take it apart, he can understand it.
At Holmes High School, he signed up for the vocational program and found his niche in electrical technology.
David was the first junior to get paid as an intern doing maintenance around the school. In his senior year, he became the only student to land a full-time job with the district.
He goes to an English class in the morning, then to a part-time job with an electrical contractor, then back to Holmes for about five hours of fix-it work. He gets full health benefits, life insurance and vacation time from the district.
At Holmes, David often can be found striding the halls with a ladder on his back and a beat-up tool belt around his waist. He carries tin snips, a level, a cable cutter, two pocket knives, one hammer, five pliers, three screwdrivers, a magnet, a mini-hacksaw, a voltage meter, three rolls of electrical tape, a chisel, a file, a drywall saw, a flashlight and a tape measure.
It's a very heavy belt.
On Friday, students streamed past as David stood on a ladder, testing and then replacing a faulty electric door magnet. At other times, he has wired classrooms for computers and run conduit so teachers could plug in stoves.
His reliability and self-motivation have inspired a remarkable level of trust, says Dan Johnson, his electrical technology teacher.
He doesn't need supervision. When principal Bill Grein's keys were passed along to the student, Mr. Grein said, “I trust David.”
He happened to be principal of Latonia Elementary when David attended there. Announcing David's award at Thursday's school board meeting, Mr. Grein recalled the far different student of those days. As a third-grader, David practically had to be pulled from under his bed to attend school, Mr. Grein joked.
Now David hardly leaves school.
His mother once doubted he would ever graduate. As it turns out, David will do so this spring, then pursue certification as an electrician.
He has two pieces of advice for parents of struggling students: Find out what your children do well, and never give up on them.
Karen Samples is Kentucky columnist for the Enquirer. Her column appears Thursdays and Sundays. She can be reached at (606) 578-5584, or by e-mail at ksamples@enquirer.com.
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