JBissett@DominionPost.com
He doesn’t mind if you call him “Cheesehead” – no sir, not one bit.
And on Tuesday morning, this fourth-grade football fan received a free backpack from his favorite NFL team, the Green Bay Packers, to prove it.
“This is … awesome,” the Ridgedale Elementary student said.
It was a typical, football-themed Tuesday morning at the school on Goshen Road – even if Principal Sheri Pettite didn’t do her patented version of an end zone celebratory dance.
“Yeah, I threatened to earlier,” she laughed, “but no one wants to see that.”
Instead, she called an audible and handed it off to class teacher Lee Ann Harki, who in turn, now watches way more football than she used to.
Harki was inspired by lifting from another teacher’s playbook – with said teacher’s blessing.
Two years in Florida, Mary Crippen, an elementary teacher and lifelong fan of the Miami Dolphins, came up to keep her students engaged in the gridiron-centric Sunshine State.
Crippen called the enterprise “NFeLementary,” and it took off just like that double-reverse on third and long that no one saw coming.
Students began following players and writing about them – that’s English composition.
They looked at passing averages – math.
And, where, say, that star quarterback played in college – more composition and career-planning, too.
“Our kids are doing all that,” she said.
Don’t forget the blue-chip lessons about hard work, perseverance and the football fact that there really is no “I in team,” the teacher added.
“I have them looking at weather reports and time zones and the regions of the country where the teams are located,” Harki continued.
“It’s critical thinking and independent study, and they’re loving it.”
They especially loved it on this Tuesday.
Harki’s students have already written letters to the home offices of their favorite teams, telling them of the lesson plan. In turn, the offices write back – with merchandise.
Bumper stickers, erasers, autographed pictures of players, and the like.
After writing letters to an NFL-affiliated company that markets and distributes backpacks with official team logos, a box arrived.
Backpacks, free, of the favorite teams of each kid in class.
Harki took it and ran with it. The class (team) fell right in, with the cadence.
“OK, what do we want to do now? Right. You got it. We want to write a thank you letter.”
The classroom Packers fan was already on it. He’s a preordained fan: “My dad loves the Packers so I have to love ‘em, too.”
Both father and son follow their favorite player, Tucker Kraft, the big tight end from South Dakota State who has already pulled down 469 receiving yards this season.
“ ‘Kraft,’ like the cheese, right?” the guy with the notebook asked.
“Well, yeah,” he replied, grinning.
Has he even seen a game from the storied confines of Lambeau Field?
“Not yet – but we’re going.”
Don’t be surprised if Harki shows up somewhere to take in a game in person, also.
“I’m generally not a football fan, but I might be turning into one,” she said. “When I watch, I’m thinking about class.”
She appreciates that parents – dads, especially – are invested in the lesson plan, too.
“And they’re getting together and doing this on Sundays, Mondays and Thursdays. What more could a teacher want, with families and learning?”
