Real-world lessons
A group of Iraqi students gathered around the U.S. military vehicles in Baghdad this fall, gladly accepting the candy and goodies that the soldiers offered them. But one girl refused the candy. She wanted the mechanical pencil that 1st Lt. Clayton Colliton had tucked into the webbing of his body armor. The girl showed him an old, worn-out spiral notebook, and inside, Colliton said, were some of the most incredible free-hand pencil drawings he had ever seen. He gave her the pencil. “She acted as if she had just won the lottery,” Colliton said.
“A pencil brought a huge smile to the face of a 12-year-old girl wearing dirty, tattered clothes, standing in a dirty, dusty street, yards from raw sewage flowing by in the irrigation canals – a pencil,” Colliton wrote in an October e-mail to a fellow teacher at Ferris High School.
Stories like this one have been a real eye-opener for the students at Ferris, where Collition was also an assistant football coach before his Spokane-based Washington National Guard unit was deployed from Fort Lewis to Baghdad. In addition to his regular duties as a scout platoon leader, Colliton was assigned to help Iraqi educators teach the concepts of democracy and civic responsibility.
Having a teacher serving in Iraq has made the war more personal for the students. One student went through the entire F building at Ferris and collected a large assortment of pens and pencils that had been discarded on classroom floors. These pens and pencils will be sent with candy, school supplies, games, phone cards and other items for Colliton to distribute to the Iraqis and U.S. troops.
Students packed up more than 15 boxes that will be sent through the military.
Senior Neil Walther came up with the idea to get Ferris students involved.
“I’ve wanted to do this for a long time, and I had the opportunity, so I did,” Walther said.
“I spoke at a political forum convocation that we had at school. There were a lot of people there, and I asked for their help. We needed to do something positive,” he said. “It’s one thing to talk about the war in Iraq and another to actually do something about it.”
The school’s political forum was held just before this year’s elections. While groups were divided in their opinion about the war in Iraq, one thing became clear: Everyone wanted to support the troops, especially their teacher and friend.
“This brought the two sides together and really helped bridge the gap,” said social studies teacher Ted Barnwell.
“It transcended party divisions. The issue became how to help Clayton.
“This gives it a human connection, something that’s missing when we hear the news at night.”
In a recent e-mail interview, Colliton had a message for the students who helped collect the items.
“Let the students at Ferris know that what they are doing is making a difference for the people of Iraq. Their efforts show the true meaning of what being a citizen is all about – working to help one another.
“The things they collect and purchase and ship over here go directly to those that need it most. My scouts and I have daily contacts with some of the most needy and make the effort to ensure we carry at least one box of supplies when we patrol and distribute them personally. …
“Periodically we will stop and hand out school supplies, or candy, or just to see how things are going. Kids are kids.
“I will be proud and happy to let the people that receive the supplies that are sent know that the goods came from the high school where I teach.
“I miss Spokane and its little gems very much. Missed the start of the new school year and all the excitement it brings. Miss coaching football and the thrill of the Friday night lights.
“Miss my friends and fellow teachers at Ferris. And most of all, I miss my lovely bride, Julie, and our three little monkeys, Tim, Kyla and Cyrus. Miss my dogs Bradley and Baines, too.
“Let the kids, faculty and staff at Ferris know that their efforts for the troops and for the Iraqi people are greatly appreciated. We all miss home but also are aware that our work here is not done,” Colliton wrote.