Each of our sessions begins with the fourth graders reciting a poem entitled Be a Better B. It goes like this:
Be a Better B,
Be a Better Best,
Never let it rest until your
B is Better and your Better
is BEST!
My mom taught me this poem when I was a little girl playing make-believe with paper dolls. Since then, I’ve taught the poem to my own daughters and a host of students along the way. We hope it will stick in their long-term memory and help them remember to strive to be the best they can be.
One day, we decided to start the session with one of the students’ favorite activities: blowing bubbles and sharing dreams of what they hope to become or places they hope to visit. Even Ms. Butler joined in too.
Before introducing our guest speaker, we asked, “How do you make your dreams come true?” The answers were varied: do your homework, go to college, pay attention to Ms. Butler.
We closed with wise advice from the guest speaker, my beloved 94-year-old uncle, Elder Russell Bates. We challenged the students to heed Uncle Russell’s words.