Pay & Tell courtesy of Sandra O’Meara:
President Eric opened the Zoom meeting at 7:00 a.m. Guest Tom Rhodes was the first attendee. Judith had gone out to feed her chickens before the meeting but, because it was so dark, they were still asleep. Oscar noted he was in San Diego visiting his daughter who is in school there. Eric said he was working on a Halloween outfit for his dog for the Yappy Hour. Scott Burns has heard from Scott Johnson who was up at Pardee Reservoir. All is well with him. Oscar reported that, at a recent Mesa Neighborhood meeting, he heard about a new, improved bike path on Las Positas, which will be safer. Because of the restaurant parklets on State Street, Scott Burns has heard that the parades will take place on Chapala Street. Joe Weiland has been surfing at Mesa Lane and his wine group will soon be picking grapes and making Syrah in a bathtub!
Call to Order
Eric officially called the meeting to order at 7:30 a.m. Flag Salute: Dennis Johns; Invocation: Burt Chortkoff; Raffle: E. Russell Smith. Janet Napier won the raffle.
Guests: Tom Rhodes, Clare Holehouse (the program speaker was her teacher), Frank Koroshec, speaker.
Announcement:
Chris Baxter announced that he will be the Assistant Governor for Group 8 next year. Last weekend was the Presidents-Elect Retreat in Newbury Park and by Zoom. Hannah Rael, our P.E., and Chris both Zoomed. There were five speakers, including Brenda Cressey, a Rotary Foundation Trustee and member of the RC of Paso Robles. Hannah was impressed by how well the hybrid meeting went.
Committee Reports:
Club Service: The Yappy Hour has been rescheduled to October 29 because of the Presidential Debate. Wear a Halloween costume. Social time: 5:30 p.m., Pets discussion 6:00 p.m. Judith has arranged for two walks in November: 11/8 to the Ellwood Bluffs and 11/28 to Parma Park.
Community Service: La Cuesta School has identified the need for laptops for graduating students. Dennis has located refurbished laptops at $230 each, so committee members approved the purchase of ten which will be arriving tomorrow. We will be working with La Cuesta on how to distribute them. Team Rotary: Dennis is researching doing a watershed clean-up for 8-10 people.
Club Foundation: Frank announced that pledge forms will be mailed next week.
Vocational Service: on November 5th the next Spark event will be on the topic of the fire in Paradise. The Spark after that will be entitled Inclusion in Action, date to be determined.
World Polio Day:
Eric mentioned that World Polio Day is October 24th and there are a number of opportunities to participate.
Program: Joanne introduced the Santa Barbara County 2020-21 Teacher of the Year, Frank Koroshec. He joined us from his empty school room. He and his wife have been foster parents for a number of children and have adopted three: in 4th grade, 7th grade and High School. He has been teaching for 17 years and has been at San Marcos for 10 years, which he finds to be a dream job. He has a Masters in English and teaches City College English classes at the High School. He founded the San Marcos writing center.
He reported that attending school by Zoom is difficult for the young ones but High School kids like it. The School District has given out I-pads to students through 4th grade. Kids growing up with IT are tech savvy; their parents less so. When there is more than one student at home, they have to be spread out to avoid distractions.
Frank said that, unlike during school in person, he has given out his cell phone and address in case students are in distress and need to talk. He told them, “I’m here for you.”
As to the teachers, Monday was a professional development day. Everyone feels inadequate, having to do things in a different way; they have exhaustion, stress and anxiety.
Important reminders: relationships with students are most important; content is less important. They will learn more if the relationships are good. As far as counseling services are concerned, it is a disadvantage because students can’t drop by right now but have to have a referral.
The curriculum has to be explicit when on a digital platform. Frank is worried there will be a shortage of teachers in the future because of the strains of Zoom teaching. There will also be budget issues.
Adjournment: The meeting adjourned at 8:30 a.m. although some question and answer time continued with Frank. Koroshec.
