by Neil Richard
Editor's Note: This article will take a bit of a departure from the norm. Talking to younger generations is always exciting and doing an interview in a parking lot will certainly provide for a wholly unexpected set of experiences. With this article, questions were asked for anyone in the group and answers were jotted down. Because of this, exact quotes may be used but not attributed to a specific individual.
Dramatis personæ:
Ben Stone
Casey Kendle
Alex Croce
Brandon Croce
Grace Terry
Doug Wahlquist
Richard Miller
Brandon Thomas
Ally Miller
Kelly Hoffman
Dr. Boyd
Supporting Cast
The (unofficial) Breakfast Club
I began the interview with some introductions to the cast of characters, and yes, they were characters. But in a positive way.
Casey, Alex, and Alex's brother, who was "guilty by association," arrived a few minutes after Ben had set up a table and chairs. By the end, there would be two folding tables and about six to eight folding chairs crammed into a single parking spot.
One of Casey's first comments to me was to stay within the confines of said parking spot. I would learn later it was her spot and she carpooled with Alex on days they had breakfast. While her warning about staying in bounds seemed a little odd, I would later discover it was for my own safety as other students would be arriving and parking all around us. Thankfully nobody has been hit and those cars moving around us took their time and played it safe.
There was a minor gaffe to start things off, somebody forgot to bring plates. So a small group broke off and went on a mission to find some plates. Meanwhile, more food arrived and there was quite a spread. The students said they started this year with just cereal and have progressed from there. Breakfast on the day I was there consisted of biscuits and gravy, with both vegetarian and meat types, pineapple chunks, and pancakes with syrup, both chocolate and maple. There was also some jelly for the biscuits if anyone felt inclined.
Casey and Alex have been coordinating what I can only call The Breakfast Club, for a few weeks this year. When I spoke to Dr. Boyd, the Principal at the High School, he said there have been various groups holding similar events on and off for the past two or three years. Alex said they try to meet every week and Casey said she keeps an eye on the weather forecast just in case. There was also mention of umbrellas or canopies should it rain.
A recurring feeling among those present was they were excited to have somebody there talking to them but they all felt that the news article would be boring since it was "just kids eating breakfast." I did my best to assure them it was the most interesting and unique interview I've conducted yet.
As the early arrivals were eating and socializing, the royal "Moist Mobile" arrived. This began a trend where several other friends would come and go throughout the breakfast. Some would eat, some would socialize, some would do both.
Most of the students, though not all, are members of the Theater Department and have various roles in the upcoming production of The Diary of Anne Frank. Alex has the lead role of Anne and was also part of last year's productions.
This is probably a good point in the story to stop for a second and explain that not only do the kids have permission to hold their Breakfast Club in the parking lot, I had permission to interview them during school hours. Having close ties to the education field going back generations, the current climate around schools has changed drastically over the years. No longer are the days where you can just show up on school property without any recourse. Thankfully Dr. Boyd was willing to allow me access to the students but more importantly, he was willing to allow the students to even have a Breakfast Club.
Getting back to the morning of my visit, I should mention that as I began asking questions and taking notes on their answers, I never wrote down who said what specifically. I asked my questions to the group as a whole and wrote down some quotes but with so many students coming and going, it was hard to keep track of who said what. On top of that, there were a couple of more personal answers that I didn't feel were appropriate to attribute to a specific person.
So I then began to ask some of my questions, beginning with how they would define a good teacher. A few students said "just write down Mr. Harms" or "Mrs. Dibble." Other answers included "someone that treats us like we're people," "someone that actually cares about their job," and "someone who makes teaching fun."
I asked if they liked high school and got a resounding YES! They thought it was so much better than middle school. One said they "get bullied less." Favorite classes included Theater, Art, English, and Science and Math.
When I asked them what they wanted to accomplish in High School, I felt like I missed an inside joke when several said "feed the people" but the more I thought about it the more I think I was just being a jaded old man. Some wanted to "just get through this year" or "get into college" or art school.
I asked them what they knew about the School Board and got everything from "they're pretty cool" to "they like my art but not me because I dressed funny." I asked them what they had read recently and several said The Diary of Anne Frank, which should have been obvious to me as they had just talked about that being their upcoming fall production. I also heard Glass Castle, Great Expectations, and To Kill A Mockingbird.
I asked for any closing thoughts and they said "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" and a request for people to go see their next show, The Diary of Anne Frank from October 23rd to 26th at 7:00pm. Within a few minutes, they packed up the food, cleared the tables and chairs, and stuffed everything into their cars before heading into school.
Later, in talking to Dr. Boyd about The Breakfast Club, he said he hasn't received any complaints about the group and said they were a "great group of kids." He said they follow the rules and spend a lot of time at school, often times coming in early and staying late to rehearse. Being of similar age, we both agreed that "back in our day" the kids might have been treated differently. We felt it was great they could express themselves and thought that the younger generation was much more educated and compassionate.
Editor's Note: This article will take a bit of a departure from the norm. Talking to younger generations is always exciting and doing an interview in a parking lot will certainly provide for a wholly unexpected set of experiences. With this article, questions were asked for anyone in the group and answers were jotted down. Because of this, exact quotes may be used but not attributed to a specific individual.
Dramatis personæ:
Ben Stone
Casey Kendle
Alex Croce
Brandon Croce
Grace Terry
Doug Wahlquist
Richard Miller
Brandon Thomas
Ally Miller
Kelly Hoffman
Dr. Boyd
Supporting Cast
The (unofficial) Breakfast Club
I began the interview with some introductions to the cast of characters, and yes, they were characters. But in a positive way.
Casey, Alex, and Alex's brother, who was "guilty by association," arrived a few minutes after Ben had set up a table and chairs. By the end, there would be two folding tables and about six to eight folding chairs crammed into a single parking spot.
One of Casey's first comments to me was to stay within the confines of said parking spot. I would learn later it was her spot and she carpooled with Alex on days they had breakfast. While her warning about staying in bounds seemed a little odd, I would later discover it was for my own safety as other students would be arriving and parking all around us. Thankfully nobody has been hit and those cars moving around us took their time and played it safe.
There was a minor gaffe to start things off, somebody forgot to bring plates. So a small group broke off and went on a mission to find some plates. Meanwhile, more food arrived and there was quite a spread. The students said they started this year with just cereal and have progressed from there. Breakfast on the day I was there consisted of biscuits and gravy, with both vegetarian and meat types, pineapple chunks, and pancakes with syrup, both chocolate and maple. There was also some jelly for the biscuits if anyone felt inclined.
 |
| The biscuits went fast. |
Casey and Alex have been coordinating what I can only call The Breakfast Club, for a few weeks this year. When I spoke to Dr. Boyd, the Principal at the High School, he said there have been various groups holding similar events on and off for the past two or three years. Alex said they try to meet every week and Casey said she keeps an eye on the weather forecast just in case. There was also mention of umbrellas or canopies should it rain.
A recurring feeling among those present was they were excited to have somebody there talking to them but they all felt that the news article would be boring since it was "just kids eating breakfast." I did my best to assure them it was the most interesting and unique interview I've conducted yet.
As the early arrivals were eating and socializing, the royal "Moist Mobile" arrived. This began a trend where several other friends would come and go throughout the breakfast. Some would eat, some would socialize, some would do both.
Most of the students, though not all, are members of the Theater Department and have various roles in the upcoming production of The Diary of Anne Frank. Alex has the lead role of Anne and was also part of last year's productions.
This is probably a good point in the story to stop for a second and explain that not only do the kids have permission to hold their Breakfast Club in the parking lot, I had permission to interview them during school hours. Having close ties to the education field going back generations, the current climate around schools has changed drastically over the years. No longer are the days where you can just show up on school property without any recourse. Thankfully Dr. Boyd was willing to allow me access to the students but more importantly, he was willing to allow the students to even have a Breakfast Club.
 |
| Your modern day Breakfast Club: (l to r) Doug Wahlquist, Alex Croce, Grace Terry, Ben Stone, Casey Kendle, Brandon Croce. |
Getting back to the morning of my visit, I should mention that as I began asking questions and taking notes on their answers, I never wrote down who said what specifically. I asked my questions to the group as a whole and wrote down some quotes but with so many students coming and going, it was hard to keep track of who said what. On top of that, there were a couple of more personal answers that I didn't feel were appropriate to attribute to a specific person.
So I then began to ask some of my questions, beginning with how they would define a good teacher. A few students said "just write down Mr. Harms" or "Mrs. Dibble." Other answers included "someone that treats us like we're people," "someone that actually cares about their job," and "someone who makes teaching fun."
I asked if they liked high school and got a resounding YES! They thought it was so much better than middle school. One said they "get bullied less." Favorite classes included Theater, Art, English, and Science and Math.
When I asked them what they wanted to accomplish in High School, I felt like I missed an inside joke when several said "feed the people" but the more I thought about it the more I think I was just being a jaded old man. Some wanted to "just get through this year" or "get into college" or art school.
I asked them what they knew about the School Board and got everything from "they're pretty cool" to "they like my art but not me because I dressed funny." I asked them what they had read recently and several said The Diary of Anne Frank, which should have been obvious to me as they had just talked about that being their upcoming fall production. I also heard Glass Castle, Great Expectations, and To Kill A Mockingbird.
I asked for any closing thoughts and they said "breakfast is the most important meal of the day" and a request for people to go see their next show, The Diary of Anne Frank from October 23rd to 26th at 7:00pm. Within a few minutes, they packed up the food, cleared the tables and chairs, and stuffed everything into their cars before heading into school.
 |
| There was barely time to take a photo as the students quickly packed up and headed to class. |
Later, in talking to Dr. Boyd about The Breakfast Club, he said he hasn't received any complaints about the group and said they were a "great group of kids." He said they follow the rules and spend a lot of time at school, often times coming in early and staying late to rehearse. Being of similar age, we both agreed that "back in our day" the kids might have been treated differently. We felt it was great they could express themselves and thought that the younger generation was much more educated and compassionate.
SUBSCRIBE OR DONATE
You can subscribe via email here. You can make a charitable donation here.
What a wonderful idea -- both the article and the breakfast club. Glad they have such supportive teachers and an administration that encourages them.
ReplyDeleteThanks for reading!
Delete