The Great Ones, Teachers who Change Lives

The great ones know instruction is only a small part of being a teacher. They help students unlock the secrets of the words, numbers, graphs, facts, and concepts filling textbooks, but changing lives is why the great ones became teachers. And, changing lives has more do with inspiration than it does education.

When a teacher believes in a student, the student inevitably will discover things once unattainable are within reach, confidence will defeat insecurity and the seeds of a successful life begin to sprout.

I know some great teachers and I was fortunate to have had a few in my day. One was Jim Copeland. Mr. Copeland was my high school chorus director for two years before he moved on to being an administrator the summer before my senior year. I am sure he was a fine administrator, but it is impossible to imagine his talents were ever as fully realized in offices and meetings as they were in the classroom.

The spring before my sophomore year, all 4 foot 9 inches of me auditioned for an elite performance group called Act 1. I sailed through the first session and was asked back to the final try-out round. I learned my fate from an 8 ½ x 11 inch sheet tacked to a worn bulletin board – audition results had been announced that way ever since paper was invented. I did not make it, but I am convinced part of the reason I grew 6 inches that summer was because of the way Mr. Copeland turned what should have been devastating news into something positively powerful.

Mr. Copeland pulled me from the group gathered outside the chorus room and told me I had a unique talent, I had much to contribute and I would be an outstanding member of Act 1. The spot I had longed for went to a deserving senior, he explained, but that didn’t reflect on me. I had demonstrated I was prepared, fearless and capable. I had met the challenge, but my time had yet to arrive. The decision came down to numbers – the number of spots available, age, experience and other digits. Those things were beyond my control. What I could do is work hard, keep learning and try again. He was sure I would find myself as a member the following year. I followed his advice (and still do) and I was a part of Act 1 for two terrific years.

I am not sure how great teachers learn how to do what Jim Copeland did that day – education majors are not taught how to do that in college.

I have rarely felt so great about being rejected. Mr. Copeland believed in me and that made all the difference. For a moment I saw myself through the eyes of a mentor and I liked what I saw.

Another school year is drawing to a close. Take a moment to thank a great teacher. They are everywhere. Some of them taught your kids this year. You saw them in your community. You had a Mr. Copeland or two for a teacher yourself. Let them see through your eyes. They did the same for you and it changed your life. Then tell them you appreciate the fact they are one of the great ones.

Jim Copeland taught at Chamberlain High School in Tampa, Florida until 1982. For the last 30 years, he has been the choir director at Central Presbyterian Church in Tampa. This August he will retire from that post. On Sunday former students and friends sang for him one last time. A WUSF story about this can be heard by clicking here. A scholarship for Chamberlain High School Chorus students has been established. Information on how to contribute to the Copeland Scholarship Fund can be found by clicking here.

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Graham Gillette continued to grow through his first year of college and now claims to be 5’10″ on a good day. It is hard to say whether this is due to good diet, genetics or something else, but Graham still believes the great ones like Mr. Copeland played a role in helping him reach many heights.


Graham Gillette can be reached at grahamgillette@gmail.com 

This entry was first published as a Des Moines Register online essay.

Presidential Umbrellas

 

JUN 17 1975 Lt. Col. Robert Blake, a military aide, held an umbrella over President Ford yesterday during ceremonies in the White House Rose Garden for John J. McCloy, former high commissioner to West Germany. Behind Mr. Ford, from left, were West German Foreign minister Hans-Dietrich Genscher, West German President Walter Scheel, Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and McCloy.

Clinton Library Opening, November 14, 2004
Former President George H.W. Bush
President George W. Bush

Iowa View: Water customers pay when others pollute

Upstream land practices lead to costly nitrate removal in D.M.

Thanks to a capital investment made years ago and the dedicated work of our employees, Des Moines Water Works continues to meet the needs of the 500,000 customers in the 20 communities we serve. However, the extreme levels of nitrates found in our water supply this year pose a significant threat to our customers.

We feel it is time for Iowans to engage in a serious discussion about this growing problem.

Nitrate levels in both the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers exceeded the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s nitrate standard this spring (10 milligrams per liter, determined as the level protective of public health). There were more nitrates in those rivers last week than there were all of last year combined.

Des Moines Water Works relies primarily on the Raccoon and Des Moines rivers as sources for central Iowa’s drinking water. Because unprecedented nitrate levels have affected both rivers concurrently, Des Moines Water Works activated its nitrate removal facility last Friday to keep finished drinking water below EPA standards. This facility, constructed in 1992 for $3.6 million, costs $7,000 per day to operate. Ratepayers have funded the cost of constructing, maintaining and operating this facility.

Rick Robinson, the Iowa Farm Bureau Federation’s environmental policy adviser, wrote a guest column headlined “State Rules Wouldn’t Fix Nitrates” that appeared in The Des Moines Register on May 14. We agree with one thing he wrote: “If we all do our part — farmers, homeowners, businesses and communities — we will have a positive impact on Iowa’s watershed.”

Where we diverge is that we do not believe all parties are doing their part to protect Iowa’s waterways.

Des Moines Water Works had the foresight to build a denitrification facility. The waterworks has not had to operate it since 2007, but this is largely because the waterworks has invested millions of dollars in additional treatment options to provide denitrification since 2007.

It is misleading for a person to suggest the denitrification facility’s lack of use during recent years is proof that nitrate levels have been lower than they were in past years. Des Moines Water Works has been able to avoid the costly operation of the facility because of other actions and investments it has made.

The heart of Des Moines Water Works’ mission is protecting public health. We can no longer work quietly while source waters continue to be severely polluted by upstream land practices. This should not be a sterile discussion influenced only by data and statistics — although ample alarming data and statistics exist. Nitrates pose serious health risks. It is increasingly costly for the waterworks to remove nitrates through treatment processes to meet necessary EPA standards.

Bill Stowe, general manager of Des Moines Water Works, treads carefully
on rocks in the Raccoon River near the treatment plant intake.
The waterworks relies on the Raccoon and Des Moines
rivers for central Iowa's drinking water.
/ Rodney White/Register file photo

There is simply no disputing that surface water is significantly impacted by certain types of land use. The primary land uses in our upstream watersheds are related to agriculture. Chemical fertilizers applied to fields are exacerbated by field drainage tiles, allowing runoff to reach rivers and streams quickly and without the benefit of natural filtration and, this year, plant uptake.

In addition to exceptional levels of nitrates, high levels of ammonia and phosphorus, algae blooms and increasing levels of bacteria are all deteriorating water quality in Iowa.

The recently published Nutrient Reduction Strategy, which is supported by many prominent state leaders, including the Iowa Department of Agriculture, Iowa Department of Natural Resources and the governor’s office, is inadequate in that it lacks regulation, goals, measurable outcomes and timelines for reducing agricultural (nonpoint) discharges.

We advocate regulation through EPA-endorsed numeric standards by watershed — an approach with local emphasis that considers the current state of each watershed and does not force a one-size-fits-all approach.

Facing the reality of the degrading water quality and open, meaningful discussion to identify solutions is long overdue.

Iowans should demand that state leaders address improving and protecting Iowa’s water sources. State funding to support monitoring of nitrate pollutants should not be stripped away from the flood center of Iowa, an objective guardian of Iowa’s rivers and streams.

Without significant action, Des Moines Water Works will be forced to continue treating degraded source waters, and our customers will continue to pay for that extensive treatment in their rates.

With bold and innovative action, Des Moines Water Works believes healthy source waters and agriculture can coexist. They must. Both are critical to Iowa’s future.

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This entry was first published in the print edition of the Des Moines Register.
Authors, Des Moines Water Works Trustees, Graham Gillette, Chair, David A. Carlson, Vice Chair, Leslie A. Gearhart, Susan R. Huppert and Marc R. Wallace, and William G. Stowe,President and CEO