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Show ST Wasatch te: COURIER County’s Source for News AuGustT 10, 1999 | Case Makes a Big” Impression on All Students — at J.R. Smith Elementary_ i \ 1 wih LAL, sure supplies and equip- — ment are in order. Lunch times, recess-there's playground equipment to be installed. Case even At the time, Brigham Young University was offering an _ gets to test out the ditto machine. "Yes, ditto machines still exist," administration certificate that — Case \couldn't refuse-two sumhe says. Ditto machines, Big Chief mers and one winter. Case got the certificate and then got the tablets and number two pencils It's not that Case is hung up on formalities, it's just that in his line of work, most of his eS 1 Ons lings- call. him . . Mister, Principal. Case is the Fe pal < of J. R. Smith Elementary School, on po Heber's north side of town. And ~ make _job. And now, Case is .about to leave. This is Cased last year, last “semester to be exact, as principal of J. School. R. Smith Elementary Come January 1, he'll might be the only technology still remaining from Case's. early years as a teacher. Now, J. R. Smith has:two student-computer labs. Every teacher has a computer on his or her desk. Film — strips have been replaced by video tapes. And this year, Case | right now, he's hard at work, school, and for six or seven wants to augment his moming 7 | student with months, he'll anxiously plan and ~ announcements preparing for school to start. video broadcasts of the news. - At well over six feet tall, wait for the students, just sixth Case likes the changes. But Case's students literally look up and seventh graders, to arrive. even more, Case likes helping : That's kind of what Case is to him. But it's more than height that garners Case the respect he — doit right now-waiting for the kids. It's no secret that Sie eduWaiting for students to arrive. deserves-it's history, attitude, and cators don't make the big bucks. the faculty to. come back from devotion to education. Case started in education thir- -their summers of workshops and Fortunately. or unfortunately, only those with a true love and planning. But Case isn't just sitty-one years ago at Driggs Elementary School in the Granite — ting in his office, staring out the interest in helping children succeed seem to be willing to make School District in Salt Lake. For window. Case is preparing. the long haul, the sacrifices, the A lot of work has to be done twenty-one years Case was an painfully low income. to start each new school year, elementary school teacher. "I "I've had offers to move taught all curriculum," Case says, % something that students don't beyond the public education sysalways realize. Case has to set up "music, PE." But after a while, Case want- graduate to the OOO ——— gan mo Rn AN Ausbh old _. first. he's just Mr. Case. ; porvaicaitehatyl dl a but not many of his workplace associates use it. To ase LALA adi pes Case has education to help kids," he says. name he likes better--Pat, || } me SOG eee See heldon "I was look- ing for other things I could do in LIFESTYLES EDITOR cilb ailasnbldehidai ed something more. By JEAN CROASMUN new middle schedules, finalize class roles, tem. But I didn't get into educa- | Big man with a big heart. J. R. Smith Elementary School scineipal Sheldon “Pat” Case has devoted most of his life to educating children. Now he’s preparing to make the jump from clementary's school to Wasatch County School District's new middle school. tion for the money. WhenI see state of America's education sys- growth, when I see what the stu- tem--why Johnny can't read. dents have achieved, that's far more than money can supply,” says Case. Case relays a story about a_ meeting he had a few years ago asked him to go back through the - with a group made up of both educators and non-educators. And one of the non-educators brought up the presumed-pathetic last 10 years. and find out two things-where the Nobel Prize winners were educated and where they currently reside. I already knew the answer," says Case. "Almost all major scientific see PRINCIPAL on page 22 As long as you can throw a ball spent all my time in detention for Sipping home ec class, I could we only needed two credits of English to ack ini ee have sewn me up a pretty dress and learned how to make that peach — graduate high school. A couple of maths, a science, maybe a pie, and then I could have found me a millionaire. doctor and I could home-ec (‘cuz we gals needed to know how to bake a pie to a _ be living off his income and having lots of millionaire babies. Mom keep our man happy). Oh, and four years of a dees education. ~ would be so proud. © That was really important. But I didn't. Instead I went to collegeemrthersd the education that state a ‘with wrong something was there thought l always that they merely hinted at in high school. And, even though my stu-. spent admitted that academics didn't matter as much as a good dent loan officer and T are on a first name basis, I've never looked | work-out. Mental conditioning was secondary. back. | Now I don't know what's changed in Alabama since then-I left in So now I write for a living and I teach at UVSC. And I ink the mid-1980s. I know people moved in. They have a new, big prethow cool it is that students have the opportunity to attend college ty mall just down the street from where I used to livei in Birmingham classes in their own home town. I think that ifI had had the option with fancy stores from New York and Atlanta. A couple more airof attending college classes while in high school I might not have lines came to town. And chain restaurants are everywhere. worked so hard at finding new, creative ways to skip P.E. and home You know, in retrospect, I really hated the place. ec. I might have spent that time thinking. i to It was probably some twisted form of rebellion that slecred me Education spending is on the decline in the state of Utah. Why? a degree or two in English. Surely I could have made more money F Or mnyhy if I hadn't dl pe ee or see THROW THE BALL on page 23 asa oo oon "I B By JEAN CROASMUN Courmr Liestytes Eprror |