"Did I mention that kids smile"
- jmemka
- Mar 13, 2017
- 5 min read
The Assignment that I was tasked with was to interview an innovative educator/social entrepreneur. I immediately though of a friend that is currently the principal (Rex Fergurson-Baird) at Brooklands Elementary School in Winnipeg. Brooklands is technically in the St. James Assiniboin School Division, but because of its geographic location relative to the rest of the division, it is generally viewed as an island all to itself.
While the school is fantastic and one of the best elementary schools I have had the opportunity to visit, it has many challenges to overcome that most schools do not. The community has a wide range of cultural and socio-economic groups the present issues such as communication/language barriers, poverty, opportunity, and for some students consistent attendance.
Mr. FB (as the kids call him) and his staff have taken on many initiatives within the school and community with the hopes of creating long lasting positive change for all members, not just the students. Within the school walls there is a community kitchen for parents to access, on the school grounds they have recently de-paved and created a community garden to teach sustainable practices and provide food for community members, and the students spend a tremendous amount of time outside in the spring in their "outdoor classrooms".
Those are some of the initiatives in place and the list does go on and on. One of the best aspects is that the initiatives are truly collaborative in nature. All members of the "Brooklands Team" have an equal voice at the table, and Mr. FB is always quick to point out the fact that. What has been accomplished so far couldn't have been done without the fantastic people he works with.
For myself, I wanted to focus on one specific program that has been overwhelmingly successful at the school. The "Brooklands Bike Fleet". Without giving away all the details, the program is very special for a number of reasons, my favourite is captured in the title of the post, "Did I mention that kids smile".
Below are the responses from Mr. FB about the program.
What motivated you to take the steps you have taken to realize the innovation/social entrepreneurial accomplishments you have attained?
First of all I don't own this initiative. Carolyn Lamoureux and Joelle Suzuki are the drivers (or in this case riders). The Brooklands Bike Fleet has a few different reasons for being. Initially our team was interested in exploring ways to get students to learn street safety and proper cycling rules. Every year our PE program would host the Safe Rider Training Rodeo but few students would bring bikes to actually ride while learning (kind of a waste of time).
We spoke with students and found that most did not have bikes due to theft and poverty. Once this fleet was donated, we quickly realized we needed to have a mechanic on the premises - or the initiative would flounder like a flat tire.
The following September we engaged The Wrench, a non-profit cycling community, to provide us with training for students and staff in the art of bike maintenance and repair. We targeted the original EA champion, PE teacher, and a blend of grade 4 and 5 students to take the 8 week (once a week) evening course. It was offered in our gym with our bikes. This team became the backbone of our fleet crew.
What barriers have you had to overcome (personally or professionally) and how did you do this?
One of our EAs approached me to ask if she could get some of her friends to donate a few bikes to the school in preparation for the spring bike rodeo. This turned into a fleet of 75 bikes within a month!!!!! Turns out there are a lot of people willing to help in the world - many just don't know where to channel their energy/gifts/resources.
This is a lesson I have learned over the years and I continue to use this strategy to find support for a variety of programs at our school. Our 'first world problem' became "Where do we store 75 bikes?" This is an awesome problem to have and one we solved with creative wall mounted storage.
What recommendations do you have for fostering more creativity, innovation, or entrepreneurship in schools/society?
Having an open mind, or commonly buzzed words: "growth mindset", to out of the box ideas is the fist step. Wrapping our minds around the idea that someone else might have a good idea is a huge leap for some people! Once we can do that, we open ourselves and our teams up to some fairly creative ideas.
For some educators who need a more discrete and linear path, programs like The Learning Partnerships Entrepreneurial Adventures or Junior Achievement may help. I recommend a few TED Talks for prompting discussion on this topic (Sir Ken Robinson - the RSA Animate version is the first).
Do you see your efforts contributing to social, economic, cultural, or environmental health and well-being? If so, how?
This Bike Fleet is a no brainer for our team.
1. Kids ride bikes.
2. Kids smile and laugh and feel great.
3. Kids love coming to school.
4. Some kids learn valuable life skills that they can use the rest of their lives. (Two of our past students are now employees at The Wrench!)
5. Our at risk community has transportation issues (no money for gas....) but they can ride bikes.
6. Did I mention that kids smile, laugh, feel great and come to school.....
While the initial intent was to provide bike for the rodeo, the bikes are used on a daily basis (weather permitting) during recess, pays ed. classes, and during the spring outdoor classroom experience. It is true, the kids do smile when they are riding around the vast playground own the bike paths.
The group that takes care of the bikes is learning basic maintenance, teaching the next crew of students, and learning transferable skills in the process. Some of those skills are considered "employable" but there is also a great form of learning taking place. The students are learning how to build community. They take car of the bikes for everyone without any hesitation. They teach each other how to work together to achieve a common goal. They find happiness in the act of preparing the bikes each spring and maintaining throughout the year and then find happiness in enjoying their work together on the playground. As mentioned, some students have actually moved on and are now giving back through The Wrench and their are many others that have used the bike experience to keep an open mind and continue to build community.
Please take a look at the links and videos below for further information about the school and what they do. I highly recommend taking a look at Rex's twitter account as it provides a real feel for what takes place in the school on a daily basis and whoo he is as an educator, leader, and person.