05/23/2006
Knotty Oak students find inspiration -- and heroes -- close to home
By: Jessica Selby , Daily Times

COVENTRY - Who is your hero? Is it someone famous, an Olympic athlete or a million dollar musician? Or are you like the students on the Element team at Knotty Oak Middle School?
These students were given a task - select someone as their hero, someone they honor, someone they look up to and explain what that person means to them and why.

"The kids on the Element team have been doing autobiographies all year long," said Wendy Bettez, a teacher on the team. "There are a number of chapters in the autobiographies, each one telling a little bit about how they have evolved over the years."

"For one of the chapters, they were told to look at the important people in their lives and decide who has influenced them the most," she said. "We had them read lots of books and stories on everyday heroes and, after reading those, they all came up with one of their own."

James Kenney, a student on the Element team, admitted to having a difficult time deciding who his hero should be.

"When I received this assignment, I immediately thought Batman, Superman. I mean, when I was little, all a hero had to do was have superpowers," Kenney said. "But, when Mrs. Bettez further had me look into this assignment, I realized I really had to think."

"At first I thought my dad. My dad saves lives every day in the military over in Iraq, but then my mind put someone else in my hero spot," he said. "My mom. She is not super strong or possessing of super powers, but she has saved two lives - my sister's and mine."

"My mom, even with my dad overseas, is able to raise two children," he said. "Without her, we would be sick and starving. I never realized that my mom had to do so much to keep the family together."

"To me, a hero is someone willing to sacrifice their time to make others happy. They put others first, are self-sacrificing, strong and determined," Kenney said. "That is what my mom is - my inspiration and my hero."

Brittany Chucka, another student on the Element team, said she had to go through a thorough realization process prior to her choosing her grandmother, Theresa Perreault, as her hero.
"My teacher asked our Period E English class to define a hero," Chucka said. "I did the first thing that came to mind and that was to look in the dictionary."

"The dictionary defined a hero as 'a person noted for his courage and strength.'" Chucka said. "I would have agreed with this if it were six years ago, but, after I read stories about what a hero really is, I changed my mind completely."

"My grandmother had six children of her own and adopted six children and fostered over 110 other children," Chucka said. "I thought this was a very nice thing that she did and, because of it, I chose her as my hero."

These two students were not alone in their choice of heroes close to home. Many others on the Element team also selected family members or close friends that had impacted their lives in some way. Each of these students invited their hero to join them at a special ceremony at the school in which the heroes were honored.

Each student on the Element team and his or her hero was recognized during the evening. A handful of students, selected by their peers, were asked to read their essay about why they chose their particular hero in front of the crowded auditorium. Kenney and Chucka were among the small group of presenters.

All the students paraded their heroes across the stage while a slideshow-style video of pictures of each of the students' heroes played behind them.

"This was a very formal evening," Bettez said. "It had a lot of meaning and I think the kids did an amazing job of presenting it that way. I had nothing but positive feedback from parents and teachers who attended. I couldn't be any prouder of these kids, as their heroes probably couldn't be either."