Supervisors' Training Week

         Last week we spent four days being trained in how to be a good ACE supervisor.  Not growing up in an ACE school, I was very nervous to go to this training, since I do not know that much about the "system".  Tyler, who grew up with ACE from K-5 through 12th grade, was not a bit nervous, of course.  We were both looking forward to it, in a way, because we were going to be able to get away from home for a week, and stay in a hotel, eat out, etc.  I think we both enjoyed it more than we thought we would, and it turned out to be a great week for us.
         Part of what made the week was the pastor whom was in charge of our training.  His name is Pastor David Gerhardt, and the training was held at his church & school, Calvary Baptist.  He has an interesting story.  His parents were missionaries on the Reservations in South Dakota.  When it came time for him to go to college, he chose to study medicine.  He had gone to med school for 7 years, and was close to being done with his schooling to begin his medical practice as a surgeon.  Because of what his major was, he needed one more course in language, and decided to go to a Theological Seminary to take a class in New Testament Greek.  While he was there, he was called to preach, and he left all of those years of study behind and became a preacher instead of a doctor.  Tyler and I got to spend some time with him, and enjoyed so much being able to talk to him and hear the MANY stories that he had.  After the Lord called him to preach, he returned to South Dakota and worked in the ministry there with the Native Americans as well as in other areas.  During our week of training, as he would have break-off sessions with us about different areas, it was easy to see his heart for the Lord and for what he was doing.  We could tell that he was not just spouting off a wealth of information that he knew he was supposed to give us, but he was trying to show us what he had learned through the experiences that the Lord has put him through.  He also had some very practical information for us, such as "Spend a lot of money to get a GOOD pair of shoes, because shoes can make or break you in the classroom."  He then went on to show us the pair of shoes that he was wearing that he had owned for 3 years and still looked almost new.  We both learned so much from him that week, as I am sure the other students did.
           One interesting thing about our week, was that most of the training was done by us being in a school setting and doing PACEs ourselves, just like our students would.  We had to sit in our desk, and put up our flags when we had a question or needed something signed by our supervisor.  We could also get demerits if we did something wrong, or gain merits for doing the things we were supposed to.  We also had homework and reports to write.  Tyler and I had a good time working on our homework together, and we worked so far ahead that we were able to be done a day early with our work.  That was fun, because I got to help grade tests, keep records, pass out merits, etc.
          We learned about many different things in our PACEs:  Organization, Wisdom, dealing with Parents, The Five Laws of Learning, and how to use the ACE program to teach reading.  I think the one that I learned the most from was the Organization PACE.  The one thing that really stood out to me from that lesson was that someone who takes on too much responsibility just to please others is as bad as someone who is constantly passing on responsibility to others and not taking any on themselves.  There has to be a balance between being a hard worker and knowing how to delegate so that you are not left with a desk piled high with projects that soon have your stress level at a maximum.
            Another thing we really enjoyed about the week was the other people who were in the class training with us.  There were only 9 students total, which made it easy for us to all get to know each other.  Everyone had such a great attitude, and it seemed that every person had at least one idea that they had brought from their school that was helpful to the rest of us.
            I think that what we learned from the most was from having to be in our "students' shoes" for one week.  We were once again elementary or high school students, having to sit at our desks.  Tyler kept a notebook with him and was constantly writing down things that came to his mind during the week about ways to make our school better and more effective in many different areas.  I think most of his ideas came from having to be a student himself.
          We were able to do some enjoyable things while we where at training.  It took place in Cambridge, Minnesota, which is about 45 minutes to an hour from Minneapolis.  On Thursday evening, we went with Pastor Gerhardt, his wife, son-in-law, son-in-law's brother, and grandkids to the Mall of America.  Tyler and I sat in the back seat beside his two year old grandson named Jackson.  Jackson had already fallen asleep and finally woke up about 30 or 40 minutes into our trip.  He did not know me, so when I was the first thing that he saw when he woke up, he started to SCREAM.  No matter what I did, he would not calm down.  His grandma finally got him to be quite, but for the rest of the trip he WOULD NOT LOOK AT ME.  No matter what anyone said or did, he would not turn his head anywhere near the direction where I was.  We did eventually get to be friends, and they said that when Tyler and I got out of the car that night he said "Bye Mawy" for the next ten minutes. 
           At the mall, we went to eat at Famous Dave's where our huge meal was served on a trash can lid.  We all ate as many ribs, fried chicken, french fries, coleslaw, and baked beans as we could and there was still quite a bit left-over.  We walked around a little and Tyler made sure to buy me some chocolate from Godiva's.  It was very good.  On Friday afternoon, just Tyler and I went back to the mall to ride some of the rides they have in the center of the mall.  Right before we bought our tickets, I ate 8 VERY HOT boneless buffalo wings.  After the first roller coaster ride I was feeling very sick, and I thought that I would never eat something that spicy before going on a roller coaster.  After leaving the mall, we went over to Pastor Gerhardt's house where we were able to spend an enjoyable evening with his family and hear more stories that kept us laughing at one moment and in amazement at the other.
           Well...I think I have rambled quite enough already.  Tyler and I did have a wonderful week, and are thankful for all that we learned from everyone involved.