Dictionaries define teacher's dream
West Monona third-graders receive free dictionaries
By Nicole Paseka Journal staff writer | Posted: Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Legacy (noun): "Something handed down from an ancestor or a predecessor or from the past."
Nancy Hutchinson had a dream. The dream was not complicated, expensive or selfish.
As an elementary teacher at Lewis Central in Council Bluffs, Iowa, she wanted all of her third-grade students to own a dictionary. She saw everyday how dictionaries helped her students with reading comprehension, spelling and so much more.
Hutchinson wanted each student to have a dictionary readily available at his or her desk. She knew that too many of the children did not have dictionaries in their homes.
She and her husband, Larry Hutchinson, both of Council Bluffs, Iowa, decided to make her dream a reality. The couple used their personal funds to order dictionaries for her third-graders.
Before the dictionaries arrived, tragedy struck the family. Nancy Hutchinson died suddenly from complications relating to Addison's disease, a condition where the adrenal glands fail to function properly.
After Nancy Hutchinson's death, her dictionary dream spread north from Council Bluffs to Onawa, Iowa, where her mother-in-law lived.
Her mother-in-law, Barb Hutchinson, decided to purchase dictionaries for all of the third-graders at West Monona's Central Elementary in Onawa. She vowed to purchase the books for two years.
"(Barb Hutchinson) thought it was such a great idea that she wanted it to be continued up here in memory of her daughter-in-law," said Mary Black, principal of West Monona's Lark Elementary and Central Elementary.
Members of the Onawa Kiwanis Club, recognizing the potential impact of the dictionary project, decided to purchase dictionaries for all of the school district's third-graders after Hutchinson's two years were up. The children will keep the dictionaries.
The Onawa community has embraced the dictionary project -- but its biggest fans are West Monona third-graders, who received dictionaries from Barb Hutchinson on Jan. 17.
"In this jaded world, to see these third-graders so excited about these dictionaries is outstanding," Barb Hutchinson said. "I was very impressed. They seemed very pleased, very tickled."
"We live in a world where kids have about everything you can imagine, and I was very surprised how these dictionaries were received," she added.
West Monona third-graders and their teachers gathered in the Central gymnasium on Feb. 8 to play "Stump the Teacher," a game that builds vocabulary.
Divided into groups, the students flipped through their dictionaries, attempting to find a word their teachers did not know.
One group of children settled on the word "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" -- the word to say when you don't know what to say.
"Isn't this thing off 'Mary Poppins?'" said Elijah Bryce, 9, frowning.
The group waited for its turn, only to discover they were not the only group who selected the very long, very famous word.
"Guys, they took our word! They took our word over there!" said Amy Humrichouse, 9.
The students learned meanings of lots of other words that day -- everything from "gypsy" to "xenophobia" to "zephyr."
The dictionaries are specially designed for third-graders and have sections on the U.S. presidents, money, parts of speech and even outer space. The dictionaries are so up-to-date that Pluto is no longer listed as a planet.
"When they have spare time, I think they're pulling out their dictionaries," Black said. "I think they take the time to explore and look and discover all the things that are in the dictionary."
Larry Hutchinson and the couple's children, Tom and Andrea, have continued the dictionary project in Council Bluffs.
As for the program's future in Onawa, Kiwanis Club members said they will continue to sponsor it.
Each dictionary costs the organization between $1.50 and $2, Barb Hutchinson said. She would like to see another person in the community use the project as a memorial to a person who has died.
"If someone wants to do that, it's a wonderful idea," said Lou Hewitt, president of the Onawa Kiwanis Club. "It's a wonderful memorial to someone. We would certainly be open to that."
"It might be sort of like the RIF (Reading Is Fundamental) program is -- in the hands of every child," Hewitt added. "I think this is something they could use for years, not just in third grade."
"Legacy" might be a good word for the children to look up in their dictionaries.
A sticker on the inside of each dictionary says, "In memory of Mrs. Nancy Sims Hutchinson, A Dedicated Teacher, Presented by Onawa Kiwanis."
Below the inscription is an anonymous quote.
"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow."
As the result of one teacher's dream, vocabulary is not the only virtue growing at West Monona.
Journal staff writer Nicole Paseka can be reached at 712-293-4276 or nicolepaseka@siouxcityjournal.com.
Nancy Hutchinson had a dream. The dream was not complicated, expensive or selfish.
As an elementary teacher at Lewis Central in Council Bluffs, Iowa, she wanted all of her third-grade students to own a dictionary. She saw everyday how dictionaries helped her students with reading comprehension, spelling and so much more.
Hutchinson wanted each student to have a dictionary readily available at his or her desk. She knew that too many of the children did not have dictionaries in their homes.
She and her husband, Larry Hutchinson, both of Council Bluffs, Iowa, decided to make her dream a reality. The couple used their personal funds to order dictionaries for her third-graders.
Before the dictionaries arrived, tragedy struck the family. Nancy Hutchinson died suddenly from complications relating to Addison's disease, a condition where the adrenal glands fail to function properly.
After Nancy Hutchinson's death, her dictionary dream spread north from Council Bluffs to Onawa, Iowa, where her mother-in-law lived.
Her mother-in-law, Barb Hutchinson, decided to purchase dictionaries for all of the third-graders at West Monona's Central Elementary in Onawa. She vowed to purchase the books for two years.
"(Barb Hutchinson) thought it was such a great idea that she wanted it to be continued up here in memory of her daughter-in-law," said Mary Black, principal of West Monona's Lark Elementary and Central Elementary.
Members of the Onawa Kiwanis Club, recognizing the potential impact of the dictionary project, decided to purchase dictionaries for all of the school district's third-graders after Hutchinson's two years were up. The children will keep the dictionaries.
The Onawa community has embraced the dictionary project -- but its biggest fans are West Monona third-graders, who received dictionaries from Barb Hutchinson on Jan. 17.
"In this jaded world, to see these third-graders so excited about these dictionaries is outstanding," Barb Hutchinson said. "I was very impressed. They seemed very pleased, very tickled."
"We live in a world where kids have about everything you can imagine, and I was very surprised how these dictionaries were received," she added.
West Monona third-graders and their teachers gathered in the Central gymnasium on Feb. 8 to play "Stump the Teacher," a game that builds vocabulary.
Divided into groups, the students flipped through their dictionaries, attempting to find a word their teachers did not know.
One group of children settled on the word "supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" -- the word to say when you don't know what to say.
"Isn't this thing off 'Mary Poppins?'" said Elijah Bryce, 9, frowning.
The group waited for its turn, only to discover they were not the only group who selected the very long, very famous word.
"Guys, they took our word! They took our word over there!" said Amy Humrichouse, 9.
The students learned meanings of lots of other words that day -- everything from "gypsy" to "xenophobia" to "zephyr."
The dictionaries are specially designed for third-graders and have sections on the U.S. presidents, money, parts of speech and even outer space. The dictionaries are so up-to-date that Pluto is no longer listed as a planet.
"When they have spare time, I think they're pulling out their dictionaries," Black said. "I think they take the time to explore and look and discover all the things that are in the dictionary."
Larry Hutchinson and the couple's children, Tom and Andrea, have continued the dictionary project in Council Bluffs.
As for the program's future in Onawa, Kiwanis Club members said they will continue to sponsor it.
Each dictionary costs the organization between $1.50 and $2, Barb Hutchinson said. She would like to see another person in the community use the project as a memorial to a person who has died.
"If someone wants to do that, it's a wonderful idea," said Lou Hewitt, president of the Onawa Kiwanis Club. "It's a wonderful memorial to someone. We would certainly be open to that."
"It might be sort of like the RIF (Reading Is Fundamental) program is -- in the hands of every child," Hewitt added. "I think this is something they could use for years, not just in third grade."
"Legacy" might be a good word for the children to look up in their dictionaries.
A sticker on the inside of each dictionary says, "In memory of Mrs. Nancy Sims Hutchinson, A Dedicated Teacher, Presented by Onawa Kiwanis."
Below the inscription is an anonymous quote.
"Develop a passion for learning. If you do, you will never cease to grow."
As the result of one teacher's dream, vocabulary is not the only virtue growing at West Monona.
Journal staff writer Nicole Paseka can be reached at 712-293-4276 or nicolepaseka@siouxcityjournal.com.
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Robert wrote on Feb 20, 2007 6:02 PM: