Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, November 18, 1993 TAG: 9311180335
SECTION: NEIGHBORS PAGE: S-17 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: NANCY GLEINER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
She reluctantly retired after 33 years of instructing the 3 R's and fostering self-esteem in elementary school pupils. For the last 18 years, she's been teaching without pay.
Hubbard, a familiar face at Crystal Spring Elementary School for almost 40 years, believes that, with lots of encouragement and large doses of praise, even the toughest students can achieve their potential in and out of the classroom.
After teaching in Richmond and Roanoke, she was forced by law to retire at age 65, 18 years ago. "It [retirement] was very traumatic for me because I was full of energy, and I loved my teaching," she says.
She then offered to teach full time without pay, willing to rely on her pension and Social Security check for financial support. Her offer was refused because "there was no precedent for that," but school administrators suggested she volunteer.
"Inez calls if she can't come in, just as if she's on the payroll," said Peggy Board, secretary at Crystal Spring Elementary.
Hubbard tutors students who are having difficulty in the classroom. But her extra help is not limited to academic subjects. "I do as much preaching as I do teaching," she says.
And she always has.
"When we had problems in class, I would shut the door and tell the children to put their books away. `We've got to have a little talk,' I would tell the class."
Her method of dealing with problems was not to punish those at fault, but to praise those who were not, setting an example of appropriate behavior.
"When the class was noisy, rather than yell at them to get them quiet, I wouldn't say a word," she explains. She wrote "good workers" on the board and listed the names of the quiet students.
"Before you knew it, I would have the whole class's names on the board."
Hubbard has a framed photograph of Chuck Gilliland on a table in her living room. In 1984, Hubbard published "Danny," a book based on her special relationship with Gilliland, a Roanoke high school junior and honor student at Roanoke Catholic School.
She taught Gilliland to read when he was 6; but, more importantly, "she boosted my self-confidence and showed me I had more potential than I thought," he remembers fondly.
"She's been a really good friend, someone you can call and talk to."
Hubbard sometimes attends Gilliland's soccer and football games and readily boasts of his musical talent and academic achievements. "He needed someone, and I just happened to be the one," she says modestly.
"I would always bend over backwards to find something I could legitimately praise each student for; they know the difference if you're not honest," she says.
In another instance, she was having difficulty finding words of praise for one little boy. But, she says, "that kid could wash the blackboards better than anybody in the world."
When she told him that, in front of the entire class, "Why, he was 10 feet tall."
To Hubbard, teaching the basics includes teaching moral attitudes, without mentioning religion. "I think there is a lot of opportunity in school to give students [the] principles and values they might not otherwise get," she says.
"I never said anything except to expand on how I feel about life."
The more Hubbard speaks about children, the more excited she gets. "I can't be around a child without having my arm around him."
And the feelings go both ways. Students stop her in the halls and ask if she's going to work with them.
"The kids love her; she becomes their special friend," said Crystal Spring Principal Marsha Christey. "This is her life. I find her amazing."
The lifelong educator was a little reluctant to be interviewed, feeling that her work with children did not merit special recognition. "I don't need any praise for what I do. It gives back to me so much, I get more than I give," she says.
Teaching "has given me more years of my life," says Hubbard, whose only child is a former teacher.
Those who have benefited from her philosophy now span two generations. Babs Smith, past president of Crystal Spring's PTA, was one of Hubbard's third-grade students.
Smith considers Hubbard "one of the most dedicated educators I have ever known." And, Smith's son, Donnie, now a student at the school, said, "The kids really enjoy being with her."
Joe Copenhaver, director of professional personnel for Roanoke schools, said Hubbard has never lost her enthusiasm for teaching.
"I really consider her a cheerleader for kids," said Copenhaver, a former principal of Crystal Spring. "She knows the buttons to push to motivate kids."
Two years ago, Smith and Courtney Black, PTA volunteer coordinators, established The Inez Hubbard Volunteer Award. It is given annually to a parent volunteer who has made significant contributions to the school. The Inez Hubbard Award, also begun at that time, is given to the two fifth-graders who best exemplify the spirit of Inez Hubbard.
Recently Hubbard has had to shorten her volunteer hours because she's waiting to have a cornea transplant. She's also had to use a magnifying glass to help her read. But, she says, as soon as she is able, she intends to return to her students at Crystal Spring "full speed ahead."
"People don't know what they're missing when they don't give," Hubbard says. "They don't know the joy of giving part of yourself to children."
"I wish so much that everybody who teaches children could have the feelings I do because it's such an awesome responsibility. You touch so many lives."
In her book, "Danny," Hubbard wrote, "Whenever you do something to make another person feel good, you will feel good, too. Try to remember that, honey, because it is true."
Hubbard says that, if someone had given her a choice to live "like you've lived it or be a millionaire and never have to work, I'd choose what I have."
by CNB