THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, February 6, 1997 TAG: 9702060357
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DENISE WATSON, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: 70 lines
The little guys in Angela Jennings' third-grade class are not only learning; they're teaching the big guys on Granby's basketball teams a thing or two, too.
Some of the junior varsity and varsity players, such as 17-year-old Mareon Hyman, began mentoring the Lindenwood Elementary students last fall to merely beef up their resumes.
But friendships have grown. The teen-age boys take weekend time to call their young partners. The third-graders mail letters to Granby and the high school players send their own occasional, ``What's up?!'' notes.
The players also are doing better in school, they said.
``It's giving us a lot of responsibility,'' Hyman said Wednesday while he was helping one of the younger children with his science work.
``I realize that I can't go to my school and fail all of my classes but then tell the kids that they have to do well in theirs.
``They're teaching us to practice what we preach,'' Hyman said.
Since October, Granby basketball players have traveled to Lindenwood Elementary every Wednesday to help with classwork.
Granby basketball coach Lonnie Blow has a son in the class and started the mentoring program because he thought his players could benefit from volunteering.
``Basically, I wanted to get the kids involved in the community,'' Blow said, ``to do something positive.''
When he called Jennings about the idea, she signed on.
``I felt my students needed to have some black role models in their lives,'' Jennings said, ``because many don't have any males in their lives.''
And the students look forward to the visits.
By 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday, the young students were crowding around the classroom windows, waiting for the basketball players to get out of their cars.
The school knew when they were heading into the building: ``They're here, man!,'' the boys yelled, ``They're here!''
The basketball players look forward to the weekly sessions, too. They wear shirts and ties, just as the youngsters are required to do on Wednesdays.
And they enjoy talking hoops and homework before walking the boys to their buses and heading back to Granby for practice.
``It feels good to know we're helping them improve their grades,'' said Renard Watson, a 17-year-old guard for the varsity team, ``and that we're caring for others.''
Blow, Jennings and Lindenwood principal Shirley Pegram have been impressed with how the young guys, and big ones, have grown over the past few months. ``They're more confident, they like themselves more,'' Jennings said.
``I want to say love. They don't get that one-to-one attention at home that they are getting here because they're competing with brother, sister, brother, sister.''
Pegram smiled as she walked into the classroom and saw the too-tall players, sitting in too-small seats, working with the children.
``You can see a sense of brotherhood,'' Pegram said. ``A sense of caring in the room.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photos]
LAWRENCE JACKSON photos
The Virginian-Pilot
Granby High 11th-grader Renard Watson, top, watches Lindenwood
Elementary students Aaron Pierce, left, and Troy Butts, work with
batteries for a science project.
Kenneth Blow, 8, a third-grader at Lindenwood Elementary, ponders a
question that his mentor from Granby High asked him. Granby
basketball players spend one afternoon a week tutoring Lindenwood
students with their school assignments.