A dog that was reported missing from an Olivenhain backyard more than four years ago was reunited with its owners thanks to microchip identification, San Diego County Animal Services officials announced Friday. »
A FOSTER carer in Yorkshire is celebrating his 64th birthday today with the news that he has been made an MBE for looking after more than 300 children over almost three decades.
Keith Cranmer, from Irton near Scarborough, has been honoured along with his wife Audrey for the fostering work with North Yorkshire County Council’s social services department which they began 28 years ago.
The couple, who have four children of their own, have lost track of the exact number of youngsters they have fostered, but they estimate that it could be as many as 350.
They have treasured albums containing photographs of all the children they have looked after, except for a handful they took in for short periods, but Mr and Mrs Cranmer have yet to count up an exact total.
They have both been made MBEs for services to children and families for their epic fostering career, which has seen them look after youngsters for as little as one night, when the child needed to be cared for in an emergency, to as long as nine years.
Mr and Mrs Cranmer have adopted two children from those they have cared for.
But Mr Cranmer was adamant that he should not have been singled out for the honour, and maintained it should recognise the efforts of the whole of his family.
He said: “You have your ups and downs, but it is such a rewarding thing to do. We decided to start fostering because the early part of my life had not been the most harmonious and we wanted to give help to children who were also having difficulties.
“It is tough to let them go especially if you have looked after them for a long period of time. Their parents are often ill or going through a difficult time, and we are here to help.
“A lot of the time the children do go back to their parents, or they find a new home with another family. That decision is nothing to do with us, our job is to care for them while they are with us.
“I really didn’t want to receive the award myself, I prefer to stay in the background. But it is nice for my wife and the rest of the family. We would not have been able to carry on fostering as long as have if it hadn’t been for the help of our own children.
“We have no plans to stop now, we will carry on as long as we can.”
Mr Cranmer, a semi-retired mechanic, and his wife celebrated their 40th wedding anniversary in March. They are currently fostering a two-and-a-half-year-old girl they have looked after since she was six days old.
Despite the honour, Mr Cranmer is planning to mark his 64th birthday with only a small party with his family and friends tonight.
Mrs Cranmer said: “It is lovely to be honoured in this way and to think that we are thought of this highly. A lot of the children we have looked after have had a lot of problems, and it is wonderful to see them start smiling again during their stay with us.
“It is so rewarding, and it is so sad to see them go.”
Another foster carer from Yorkshire has also been honoured. Wendy Daykin from Sheffield was recognised for services to children and families.
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A HISTORY teacher credited with inspiring the songwriting of Sheffield band Arctic Monkeys was yesterday honoured for his work.
Martin Staunton was judged the best teacher in a secondary school at the North of England Teaching Awards, held in Harrogate, after being described by his pupils as “a nutter in the nicest sense of the word”.
He taught three members of the band and his catchphrase “every silver lining has a cloud” is said to have inspired the tone of the songs which have made them famous.
In one of his history lessons at Stocksbridge High School, Sheffield, Mr Staunton brought in sound effects and rearranged the classroom furniture to give students an idea of life in the trenches during the First World War.
He said: “It would have been nice to get them outside digging a real trench but I don’t think it would have gone down well with the caretaker or the PE department.
“Once they have done something like that they have lived a very small part of it and from that they want to go on and learn more.
“I wouldn’t see myself as a ‘nutter’ but I am a bit different in the way I approach things. I like getting into roles and getting the students really involved in lessons. I suppose I am a bit eccentric.
“I think I am lucky because I’m really into history and I get to take my hobby into work.”
When teacher Felicity Hill wanted to bring Shakespeare alive for her pupils she persuaded her father-in-law to go into her class dressed as Britain’s most celebrated playwright.
Her reward for efforts like those was to be named the outstanding new teacher of the year at yesterday’s ceremony.
Ms Hill, a teacher at Boroughbridge High School, in North Yorkshire, was described by the judges as a “breath of fresh air” to the profession and a “real life teaching superhero”.
She invited her father-in-law, himself a retired teacher, into the classroom to help pupils understand Shakespeare’s life as a writer.
Ms Hill said: “He really got into the role. When someone’s mobile phone went off he was saying how it must be witchcraft.
“I don’t think you have to do things like that to keep their attention but it does help with their enthusiasm.”
Three years into her career, she said she was sure she had made the right decision.
“It is hard work there is no doubt about that but what you get out of it overrides all that. I have got particularly supportive colleagues at Boroughbridge and its a great working environment.
“I don’t think there is another job where from hour to hour I would be as challenged and as motivated as I am in teaching,” she said.
David Kirk found himself at the centre of a row when councillors in Calderdale decided to close Mixenden Primary School and send its pupils to nearby Ash Green Primary where he is headteacher.
Parents vehemently objected to the move but Mr Kirk has been credited with bringing the two schools together and was named primary school headteacher of the year.
He said: “I think awards like this are important to recognise the profession and the influence schools have on young people’s lives.”
All the winners from yesterday will go forward to be judged for the national teaching awards which will be decided in October.
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Michele Humble traces her decision to home-school to watching a TV newsmagazine about a woman who home-schooled her six children while running a family store. The children completed college before most students finished high school.
“That’s what I would like to do,” Mrs. Humble remembers thinking, “and that was before I had any child of my own. I always wanted to be a teacher, and I felt that I’d be the best teacher of my children because I would know their strengths and weaknesses better than anyone else.”
Today, Mrs. Humble and her husband, Carmichael, are parents to four girls, ages 10, 8, 6 and 2 weeks. While their dad goes to work every day for the D.C. government, the three oldest girls study at home with mom using the Robinson curriculum, Saxon math and a number of other resources. Mrs. Humble has home-schooled the children since her oldest was 5, and she hopes to do so until they graduate from high school.
“Some people say to me, ‘Are you going to do this until they’re grown?’?” Mrs. Humble says. “I tell them that is my plan right now. I enjoy that I’m the one teaching my child. It’s the desire of my heart.”
The Humble family is part of a home-schooling cooperative, the Christian Home Educators of D.C. Together with 15 to 20 other home-schooling families, they go on field trips, do special study segments on topics such as the rain forests or the Civil War and celebrate the students’ accomplishments with a closing ceremony and potluck dinner.
Although the family enjoys trips to the Smithsonian museums, the library and other places where they can learn about interesting topics, Mrs. Humble’s rule is, “No stress, no strain, no struggle.”
“I’m a great believer in ‘less is more,’?” she says. “If I’m getting too stressed out and frazzled, it’s not good for the kids. Kids are like sponges. I have to have peace, so if something is too stressful, we don’t do it.”
The three older girls take ballet classes each week, and each one is learning piano or violin.
“This is the time of all the recitals,” their mother says. “I’ll be happy when they’re over and we have more time.”
Balancing the demands of motherhood and education isn’t easy, but Mrs. Humble says she draws her strength from her faith and the impact she sees on her family.
“Every day, I think, ‘God, please give me the wisdom to do this,’?” she says.
“I enjoy seeing my child ‘get’ something, really understand something. For Black History Month, I teach about a different historical figure each day, and I was telling my oldest daughter about Frederick Douglass and the Underground Railroad,” Mrs. Humble says. “Her younger sister was just lying on her back, feet up in the air, and seemingly not paying attention. But when I asked the question ‘Who else was helping with the Underground Railroad?’ and my oldest daughter didn’t respond, the younger one said, ‘Harriet Tubman.’ That really makes me happy.”
Mrs. Humble treats a trip to the doctor’s office or on the public bus as a “teachable moment.” People remark on the children’s calm and polite deportment and their ability to focus.
“I used to get really offended at comments people made that I was being selfish or overprotective, but now I realize that it’s my job to protect them. If we’re on a bus on Georgia Avenue, they’re being exposed to all kinds of things. It’s my job to instill in them the right values,” she says.
To parents afraid that they aren’t experts in every subject, she advises, “You are more qualified than any teacher, and you can do a better job with your children than anyone else. People get lost in the shuffle. Children do act out. But the teachers are not able to espouse the same values we teach in the home.”
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This week Kentish Times Newspapers are launching a campaign to raise cash for a Guide Dog for the Blind. With your help we hope to support a Labrador pup on its way to being a vital member of someone’s family. With help from our readers, we will sponsor one special puppy and be there every step of the way keeping you up to date with his or her progress. Help us reach that £5,000 target by sending in your donations now! »