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33-year Veteran Makes Teaching 8th Graders An Art

March 06, 1991|By Phyllis Magida.

One lesson the pupils like is Covered Wagon, a program that recreates the experience of being a part of a wagon train going from Independence, Mo., to Oregon in the 1840s. ``The history department bought it for the 8th grade several years ago,`` Friedli says. ``But we-the three history teachers who teach it-have taken it much further.``

Students are given a trail map, a wagon and a detailed list of supplies compiled from the journals and diaries of those who made the journey. ``Each student is responsible for his `family` in the wagon, so he has to think ahead and choose the necessary food, clothing and utensils to take along to help the family survive,`` Friedli says.

The pupils, organized into groups, encounter different problems, he explains. For example, they may get to a frontier town that has a small supply of water. The group must decide whether to fight the townspeople for the water; offer to pay them for it; find a creative solution, such as traveling on, hoping to find water elsewhere; or coming up with something the town might want to barter for the water.

Friedli says the assignment forces pupils to make choices and to learn to live by the consequences. ``They learn how to compensate for not having made a good choice too.``

The assignment also encourages group commitment. ``Whether or not the train arrives in Oregon depends on group decisions,`` Friedli says. ``So the students must learn to be a part of a group.``

``I remember Mr. Friedli as being a student`s teacher,`` says Marilyn Stafford, who was in Friedli`s homeroom class in 1960-61. ``He brought about a lot of group discussion, got you thinking and put you at ease. And he brought humor into all his teaching too.``

Stafford says she is pleased that two of her four children-Greg, 19, and Kerrie, 18-were in Friedli`s U.S. history classes in 1985 and 1986, respectively, and that a third child, Sue, 13, who is in 8th grade, has him for U.S. history and for English this year. Stafford regrets that her fourth child, Lauren, 9, now in 4th grade, will miss Friedli`s class because he is retiring in June.

``Mr. Friedli is one of the finest teachers I`ve ever worked with,``

Principal Richard Wilson says. ``I`ve worked with many good teachers over the years, but no one who is more professional.

``He`s totally dedicated to the profession and to doing the best he possibly can with the kids every day. He always goes that extra mile for them.``

``Students in 8th grade are still part child and part adult, and on any given day, you get both of them in the same person,`` Friedli says. ``But they are responsive, and they grow on you. They have a lot of positive qualities.

``I`m certainly going to take away many enjoyable memories.``