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Fifth grade excel students at Robinson Elementary have gone “coon hunting crazy.” These students recently studied the novel Where the Red Fern Grows. As an exciting part of this unit, three local coon hunters visited the class.

Josh Watson, Boy Chester and Steve Smith are locals who hunt “just about every night for fun” and in championship hunts several times each year. They enlightened the students on the art of hunting, the idea of researching bloodlines and the importance of using math, language arts and reading on a day-to-day basis while engaged in their favorite activity – coon hunting. They compared modern day hunting to the more primitive hunt described throughout the novel. Two dogs, Crazy and BB, accompanied the hunters and played a major part in the presentation.

Renee Rogers, excel teacher at Robinson, believes that one of our most valuable educational resources is our community. “When community members take an active role in the education of our children, we all benefit. We must remember that education should not be confined to the four walls of a school building or the covers of a textbook. When visitors, like Mr. Watson, Mr. Chester and Mr. Smith are willing to give up a small amount of their valuable time, the students learn more in one class period than they could from days of study using textbooks.”

As budget crunches cause our wallet strings to tighten, think about what you could give to the students of Dawson County. Your experiences and expertise are very valuable. Are you willing to invest a small amount of time to make learning come alive for students in your community? Remember, it takes all of us working together to make our future brighter. Josh Watson, Boy Chester, and Steve Smith are willing to invest in the future of Dawson County. Are you?