Dear Annie Dru,

Longtime reader, first time writer.  I'm just not sure how to deal with this one...

My precious daughter, Morgana (named her after Bill Morgan, of course!), is starting 2nd grade and adores Andrew.  Can't say I blame her.  Here's my problem... you remember how much fun it was to pick a theme and get all your school gear to match?  I can recall many happy years of Lisa Frank folders, pencils, etc.  Well... Morgana's picked Andrew as her theme!  Adorable right?  I know I could paste some photos of him onto plain notebooks and binders, etc.  And I would if she were attending school here in Dyeland but we're talking suburban America here.  Just imagine if Little Stevie just happens to recognize the guy on my little girl's Trapper Keeper as the dude who took his grandma Home?  Talk about hysteria!  And while I love Andrew to bits, I don't want Morgana teased because we all know not everyone's so open-minded about the whole angel of death thing.  So how do I explain this to Morgana or do I just go ahead and make her the supplies and hope for the best?

Sincerely,
Morgana's Mom

Dear Morgana's Mom,

It's good to get a letter from a parent so involved in her child's education!  Bless you!

I agree that it could be asking for trouble if you let Morgana head to school with an Andrew-centric set of supplies.  Even if no one recognized him, it would be bound to raise some eyebrows.  No doubt someone would assume he was her father and, like any good Dyelander child, Morgana would immediately try to set them straight and well... we all know how that can sometimes go! 

My solution?  Andrewify her school supply list in a symbolic fashion.  Recover her binder in flannel.  I'm sure Andrew would donate a shirt to the cause.  He seems to do that a lot.  Because when I was visiting one of our esteemed friends, I could have sworn she was cleaning house in a men's flannel shirt that looked awfully familiar...  But I digress.  Decorate a folder with colorful images of labyrinths to remind Morgana of our friend's prayerfulness.  Deck her pencil box or bag with footballs so she can remember that Andrew always makes time to have fun.  Cover notebooks with stickers of doves and angels.  I'm sure once you get started, the ideas will just keep coming!

And for the creme de la creme, I hear a certain studly individual is at this very moment seated at the cafe handwriting notes to each of our students and that he plans to have them inserted in their lunch boxes on that first day.  Between your efforts and his, Morgana should have no problem remembering Andrew when she sits down to her studies.

Just one final thing: Leave the scissors as is.  After that incident in May, I don't think any of us want to think about Andrew and scissors together for a long, long time...

Creatively,
Annie Dru

Dear Annie Dru,

Say there's this guy.  He has a lot of friends who he really, really loves.  More than ginger ale or football or Paris.  Got it?

Okay, let's say this guy got a temporary job as a professor of Renaissance era poetry.  And maybe he slipped up and told his friends.  So now they want him to record his classes via webcam so they can listen in as he teaches and, you know, recites poetry.  But this guy... well, that idea just makes him a little nervous.  How can he gently tell his friends he has no intention of filming his classes for them?  Or should he just do it and maybe make a fool of himself by getting tongue-tied?

Your friend,
This Guy

Dear Andrew,

As if that letter could possibly be coming from anyone else!  I have a simple solution to your problem: do not record your classes.  That's your assignment and your primary focus should be on your students, not dealing with swoony friends-induced nerves.  Just be honest with the girls.  They'll understand.  And probably think it's adorable that you'd get nervous.

However... it might be very kind of you to offer to do a mini-session of Renaissance era poetry for them when you have some time off.  Then it won't matter how nervous you get when you start reciting "Come live with me and be my Love, and we will all the pleasures prove..."  ;-) 

So where do I sign up for the class?  ;-)

Intellectually Stimulated,
Annie Dru

Dear Annie Dru,

Last year at school some of the other girls picked on me.  They'd been my friends the year before so I didn't understand why and tried to ask them but it only made them make fun of me more.  They called me a baby when I cried.  I don't want to go back there.  I asked my mom if I could go to school in the Tunnels instead but she said no.  So I asked if I could just get lessons from Andrew.  He knows everything.  But she said he can't spend all his time teaching me and that I need to try to make new friends and just ignore my old ones.  But it's really hard.  What should I do?

Thank you,
Bullied

Dear Bullied,

I am so sorry that you're being teased, especially by people who you considered friends.  That's never right and it's never easy.  You're a great kid and deserve to feel safe and appreciated at school and everywhere.  Know that you have a whole lot of people here in Dyeland who care very much about you, kiddo.  In fact...

There's somebody who just happens to be in this cafe and I think he has something he'd like to say to you so I'm going to turn this over to him now:

Hey there, sweetheart,

Annie Dru is definitely right.  You deserve to have kind, caring friends and to enjoy school.  Because I know you!  I know what a great friend you are and how willing you are to help others out.  And while I may not actually know everything, I do know you're one smart kid, too!

What I don't know is why some kids... well, they just can't seem to treat other kids with compassion and love.  But that's about them.  Not you.  And I know reading that doesn't make the hurt or nervousness go away.  But always, always remember that you are loved by many people... including more than a few angels.  And, even more importantly: God loves you.  He made you and He thinks you're great just the way you are!

Have you told your teachers about what the girls are saying to you?  If you did and that didn't help then your mom needs to schedule a meeting with your teachers and the principal.  If she doesn't want to go alone, I'd be happy to go with her.  Because while I know you'd get a great education in the Tunnels, it sure seems like a shame to feel the need to leave a school you used to love.  And maybe other students feel just the same as you and they may not have other options.  So we'll work on this together until things get better, OK? 

And there's one more thing I want you to know: I've cried over things people have said to me and I don't think I'm a baby, do you?  You're not a baby, either.  You let me know how things go when school starts.  If I'm on an assignment then write me or leave me a message and I promise I'll get back to you as soon as I can.  We'll all do everything we can for you.

Your friend,
Andrew


Okay, okay... so I turned a feature that's usually goofy and kinda sarcastic into a swoon-fest.  But look at the man!  Who can blame me?  And did John ever look swoon-inducing when he went the academic route!  Woo hoo!  "Stealing Hope"= stealing hearts.  So in honor of that episode and several other John Dye projects featuring education-related elements, enjoy this word search/trivia game.  Answer the questions and then find the answers in the grid below.  They can be diagonal, horizontal, vertical, and even backwards.  Click on the link below the grid for answers.  Have fun!

1.  This student of Andrew's briefly lived with him. 
2.  This is the first word in the name of the school Answer # 1 attended.
3.  The surname of the poet whose work Andrew read aloud in "Stealing Hope."
4.  Andrew helped this young lady write her paper in "Bringer of Light."
5.  This John Dye character was a teacher by profession.  (First name)
6.  Skip attended this school: ___________ Academy.
7.  Andrew participated in a college's fundraiser that involved the works of this famed playwright and poet.
8.  First name of a school janitor Andrew worked alongside.
9.  Andrew encouraged this boy who went on to win a spelling bee.
10.  Todd attended college in this state.
11.  This is the last word in the title of the song DJ Andrew plays in "Last Dance."
12.  Andrew is teaching this subject in "The Penalty Box."
13.  Last name of #5.
14.  The dance Andrew taught Dolores.

R	I	W	H	I	S	T	O	R	Y	A	W
Z	T	P	V	P	O	J	E	F	F	R	O
H	O	O	V	E	R	G	P	O	R	I	R
S	L	S	T	C	R	D	W	H	L	Z	D
E	U	N	A	J	U	E	D	A	U	O	S
L	C	O	N	A	O	T	G	P	M	N	W
I	Y	R	G	B	G	H	L	G	D	A	O
M	T	A	O	N	A	L	N	E	I	L	R
S	H	A	K	E	S	P	E	A	R	E	T
O	E	L	E	W	E	Y	S	Z	P	G	H
N	A	M	N	G	H	E	N	C	A	O	S
E	R	G	A	R	F	I	E	L	D	H	E

Now... the final thing is to introduce a new lil feature.  JABB has always been dedicated to John Dye and his work and life.  But from here on out, I'd like to dedicate each JABB newsletter to a particular element of John's life.   Sometimes they'll be goofy.  Sometimes serious.  But it'll be just another lil way of honoring the memory of the man who brought us all together and gave us so much joy.  So...

JABB 334 is dedicated to all the lessons John taught us.  Teachers can be found everywhere in life and we were lucky enough to find one on a TV screen.  Whether, as Andrew, teaching us about God's love or, as Doc, teaching us how to be our own selves in the face of adversity... John was a wonderful teacher.  Thank you, sir.

(And, yes, that is your cue, JABBers, to start singing "To Sir, With Love."  ;-)