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HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 1988-04-06, Page 5THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 6, 1988. PAGE 5. Supercalafragilistic volunteer Blyth's Betty Battye has taught gymnastics for 10 years, but now is calling for help BY TOBY RAINEY Wise and caring, strong and compassionate - Blyth’s Betty Battye is the kind of teacher most of us get only once in a lifetime, the kind we remember all our lives as “my favourite teacher." The kids who have been in her classes, at all grade levels, over the past20years atBlyth Public School know that she is completely dedicated to her job, and to them, and they repay her with the same kind of dedication in all they do. A Colleague Dave Medd recently presented Mrs. Battye with a pin on behalf of the Huron County Board of Education, in recognition of the many hours of selfless volunteer work she contributes to school children each year. Always mindful of her work, the board has honoured Mrs. Battye on several other occasions over the years. Betty Battye has taught gymnastic classes after school hours at Blyth Public School for the past 10 years, all on a volunteer basis. She has had up to 70 kinds enrolled at a time, at all ages from pre-schoolers to teenagers, but now is looking for help. “I’m not getting any younger,” she says. gentle disciplinarian, Mrs. Battye will brook no unmannerly be­ haviour in her students either in the classroom or on the street, and the kids respect her expectations, and repay her ten-fold with their devotion. They know that each of them is of equal importance to her, and that each one of them is expected to do the very best they can at whatever task they face - and they all do their best for her, joyfully and willingly. But it is as a volunteer gymnas­ tics instructor after hours at the Blyth school where the dedication and the devotion of her students really comes through, as she oversees and instructs up to 70 children every Monday evening in all aspects and at many levels of gymnastic excellence. “1 do it because 1 enjoy it," she says simply. “I try to put across to the kids that they’re all good, that the important thing is to keep on improving at their own level. Competition in sports is a good thing, but you should basically do things because you enjoy them." There has never been any funding to support Mrs. Battye’s extra-curricular gymnastics activi­ ty, nor does she expect any. “If you don’t charge a fee, you can have a lot of autonomy," she laughs. “I make it clear right from the start that they have to behave them­ selves if they are in my classes, and I’ve never had any discipline problems." Several years ago the parents of her students, the Blyth Recreation Committee and the community at large donated enough money that the school was able to purchase a professional balance beam for the gymnastics classes, but apart from it, all the equipment Mrs. Battye uses is standard school gymnasi­ um equipment - floor mats, a vaulting horse and a springboard. She would have liked to have a set of uneven parallel bars, but the money has never been there, and besides, she says, uneven bars are sortof dangerous things to have around unless they can be super­ vised at all times. Because of the demands on her time, Mrs. Battye basically will take on only children from the immediate vicinity of the school, but she will start pre-schoolers Beloved by her students of all ages, Blyth’s Betty Battye is usually surrounded by kids, both in the classroom and in her gymnastics classes. from as young as three years old, and will allow students who have graduated from Blyth Public School to come back for more advanced training, ifthey wish. She makes it clear that these older students are the ones who have made the entire program work, playing down her own part in the long hours she devotes to it every year. Several of her older girls not only still take classes with her, but serve as equally dedicated gymnastics coaches for the less experienced groups, honing their own teaching and communication skills at the same time that they develop a tremendous sense of responsibility which will last a lifetime. “The older girls have paid their dues -1 certainly couldn’t have kept on without them," she says. ForthepastlOyearsMrs. Battye has held three classes every Monday evening throughout most of the school year, terminating them only when daylight savings comes into effect in the spring, because she feels kids should be outside during the extra daylight hours. Thelastclassfor this season was a week ago Monday, when all the groups combined to show their skills and put on a short display for the many parents and friends crowded into the gym. Normally, classes for three-to- sixyear olds are held from 5:30 to 6 p. m.; for seven-to-10 year olds from 6:15 to 7:15; and for those 11 and up, from 7:15 to8:15. It’s a long time to spend in volunteer work for a womanwho has put in afull day’s teaching, and who is no longer in her prime. This year, before bidding fare­ well to her students and their parents for the summer, Mrs. Battye asked for anyone in the community that could help out to come forward before the next season begins. “I'm notthatyoung any more, and the time is coming when I’ll have to give it up," she said. Her own now-grown sons and daughters have helped her with classes at various times over the past 10 years, and indeed it was at the urging of her daughters Catherine and Rachel, when they were in Grades 8 and 9 respective­ ly, that she started the classes in Blyth, after the tiny Romanian gymnast Nadia Kommenecci took the world by storm at the 1978 Olympics, and every girl in the country wanted to imitate her. Mrs. Battye’s son, John, has also helped out, going on to start the very active Clinton Gymnastics Club, although he no longer has the time to instruct there. As well, daughter Christina has helped with the classes at the Blyth School, and may even be able to take over from her mother eventu­ ally, once her own children are on theirway. However, ifthe com­ munity wants to keep its excellent gymnastics club alive, itshould rapidly be considering some sort of an alternative to one of the county’s most valuable and dedicated vol­ unteers. “It’s not that hard to do," Mrs. Battye says. “I could likely show someone just about everything theywouldneed to know to start off."