Fairfield youngsters skype with college basketball players

Sixth-grade students interacting with college athletes. What a brilliant idea!

Fairfield Middle School teachers Matt Schenck and Justin Copeland have been making this happen for five or six years now, they can?t remember.

?We started whenever [Matt] Gatens was playing at the University of Iowa,? Copeland said. ?We can?t remember how long we?ve been doing this project.?

The project combines social studies and mathematics. Every March, the NCAA Tournament happens and the two teachers thought of combining March Madness with the school?s new requirement to incorporate 21st-century skills into the classroom. Each kid picks a school and has to do research on the state in which the school is located. The students are required to find state information, which takes care of the social studies aspect. For math, the students find the mean, median, mode, and average of scores in addition to finding the perimeter and area of a basketball court.

Not only that, but the kids also get to interact with high-level college athletes via Skype.

?Talking to them [college athletes] is fun because they tell us what it?s like to be in college and how they are able to handle all their responsibilities,? said Claire Epperson.

In past years, students have come in contact with now professional basketball players such as Jared Sullinger (Boston Celtics), Isaiah Canaan (Philadelphia 76ers), Gary Harris (Denver Nuggets), and Iowa?s own Doug McDermott (Chicago Bulls).

However, due to all the success that Iowa universities have had this season, the teachers kept the video calls local, focusing on the University of Northern Iowa, University of Iowa and Iowa State University.

?Naz Long [Iowa State] was my favorite player to talk to,? Epperson said.

?I was a fan of Seth Tuttle (Northern Iowa),? Nathan Whitney said. ?He seemed loud and obnoxious, kind of like me.?

?I liked Tuttle, too,? said Sophie Wallerich, ?but I also enjoyed talking to Nate Buss (Northern Iowa).?

?I talked to Jarrod Uthoff (Iowa),? said Abby Schaefer. ?He was kind of boring and didn?t say much. He seemed sort of bland.?

When asked what they learned from the athletes, the kids weren?t short on words.

?They told us it?s important to have good leaders, because without good leaders, nobody can be helped,? Wallerich said.

?Dedication, respect and leadership is what I got out of it,? Epperson said. ?I learned all of these are important qualities to have and develop.?

?Managing time is critical because it?s hard to get something accomplished if you don?t spend time on it,? Schaefer said. ?They are really busy people, but they said managing their time is what allows them to get things done.?

All the kids agreed that this has been their favorite thing to do this year.

?I love it, because I love basketball and I might learn a thing or two,? Whitney said.

So, what teams did the kids pick this year?

Nathan picked Stephen F. Austin, Claire chose Maryland, Sophie got Iowa State, and Abby picked Gonzaga.

After Selection Sunday, Schenck and Copeland host their own version called ?Selection Monday.?

?We had a kid wait outside my door at 6:15 a.m. Monday morning because he wanted Kentucky as his team,? Schenck said.

It?s safe to that the kids take this project seriously.

Copeland has developed a blog with links and information describing all the interactions students have had with athletes since the beginning.

?It?s really cool to see the college athletes enjoy it, too,? Copeland said. ?We?ve had individual players and college teams tweet about talking with our students and when we show the students that, it makes them happy. It?s really a neat thing to see.?

Whitney was the most vocal when it came to talking about the games.

?I want Kentucky to win it all,? Whitney said. ?I just like Kentucky and I want the Wildcats to win it all.?

The other students wouldn?t give their prediction, but said they will be watching the games, too.

Epperson even seemed a little worried.

?Well, I know that Maryland plays at 3:40 p.m. tomorrow, so I?ll have to rush home from school so I don?t miss it,? Epperson said.

There is no need to worry, Claire.

With today?s technology, you?re just a click away.