For Polston, Learning Never StopsHe's the principal of Harrison Elementary School and a teacher, but he also continues to be a lifelong student.
Randy Polston teaches a professionalism in education class on Mondays at Grace College. One thing Polston, the class and Grace emphasizes is that we're all lifelong learners, Polston said in an interview Dec. 8.
Part of the reason he and his wife Rachael traveled the Oregon Trail last summer was for Polston to continue his own education about one of his interests - American history.His specific interest in the Oregon Trail goes back to when 54-year-old Polston was in the third grade.
"I'm a homegrown product. I grew up in Winona Lake. I attended Jefferson Elementary," said Polston.
At the end of third grade, he said his teacher, Mrs. Pifer, made an announcement in front of the whole class recognizing Polston as the top reader for the school year. For his reward, Polston got to select one of several books to keep. He chose "Cowboys and Indians", a book about the Old West.
When he heard about the Teacher Creativity Fellowship grants from the Lilly Endowment Inc. a few years ago, Polston gave it some thought.
Remembering the book and Pifer's classroom, Polston decided he wanted to bring the Oregon Trail to the children in Warsaw. On his fourth attempt, he received $8,000 from Lilly Endowment last March to follow the Oregon Trail.
At the end of June, they took off. Polston purchased the book "Traveling the Oregon Trail" to use as their guide and itinerary. He said they followed it to a "T", driving three to five hours a day.
The Oregon Trail is about 2,100 miles, Polston said. There are 300 miles of actual wagon ruts along the way, and they found many of them. Every place they stopped, they took photos and gathered information.
By the 10th day, they arrived to their destination, Oregon City, Ore. By the time they got home, they had traveled 6,700 miles, including side roads. Along the way, they saw everything from wagon ruts and grave markers to autographs pioneers left behind.
All total, Polston said they took 700 photos. With some pioneer music from a CD they found along the trail, Polston has put together a one-hour Power Point presentation to teach others about the Oregon Trail.
The presentation has been given to elementary students and at the Warsaw Community Public Library. He's awakened at 4 a.m. to give the presentation to a Goshen service club at 6 a.m. He's scheduled to give it to the Kiwanis.
"Anybody who asks me to do it in the evening, I'll share it with them," Polston said.
The trip and presentation are a way for him to meets his need for his love of history. It's also a way for him to bring the Oregon Trail back to the kids who might not get to experience it themselves, he said.
During his presentation, the audience gets to hold and feel a real oxen shoe. Polston was able to get it on loan until June from the Eastern Oregon Museum of Haines, Ore. Students tell Polston it's neat to hold the oxen shoe because they get to touch and hold history in their hands.
Everything all goes back to Polston's philosophy in life, which hangs as a poster in his Harrison office. It reads, "One hundred years from now, it will not matter what kind of car I drove, what kind of house I lived in, how much was in my bank account, nor what my clothes looked like. But the world may be a little better because I was important in the life of a child."
Polston's impact on children began when he was working toward his bachelor's degree at Spring Arbor College in Spring Arbor, Mich. He wasn't sure what direction to take his life at first, eventually deciding between going into youth ministry or education. But he felt the Lord called him to elementary education, and that's what he earned his degree in.
From 1977 to 1978, he taught fifth grade at McKinley Elementary School. From 1978 to 1979, he taught fourth grade at Lincoln Elementary School. He stayed at Lincoln from 1979 to 1986, but taught fifth grade.
When he decided to pursue his master's degree, his colleagues were pursuing it at the same time. They went for master's degrees in elementary education, but Polston felt the Lord pulling him in a different direction. He got his master's degree in administration.
"I'm a very religious person, and I had to take this to prayer," he said.
In 1986, Polston became the principal at Claypool Elementary School. When Harrison Elementary School was built, Polston took the principal position in 1991.
"I said no matter how large this building probably will become, I never want to lose the sense of family I had at Claypool," Polston said he told his wife at one point.
He wants his students to feel safe and to feel they're in an environment that's all about kids. His ultimate goal is for Harrison to be a kid-friendly learning environment.
