NEWS AND VIEWS: A public thank-you to Pani Olenka (04/06/97)

NEWS AND VIEWS

A public thank-you to Pani Olenka

by Lydia Smyk

Often we have people or organizations right under our noses who, though their contribution to the community is great, are not acknowledged. In Newark, N.J., we have a Ukrainian Montessori program run by St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic Church. Thanks to the outstanding leadership of its director, the program is a unique contribution to our community.

Olenka Makarushka-Kolodiy ("Pani Olenka") loves children and her work. The pre-school is a home away from home where Maria Montessori's proven methods of teaching are exemplified. The program prides itself on being conducted strictly in Ukrainian. Every child is treated as an individual, while nurturing a community spirit of responsibility.

My twin daughters attended this school and, unbeknownst to me at the time, learned valuable lessons that later helped them deal with a family crisis. For this, I feel a public thank-you is in order.

Last summer I found myself living Kafka's strange "Metamorphosis." One day I was dropping off my children at Plast camp, and two days later I couldn't walk.

All my dear friends and acquaintances rallied to my side. In the early morning hours I would worry how the children would adjust to living with a mother whom they had to help dress and feed. We slowly adjusted to this when the realization that the school year would soon be starting began to weigh heavily on my heart. The normal motherly things, such as making lunch, doing laundry and cooking dinner, were physically impossible for me. I began to panic, envisioning failing grades and stress on my children.

But I had taken for granted all the skills that were taught to them by Pani Olenka - skills that I now believe will remain with them throughout their lives.

* * *

When my twins were born, we were new to the New Jersey community. I was from Canada and, though I knew I would have to return to work, had no idea what preschools were available. It was my husband who drove the local carpool and matter-of-factly said that they would go to Pani Olenka's.

Little did I know that Ms. Makarushka-Kolodiy, a certified Montessori professional, would become the "alpha and omega" for my twins.

During the twins' first year with Pani Olenka, I found myself teaching 21 kindergartners at the neighboring St. John's School. As I would line up my students for dismissal, the inevitable stress of the day would take over. Have you ever tried to dress 21 5-year-olds in 10 minutes? This chaos went on for weeks, with me becoming more and more frazzled at the end of the day.

One morning, as I was getting the twins ready for school, they both lay their jackets on the floor upside down. "What are you doing?" I asked. To my utter amazement, they flipped the jackets over their heads and were dressed in five seconds flat. "Who taught you that?" "Pani Olenka," they proudly replied in unison.

That day at dismissal I asked which of my students had gone to Pani Olenka's. Many eager pupils raised their hands. Gently I reminded them about the coat trick. Needless to say, dismissal became an organized activity. Those children who did not know the coat trick were proudly taught by the others.

I later asked Pani Olenka what other skills she had taught her charges in order that I might reinforce them. Whatever toy or game the children took had to be put back in place. Once again, this became standard practice at home and in kindergarten. Whoever took a toy first had the option to play with it until he/she was ready to give it up. Again this became standard at home. In school, Pani Olenka taught the children how to fold up their blankets and cots. For them this was a great accomplishment.

To my utter amazement, my twins began to make their beds daily. They would lay out their clothing the night before, and they enjoyed organizing their things.

It would be simple for me to take credit for this and praise my parenting skills or my little geniuses. But that would be false. The credit belongs to their teacher: Pani Olenka.

* * *

Several years afterwards, as the 1996-1997 the school year began, my illness was debilitating. Yet my children were able to get their own breakfast daily. They packed their snacks. They laid out their uniforms. They brought home every letter from school that they were given. As they entered the house, they would call up to me, listing all their homework. As I lay in bed, they would sprawl on the floor and do all of their homework. They would say all their prayers daily. They believed that God would help me get better. Their prayers worked. I am on the road to recovery, but every day I thank God that my children had Pani Olenka. Since 3-year-old children are unable to articulate the skills they are being taught; the teaching source often is not acknowledged.

One recent morning the twins were getting ready for school. As one was packing her lunch, I could hear her sister singing softly in the hall. "What is your sister singing?" I asked. "The song that Pani Olenka taught us," she answered matter of factly. Four years later they were singing Pani Olenka's song? I wondered.

Quietly, with curiosity, I approached my daughter. She was singing "Sche Ne Vmerla Ukraina" (the Ukrainian national anthem).

Thank you, Pani Olenka.

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