Classroom Conversations: Mr. Ledford & Treazure
Mr. Ledford completed his first year at United Middle Dana Avenue (Dana Ave.) last year. As he enters his second year teaching 6th-grade ELA at United – his ninth year of teaching total – he can be seen cracking inside jokes with students, high-fiving and fist-bumping his way through the halls, and proudly leading a new 6th-grade class with the confidence that comes with establishing strong bonds with students.
Treazure also completed her first year at Dana Ave. in the spring. Now a seventh-grade Bearcat, she’s ready to make this her best year yet. She’s excited to read, learn, and participate in this interview, which her ELA teacher from last year invited her to. “We're the best duo,” she concurred with Mr. Ledford beforehand.
The two met up for their interview in the newly designed campus library. As The Huddle enters, Mr. Ledford is sliding a book, Forge by Laurie Halse Anderson, across the table to Treazure.
Treazure: Do I read this one this year?
Mr. Ledford: No, but you can have it if you want it. [To The Huddle] The book in the sixth-grade curriculum is Chains [by the same author, Laurie Halse Anderson]. It's about this girl named Isabelle who's growing up during the American Revolution as a slave, and she has a sister who we learn later is severely autistic and non-verbal. How is she going to stay with her sister? Good book. I won't spoil it because it's actually so good.
Treazure: And I enjoyed it last year!
Treazure gladly accepts this, now ready to embark on the second book in the series and on her Classroom Conversation. With this tone set, the pair joined The Huddle to discuss overcoming challenges, the power of ELA and track, and the difference a strong teacher-student relationship can make.
The Huddle: Can you introduce yourselves, please?
Mr. Ledford: My name is Mr. Ledford. This is my second year at United and my ninth year teaching. I picked Treazure because there was a moment last year where it just clicked. Treazure — that's my girl! It was awfully fun to come in and have inside jokes that not even the other kids had.
Treazure: I'm in seventh grade. I went to State St. for one year. Outside of school, I keep to myself and try to stay homebound, focusing more on schoolwork to get better grades.
Mr. Ledford: You ran track!
Treazure: Oh, and I ran track last year in the spring!
Mr. Ledford: What’s your favorite memory of last year?
Treazure: My favorite memory from last year is just track, in general! Also, getting to know a lot of new teachers and having a more open bond with them — aka Mr. Ledford! Also, just getting to be myself around people I know will accept me for who I am and not try to change me, and knowing how everyone accepts me as a person. Just being in Michigan [as a homeroom] — whoever's in Michigan this year is really lucky.
Mr. Ledford: Oh, that actually makes me really happy. Michigan's group last year was hard to beat, though. That was—
Treazure: Yeah, we're GOAT-ed!
Mr. Ledford: Also, Treazure, I found Cornbread! By the way, for The Huddle readers: I don't have a piece of cornbread in my room. There's a sculpture. Its name is Cornbread. Every single day, all the kids would come and say good morning to me, and then to Cornbread. It's like our class pet! [Laughing]
Treazure: What’s your favorite memory from working here?
Mr. Ledford: I have two answers. I have one that's very teachery — one for working with adults — and one for working with kids. So, the one I have for working with adults is the Staff Retreat committee this year, which was really fun because I got to meet teachers from other schools at United.
But if you wanted my absolute favorite memory, it was last year, when we were reading The Outsiders. We had the one lesson where Ponyboy was being taught to stay gold. If you know, you know. Then, at the end of the year, Treazure, you wrote me a note, and at the bottom, you wrote, “Stay Gold,” and I wanted to cry. That was so sweet. I also showed it to [Assistant School Director] Ms. Duke, who wanted to cry too. She was like, “Wow, Treazure really got that point. She understood that lesson.” I still have that letter downstairs.
Treazure: That's my favorite book we read last year.
Mr. Ledford: That was going to be my next question! That's exciting.
Treazure: What’s hard about your job, and how do you overcome that?
Mr. Ledford: Everything about being a teacher is hard. There's nothing easy about being one, but I think my job is important. I really try to push kids to be better than they are, but also to be open and accepting. I just want kids to have a teacher who, when they look back, they think, “Oh, that was a good person.” Hopefully I've done that.
Treazure: You have.
Mr. Ledford: You're going to get me teary-eyed here!
Mr. Ledford: Is ELA your favorite subject?
Treazure: Yes. No doubt.
Mr. Ledford: Why?
Treazure: Because of the books that we have read in seventh grade so far, and the books last year. At some point, everyone can relate to at least one thing in the book. I have just loved ELA overall because I understand it so much. I want to be an ELA teacher and a writer, so it all kind of fits under that one subject.
Mr. Ledford: I think you should be an ELA teacher. I think you'd be a good one. It's a lot of work. You can come right back here and be like Mr. X.
Treazure: If it's still up by then!
Mr. Ledford: I mean, the building's really old, but I'm pretty sure Mr. X thought the same thing. I don't think this thing's going to go anywhere!
Mr. Ledford: What activity at United are you most proud of that you’ve done?
Treazure: Track.
Mr. Ledford: Why is it track? What makes you feel like, “I'm proud to be a track athlete”?
Treazure: Because at first, I just did it because I just wanted to be in something. When I first started, it was very overwhelming and stressful because I was not very fast and was nervous. But once I started talking with other people about how I felt, I just kept on practicing and getting better. I proved to myself that I could do things I didn't think I could. And I met friends I would have never talked to otherwise. Track just taught me how to be a better person than I was before I started running track. I also met really great teachers there, and they showed me how to overcome the challenges and obstacles that get in the way. It was really great.
Mr. Ledford: It's bigger than just some racing.
Mr. Ledford: Do you have any high schools you’re interested in going to, and what are your goals for high school or for life after high school? Because, technically, you have like a year and a half left, and you’ll be done, just about!
Treazure: So, I don't know what high school I want to go to yet. I just hope it's a good high school. And my goal is to prove to my younger self that I am the person that I wanted to be over the years. I just want to really be someone that people can look up to, and I want to show myself that I'm more capable than I think I am.
Mr. Ledford: What is something that you wish all teachers at United knew or could do?
Treazure: I wish they knew that the way I acted last year isn't who I am this year. And sometimes I can be seen as the person I was last year, but over this summer I have changed a lot. And so, they should look towards me as a new person rather than what I was last year.
Mr. Ledford: I love that. I think we adults can relate to that, too. Like every single year, it's always the summer of something.
Treazure: What advice would you give me, moving forward?
Mr. Ledford: Wow. We could literally talk about this forever. Since you love track so much, I think you should definitely stick with that, especially in high school. I think sports are really good for building character and growth. I think you should also learn by doing. So say yes to more things. Learning through failure is really important. So, like, doing things, failing, and getting better because of it is better than not doing anything at all.
And don't take things that anyone says — teachers, students, anyone — to heart. One thing I taught teachers over the last summer is not to take everything kids tell them to heart. Like last year, there are probably examples of you talking to me where I'm like, “Dang, Treazure, that kind of hurt my feelings,” but I knew you didn't mean it. Same thing with a lot of the teachers. Like, if a teacher's really under your skin, in the time being, they don't mean it in the sense that, “Oh my gosh, you're so annoying right now.” They mean it in the sense, “I want you to do what's best, and I need you to just listen to me for this moment.”
So, say yes to a lot of things and don't take things personally.
Treazure: I've always been the type of person taking everything to heart. So, I get really upset, really easily. But I think I could stop taking everything to heart and look at what people say in a more positive way.
Mr. Ledford: What is something that you miss from last year that you wish could happen this year?
Treazure: That you'll come and teach me in every grade that I’m in!
Mr. Ledford: Oh, man! Move over, seventh and eighth-grade teachers! Haha, but no – you're very lucky. Especially when you get to eighth grade, Mr. X is just, like — that's the guy. He knows what's up.
Mr. Ledford: So, why do you want to be an ELA teacher? And what college do you want to go to for that?
Treazure: I want to be an ELA teacher because I just want to share my passion for ELA with younger kids. And it doesn't matter what grade I'll teach, I just want to be an ELA teacher. And I can tell them, “The reason why I became an ELA teacher is that, in sixth grade, I had an ELA teacher who really impacted me so much.” And, if I’m valedictorian for eighth-grade graduation, you’re going to be in my speech, and I've been saying that since last year.
Mr. Ledford: I’m going to need a minute after that one.
The Huddle: I think you're going to be a great teacher.
Treazure: Thank you!
Mr. Ledford: She's got the personality. Yeah. Dang. Wasn't ready for that. Did you say what college you want to go to?
Treazure: Oh, and my college I want to go to is Michigan!
Mr. Ledford: Let’s go!
Treazure: You just really impacted me so much. I was like, “Dang, I really want to be like him.”
Mr. Ledford: Michigan is the number one school for teachers in the country, by the way. It is also unbelievably difficult to get accepted. So, if you get accepted, I might cry for you. And if not, Ohio State is right there. Also, a good school.
Treazure: If you could speak to your younger self, what would you say?
Mr. Ledford: Wow. How young?
Treazure: Like, when it was more difficult growing up.
Mr. Ledford: Then, for me, my least favorite grade I've ever done was seventh. It would be almost the same advice I gave you, but I would also throw in to be nicer to my mom, because she didn't have much time left after that. To say yes to doing more things.
But the main thing would be to focus on school. You probably didn't know this, Treazure, but I was a really bad student. I brought it up a couple of times, but I actually failed ninth-grade reading. I think my doing that was also a precursor to becoming a better teacher, because the reason I failed wasn't that I was just lazy. I was just going through a lot of stuff. And as a 13 or 14-year-old, it was really hard for me as that kid at that time to tell my teachers what was wrong because it's like, “You won't understand it.” So, I would tell my younger self that you'll make it and that life is hard, but smooth seas don't make good sailors.
Treazure: Clock it! [an expression of emphatic agreement]
The Huddle: What do you appreciate most about each other?
Treazure: Oh, I can say a lot of things. I'll say just how welcoming you were. You could tell when I was getting upset, and you didn't try to push me to tell you what was going on. You were just kind of there, even if it wasn't verbally. You were saying, “Hey, you know, I'm here for you. Even if it doesn't seem like it, you have someone to come and talk to about anything. I won’t look past you, and I will recognize you as a human-to-human.” Instead of, “You're a student. You don't know what you're talking about.”
He just had a really, really big impact on me.
Mr. Ledford: Wow! Treazure, I really appreciate that you are not afraid to be who you are. We talked about race, specifically, a lot, as a white man talking to a young black girl, and how she should be proud. And Treazure immediately took that and ran with it, becoming probably the most confident middle schooler I've ever met. Someone who is not afraid to try new things, specifically in ELA. It was Treazure and maybe five other kids who were constantly raising their hands. I really appreciated your ability to get involved.
Also, I don't think you knew this, but you paved the way for other kids in the grade to do things, because if they saw you doing it, they didn't feel so alone. Our track turnout last year wasn't very good, and then the way that you talked about track to other kids made them want to do it. You're very influential.
And I appreciate the way that you don't take things super seriously all the time. I know that life can get really difficult, especially with school. It's like, “I need to take this seriously.” But you're willing to chill out and just do it day by day, which is a really hard skill. That's just really nice. Even I can't do that. I have every lesson for this year already planned and on a calendar. So, I wish I could do that.
The Huddle: What would you like to say to the friends supporting your school?
Mr. Ledford: I've taught in a traditional public school, and I've taught in multiple charter schools, and United is at the forefront of student and teacher relationships as being the key to success. You can see it with Treazure and me. And that's one thing I'm really proud of about United: every single teacher has a connection with a student in some way. I think of Kennedy last year is a really good example of someone whose relationship is more academically focused, and Kennedy's 100% focused on her schoolwork. And then I think of other kids on the opposite end of the spectrum: before he can learn, he needs to feel safe in his space, and every teacher at United can do that. And it's really exciting to work with adults who are just so passionate not only about the content they teach, but just being in front of middle schoolers and being a guiding light.
Treazure: I think, from my experience, teachers really try to go out of their way to make sure the students and staff feel safe and like they have a strong connection, similar to what Mr. Ledford said. Each student has a favorite teacher they could talk to about anything. United teaches you that, even though you may feel your struggles are hard and like you just can't focus, you're more than that, and you can overcome that, and you just need to try. As long as you try, you can get over anything.
Mr. Ledford walks Treazure to her next class as she grips her new book he’d gifted her. Thank you both for chatting with The Huddle and demonstrating the impact that educators and students can have on one another. We look forward to a future interview with ELA teacher Ms. Treazure in a few years' time.
Connection is a hallmark of United culture, and this is a glimpse into the dialogues that define our campuses.
