Bob Bartel s journey to become a special teacher
By MICHELLE BOSWORTH
Staff writer
Many years later, his kindergarten teacher remembered him only as the boy who couldn't stop talking, who pestered other children, and who wouldn't stay seated at his desk. If she had had access to what teachers now know, she would have realized that Bob suffered from severe ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder). Despite the frustrations associated with his problem, Bob chose to persevere through trials, continue his education and eventually serve others who struggle with similar problems.
Bob grew up on a farm located one mile north and one and one-quarter miles east of Lehigh. He is the son of R.J. Bartel and the late Tillie Bartel. He attended the Lehigh school district and is grateful that it's small size allowed him numerous opportunities to become involved in a variety of activities.
Physical activities helped him use his hyperactivity for positive gain. He enjoyed playing high school basketball, mastering percussion instruments as well as the trombone, and singing. He was the only one in school to master the glockenspiel. In 1964 he was a member of the second-to-the- last class to graduate from Lehigh High School.
He went on to major in art at Bethel College. While there, he married Sharon, a 'preacher's daughter from Hillsboro' whom he had dated for seven years.
Moving to Elkhart, Ind., after graduation, Bob worked in Voluntary Service with the Mennonite Church. He labored to meet the needs of people in the inner city by taking them to doctor's appointments and helping them with food, rent, housing, furniture, etc.
Later, he became the direct services manager with SRS. He worked there five years when the 1970's energy crisis hit. Unemployment in Elkhart soared from 4 percent to 40 percent. Bob was overloaded with more work than he could handle.
Moving to McPherson, Bob spent the next 22 years in the Bartel Family Insurance business. Then, in his fifties, Bob dramatically changed the course of his life. His son gave him the reason.
Struggling in school, Bob's son underwent special testing during his second grade year. The results were confusing. On the one hand, Bob's son tested high in intelligence. Yet he also battled a severe reading disability.
On top of that, focusing his eyes on something far away (like the blackboard), and then re-focusing on something close (like a book or paper) was difficult for him. It took his eyes much longer to focus, which caused confusion, exhaustion, and frustration. His intense feelings spilled out in emotional eruptions at home. Special education services were needed.
Besides the help he received at school, Bob took his son to specialists and helped him do exercises to correct the focusing problems. He experienced his son's suffering over the years. He wanted to help and he wanted to help others who confronted similar problems. So he again enrolled as a student at Bethel College and earned a teaching degree with special education certification.
Currently teaching his first year of special education at Hillsboro High School, Bob loves working with the students and the staff. He believes that being older is an asset rather than a hindrance in this field because students generally look to him more as a grandfatherly figure. As such, he works hard to balance his expectations with a listening and understanding ear.
Bob also tries to tune in and pay special attention to his students' body language, attitudes, speech, and relationships with others in order to receive clues about how they are doing that particular day. Expectations can then be adjusted without causing so much friction and frustration in the classroom. Generally, he takes advantage of the good days to get a lot accomplished and rides out the bad days by keeping the student occupied but not overwhelmed.
Implementing his background in art, Bob works to creatively stimulate his students in various ways. He takes advantage of colored patterning and sequencing exercises to help students learn and retain math. He throws in trivial pursuit questions that progressively build on each other so students become comfortable using the computer to search for information. He injects ample doses of dry humor into each day to retain balance and make his class fun.
If there is anything Bob doesn't like about being a special ed teacher, it is the paperwork. He grimaces as he mentions the word. He would much rather spend time with his students than sit at a keyboard typing reports that never seem to end.
He and his wife, Sharon who is an elementary school teacher, live in McPherson and share four children and three grandchildren between them.
Bob's hobbies include watching high school basketball, arranging music, especially choral pieces for church, watching drag racing with his son at Heartland Park in Topeka, collecting scale models of cars (hundreds of them), and, of course, art. Bob especially loves to paint with acrylics. He patiently adds colors layer by layer, creating unique and subtly hued pictures that often take a year to complete.
Just as his patience pays off with his paintings, so it also bears fruit at school. Each day is an opportunity to add color to another life. It is a chance to make something good out of the long years of his and his son's suffering.
Bob is breaking trail in the deep snow of ADHD and other disorders, so those teens who struggle now don't have to do so alone
