One of Kevin Schodorf's second graders at Gahanna's Lincoln Elementary asked last week via Zoom if the Blue Jackets mascot could make it on the popular television show, with Stinger quickly demurring.
"You don't want me singing," Stinger quickly replied via whiteboard, drawing laughs from the kids in the chat.
Of course, Stinger's not known as the most vocal bug, but it was still a good question. The Zoom chat happened last week as part of the Blue Jackets' celebration of Teacher Appreciation Week presented by iDesign, with six Ohio educators and their students being honored by the team and receiving a virtual visit from Stinger, a CBJ prize pack and organizational supplies for their classroom, all part of the Blue Jackets' continued Hockey in the Classroom efforts.
One of those prizes -- the one featuring the mascot -- was top billing.
"It was great," said Schodorf, who is also the head coach of the varsity hockey team at Gahanna Lincoln High School. "I think Stinger did an excellent job of making it fun and engaging for my kids. My kids were really thrilled to get to see and do something like that. You saw their faces light up when they got to ask a question. I think it will just be something they'll look back on and say Stinger got to come even though we were having to do school from home.
"I thought the Blue Jackets did an incredible job with providing that opportunity and experience for my kids."
The other teachers honored included Nicole Root, a third-grade teacher at Liberty Elementary in Columbus City Schools; Julie Haack, a seventh-grade social studies teacher at Jackson Middle School in South-Western City Schools; Becky Newman, a third-grade instructor at Worthington Estates Elementary in Worthington City Schools; Cheryl Hilborn, a third-grade teacher at Highland Elementary in Highland Local Schools; and Bryce Werntz, band director at Oak Hill High School in Oak Hill Union Local Schools.
Root echoed Schodorf's comments that the Stinger visit was a nice prize for a group of students who have had to complete their school year via online classrooms and virtual learning rather than the traditional route of being present with their friends and teachers each day.
"They loved it," she said. "They're still on ClassDojo asking me about Stinger. They can't believe that he's 20 years old, and I said, 'Well, you know, that's how long they've had a hockey team,' and they said, 'That's so old!'" I had to explain to them that's not as old as they think.
"We had a Google Meet yesterday and we looked at how old some of the other hockey teams are in the NHL, and they were a little surprised that we were so young.
That connection to virtual learning is one thing the Blue Jackets were looking for when it came to teachers to honor this year, and all of the teachers involved have worked to find ways to engage students in the time of the pandemic.
Schodorf said he's lucky that in addition to using Google Meet to stay in touch with his students - the whole class meets online thrice each week, and he has a 15-minute chat with each student individually as well - he's been lucky enough to see many of his students around his Gahanna neighborhood in recent weeks.
Newman said she's had similar experiences, as she was contacted an afternoon last week when she was about to head out to make social distancing visits to her students.
"The personal connection with students is everything for teachers, so it's been really hard on all of us, but we just have to find ways to engage them and connect with them," Newman said. "We just keep finding ways to work to meet everybody. Our district has offered paper materials, online materials, all kinds of different things. They've gotten computers out to people that need them. That's been very fortunate.
"It's been hard, but we are just trying to make that contact to make sure we're reaching everyone."
Many of the teachers honored during Teacher Appreciation Week also have found unique ways to bring hockey into the classroom as well. Newman and her class have participated in the team's Book Jackets reading program, while Schodorf said he brings up his favorite sport as much as possible
Root, meanwhile, has taught a "Hockey Friday" enrichment program that includes some virtual reality expeditions as well as lessons in the Blue Jackets' Future Goals -- Hockey Scholar program that introduces STEM concepts to kids through the sport of hockey.
"I've learned a lot myself about the science and the math behind the game," she said. "Now I go to the games and I go, 'Wow, I taught my kids this today.' It's a little bit harder for my kids so we do it the with the whole group, and they really enjoy that. They think it's so much fun."
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