COWBOY UP!

By Jim Redwine

Before October 4, 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 American boys knew who they admired and what they wanted to be, cowboys. From the days of Hoot Gibson and Tom Mix to Hopalong Cassidy and the Durango Kid until Gene Autry and Roy Rogers boys of all backgrounds dreamed the same dream. Then America watched as our global boogeyman leapfrogged over us and put us in fear of destruction from above. Cowboys’ six guns became obsolete and American boys, girls too, dreamed of being astronauts. John Glenn orbited the earth aboard a new fire-breathing steed and from 1957 until Clint Eastwood’s movie The Good, The Bad and The Ugly that came out in 1966 during the throes of the Viet Nam War American boys left cowboys in the dust. However, since this is America, a sense of emergency and panic can only be maintained a short while before we revert to our roots.

As a one-time American boy I made the same progression. I fell back from my completely unrealistic dream of becoming a physicist to my only somewhat unrealistic, albeit subdued and hidden yearning, to be a cowboy. Returning to the days of Gene Autry was much easier than facing the reality that I will not be helping to settle Mars. However, the declining dreams of a young boy are themselves sometimes painful to reconstruct when one is separated from them by time. But the fates did recently allow me an opportunity to kind of revisit those thrilling days of yesteryear. I got to herd one cow.

Now, when I was playing cowboys and Indians with the neighborhood boys in Pawhuska, Osage County, Oklahoma in the 1950’s several of my friends were, in fact, real Indians and several of them were, in fact, the sons of real cowboys. Of course, since we boys had not yet had the advantage of adult myopia we were unaffected by the niceties of who was supposed to be what. We all were whatever the scenario we thought up called for. Alas, we grew up, sort of.

However, let me return to my recent opportunity to turn back the clock to the dreams of grade school days. When Peg and I bought a cabin in rural Osage County a few months ago we not only found a new home but also a new friend who was the prior owner and a real cowboy. How lucky was that? Anyway, Johnny runs some cattle on our place and those cattle are like the rest of us; they do not always stay put. Occasionally a cow will find its way out onto the public road. Such was the case yesterday. So, as my brother and I were heading to Bartlesville about 20 miles from our cabin to run errands for Peg, we encountered a large black cow with a white face happily munching on the right-of-way bluestem grass. I saw my chance to live that five-year-old boy’s dreams.

I jumped out of my pickup and approached that cow with a confidence that can only come from ignorance. As I got closer and closer to the bovine behemoth, instead of her fearing me as I anticipated she took the attitude of a large animal upset by someone interrupting her dinner. Having neither horse nor rope nor the ability to use either had I had them I retreated and called for backup on my cell phone.

“Johnny, it’s Jim. One of your cows is out.”

“Jim, I’m in Oklahoma City.”

“Johnny, what the devil do you want me to do?”

“Why, nothing Jim, unless you want to. I’ll be back in The Osage in a few hours and I’ll deal with it. This is cowboy work.”

Well, Johnny is obviously a true psychologist as that last statement cut deep into my boyhood psyche. I just clicked off my phone and girded my loins up about me as I ran towards Miss Bossie and waved my arms. Apparently she was so amused she decided to amble back into her pasture and I shut the gate behind her.

Now I know some of you Gentle Readers are probably thinking this event may not be quite as impressive as The Lone Ranger cleaning out a nest of rustlers. But to me it’s just a matter of degree. They both qualify for cowboy status. My dreams have finally come true. I’m going to buy a hat and boots and find a drugstore where I can prop my boots up on the bar rail, tip my hat back and sip a sarsaparilla.

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Today (August 20), the Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation, in collaboration with the OptIN Advisory Council and the City of Evansville, officially unveiled the Mayor’s Work Ethic Certificate. The Mayor’s Work Ethic Certificate is a college and career readiness opportunity for eighth grades students to identify, develop and demonstrate the skills necessary to be successful in high school and beyond. Currently, students at six EVSC schools will have the opportunity to earn the certificate.

“By earning the Mayor’s Work Ethic Certificate, our students are demonstrating they have a strong work ethic and are saying they are committed to learning and mastering the skills necessary to be successful as they go on to high school and begin planning their future in earnest,” said EVSC Superintendent David Smith. “The Mayor’s Work Ethic Certificate gives us the opportunity to formally recognize these students for possessing the skills that industry tells us are important at every level, for every single employee.”

The EVSC’s Mayor’s Work Ethic Certificate is a product of EVSC’s OptIN, a program that helps students and parents identify all of the opportunities available to them upon high school graduation. OptIN officials announced the creation of the Governor’s Work Ethic Certificate (GWEC) in August 2018. The Governor’s Work Ethic Certificate is available for high school seniors.

“Because of the success we saw with the Governor’s Work Ethic Certificate, we wanted to take those skills and customize them for our eighth graders,” said B. J. Watts, OptIN executive director. “Just like the GWEC, the Mayor’s Work Ethic Certificate outlines the top transferable skills we know students need in order to be successful as they move forward, regardless of where their path may take them.”

According to Watts, the Mayor’s Work Ethic Certificate mirrors the six skills – called P.R.I.D.E.S. – that are outlined in the Governor’s Work Ethic Certificate. The EVSC’s Work Ethic Certificate requires student mastery of the P.R.I.D.E.S., plus four academic components. The P.R.I.D.E.S include:

• Persistence: Students will be resilient, persevere through challenges and problem solve.

• Responsibility: Students will accept and demonstrate service to others, possess a positive attitude and communicate effectively and appropriately

• Initiative: Students will demonstrate ability to self-start and think creatively and critically. Students will be involved and take ownership of their work.

• Dependability: Students will show reliability and accountability, demonstrating responsibility and consistent punctuality.

• Ethics: Students will be trustworthy and demonstrate humility, integrity, and independence in their actions.

• Self-Management: Students will be flexible, work collaboratively with others, and manage emotions.

The four academic components for the Mayor’s Work Ethic Certificate include:

1. 98% or higher attendance rate

2. Four hours of community service

3. No more than one “F”

4. No AEA (in-school suspension), OSS (out-of-school suspension) or referral to EVSC’s CARES program

“As an EVSC graduate and member of the OptIN advisory council, it is personally inspiring to be actively involved in increasing opportunities for students,” said Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke. “This certificate portrays to those considering investing in our community that students from the EVSC possess the transferable skills necessary for sustained success regardless of when they enter the workforce.”

Rewards will be given to students each quarter who remain eligible for the Mayor’s Work Ethic Certificate. At the end of the school year, all students who successfully earn the certificate will receive a summer pool pass from Mayor Lloyd Winnecke.

“We are excited to see this come together and are extremely thankful for the close partnership and working relationship we have had with Mayor Winnecke who has been extremely supportive of this program,” Watts said. “We definitely could not have done this work without his leadership and support.”

The EVSC will pilot the Mayor’s Work Ethic Certificate at six schools – McGary, Thompkins, Washington, Lincoln, North Jr., and Lodge.