A Review of Hawthorne Elementary School in Hastings, NE

Hawthorne Elementary is a school like many others. It teaches grade levels K-6, has two classrooms per grade level, a standard, middle-sized school and large outdoor recreation area. So what's the difference between Hawthorne and other Hastings elementary schools? What makes it shine above the rest?

The answer is simple: the teachers. You cannot find even one teacher in all of Hawthorne elementary that does not genuinely care for the well-being of its students. Every single one promotes students to do their best, regardless of intelligence, race, or background. In second grade, when similar teachers are just going over basic addition and subtraction, Mrs. Heady was teaching us how to add and subtract fractions. In third grade we were blazing through page after page of multiplication and division practice.

But the teachers don't simply make the students work hard; they are completely knowledgable about each subject they cover. Time after time I hear from my friends crazy anecdotes about teachers who didn't know a thing about the subject they taught. One teacher said that there is no such thing as a negative number. Another said that the sun revolves around the earth. Not at Hawthorne. In fact, as I look back at what was taught at Hawthorne I can appreciate the breadth of education they gave to us. Nowadays, with the current No Child Left Behind statute, schools overemphasize mathematics and reading. But when I was a student at Hawthorne, we actually had our own science class, all the way from fourth to sixth grade. The amount of subjects we covered was amazing: Planets, space, heat, the Earth's water cycle, plant anatomy, lab procedures and animal experimentation with rats, electricity, fossils/dinosaurs study, basic chemistry, and many others. As a tutor at another elementary school I can honestly say I've never encountered, or even heard of such a robust educational experience.

However, a robust educational experience and teacher enthusiasm alone do not constitute a good elementary school experience. The last, and most integral part of Hawthorne's educational experience: discipline. What is fascinating about Hawthorne is how the teachers were able to make a class completely silent, obedient, and willing to listen to instruction. As I look back at my school days I always wonder how they accomplished this feat. When I was a tutor, the teachers always looked helpless as their kids were bouncing off the walls, not doing any work, and rebelling against the teacher. This never happened at Hawthorne. Sure, there were times when kids would get a little noisy, but nothing compared to what I've seen at other elementary schools. Not only did this discipline make learning easier, but allowed us to follow the same principle when we entered middle and high school down the road.

I can't recommend Hawthorne Elementary enough. It was an amazing school and an educational experience I'll never forget. To any West/Central Hastings parents, I highly recommend that you check out Hawthorne Elementary. It has superb faculty, a robust education, and an amazing discipline system.