Et cetera : We just had to ask....Mary Jo Hainstock

We just had to ask…..

………….VS Superintendent Mary Jo Hainstock

Welcome to a new feature at Vinton Today, where we think about all of the serious issues facing our city, schools, state and country, and for a few very precious moments, virtually ignore them all.

Our first guest on "We Just Had to Ask" is Vinton-Shellsburg Superintendent Mary Jo Hainstock.

Mary Jo has spent much of her time the past few weeks talking to school personnel, school board members and local citizens about the budget crisis facing the school. We thought this would be the perfect time to ask about other issues she faces on a daily basis.

Below are our questions and her answers:

Q. Is there anything that your husband Rich asks you not to cook, ever again?

A. I’m thinking, I’m thinking, I’m thinking. No, he likes my cooking. Wait. there is one thing: Corn bread baked with corn. He likes corn bread but not with corn.

Q. Does it matter in your house which way the toilet paper roll goes?

A. It goes over the top, and we are in agreement.

Q. Tell us about your favorite chair?

A. No I don’t have one.

Q. Funniest memory as a parent:

A. It’s a good thing my son Matt is out of country right now. The funniest story is when he was very young he got a gun and holster and cowboy set and he wanted to wear them 24 hours per day.

Q. Best fast food sandwich ever?

A. This one is not applicable; I don’t eat fast food.

Q. What was your first job?

A. Being a high school teacher in an inner city high school. Or when I was younger, working on our cattle farm.

Q. If you were to get a traffic citation it would most likely be for….

A. …using a cell phone while driving, if they make that illegal in Iowa.

Q. One place in the world you really, really wish you could visit?

A. The Inca ruins in Machu Picchu, Peru. Our son lives about 50 miles from there now. These are ruins from many years ago.

Q. First pet you remember?

A. Tip the dog, a collie cross. He always waited in driveway for Dad to get home and he could tell when Dad was a mile away.

Q. Who was your favorite teacher, and why?

A. There are two: Roger Becker, my high school band teacher. He always pushed me to do more than I thought I could do or wanted to do. And Pat Gorman; she was my college biology teacher (I took it while I was a high school senior). She inspired me to become a teacher because she had very high expectations and she made learning interesting.

Q. Strangest thing you did at work hat was not part of your official job description?

A. It would be kind of a long list. I have helped in the kitchen. I’ve gotten glasses for kids. I’ve picked up litter. To me everything is part of my job and what I like about my job is that every day is different.

Q. What book or author you have not read, but should?

A. I have a book I am trying to get through: “Global Achievement Gap” by Tony Wagner. That book is about closing the gaps in education and technology for American students that keep them from doing as well as students in other nations.

And we did ask Mary Jo one, just one, serious question:

Q. Beyond the budget, what are the most significant issues facing Vinton-Shellsburg?

A. We really need to be focusing on how to align our curriculum with the Iowa core curriculum, and make sure our curriculum is aligned k-12 so we don’t have redundancies or gaps in what we are teaching. If we have our curriculum well-articulated and well-aligned, it would help with college prep. Then we could work more with Kirkwood on what classes students can take as they make the transition from high school to college.

And finally :

Q. Is there anything you wish we would have asked you?

A: I think you'll get another chance.

Look for this new feature, "We just had to ask" each week at Vinton Today. And if there is a local leader you would like to know more about, and maybe a specific question you would like to ask, contact us as news@vintoniowa.org