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Barbara
Dube is a cancer survivor with a positive out look on life.
Dube has been a teacher at Howard Drive Elementary
School for 25 years and she also teaches language arts to fourth and
fifth grade students in the Cosmos gifted program.
Barbara Dube
As a Cosmos educator, Dube works with a team of
teachers, each with a different subject area, to instruct students
from four area schools. Two days out of the week Palmetto and Coral
Reef students attend the program, while on the alternating days
Pinecrest Elementary and Howard Drive students attend.
Dube conducts her classes with the philosophy that
learning needs to be exciting and students need to explore.
Throughout the school year she strives to keep her
classes interesting, introducing students to new styles of writing by
using monthly themes and concentrating on different authors. Some of
the themes include mysteries, journalism, realistic fiction and
historical fiction. And the themes involve not just reading, but
writing and art projects.
"I want them to love learning and to love
reading," said Dube. "I tell the students there's nothing
better you can do for your mind than to read each day."
And, she says, there is more to language arts than
just reading.
"The ultimate goal is to develop their critical
thinking skills, their ability to communicate and their creative
thinking," she explained. "And we try to develop these skill
through the subject matter we offer."
Dube's work at Howard Drive extends beyond being a
language arts teacher, as she also sponsors the nature club, which she
began 20 years ago. The nature club is made up of two groups of 25
students and each meets twice a week after school for a 50-minute
class.
Nature club offers a dynamic learning experience for
children. The youngsters study animals, learn about environmental
issues, read articles, study research techniques and write summaries.
The club features field trips around South Florida and guest speakers
who bring along animals for discussion.
An important element of the class is discussing common
sense rules for keeping the environment clean. But, probably the most
unique aspect of the club is that it is the beginning of environmental
activism for the children. Students create posters about the
environment and this year they signed a petition from Defenders of
Wildlife to help save an endangered wolf.
To raise money for wildlife causes, Dube operates a
school store -- with the help of nature club members and parent
volunteers -- that sells school supplies. The profits from the store
fund an annual fair called Cosmos Day and profits from Cosmos Day are
donated to various wildlife groups.
Dube also volunteers at the Dade County Fair, where
she has been in charge of the creative writing department for the past
15 years. The department judges creative writing submissions by
students from fourth grade through high school. Dube also is on the
scholarship committee at the Fair, which awards thousands of dollars
in educational grants each year.
Staying focused on her work has been extremely
challenging for Dube over the last two years, as she battled myeloma
bone cancer. Just this past February and March, Dube went through an
exhausting, painful stem cell transplant, which required that she be
placed in isolation for several weeks to prevent infection. The stem
cell operation involved a high-dose of chemotherapy to kill as much of
the cancer as possible.
Dube said receiving the new cells was like having new
seeds planted in her circulatory system. And as she began recovering
from the operation, she had to stay on a special diet and lost a
considerable amount of weight.
Now, as Dube recuperates, she is re-gaining her weight
and says she was thrilled to be able to return to school before the
end of the year to continue doing the job she enjoys so much.
Today, Dube goes to the gym three days a week and
walks a mile every day with her husband Robert and their two rescued
golden retrievers.
"I think attitude has a lot to do with it,"
said Dube, regarding her fight against cancer. "I think you
should keep a positive attitude and do the things that you normally
do."
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