| HeraldNet - Snohomish County's online news source |
 THURSDAY, JULY 29, 2010 2:01 pm |
ADVERTISEMENT |
|||||||||
 |
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
|
|
||||||||||
Local News 
|
||||||||||||
A gift for a gifted kid Violin helps focus the energies of a Granite Falls boy who’s both brilliant and quirky GRANITE FALLS — In 21 years of teaching elementary school music, Jenny Price never has had a student quite like Drew Bielaczyc.Her colleagues at Mountain Way Elementary School in Granite Falls describe a quirky kid who is both charming and vexing and certainly brilliant beyond his 10 years. When Drew was 3, he would walk around the house mumbling something his parents couldn’t distinguish. Finally, they realized their son had read, memorized and was reciting a paragraph from the side of a toothpaste tube. Drew is different than his peers in many ways, but his parents have no plans to get a diagnosis that could lead to a label. They have heard suggestions that he could have a high-functioning form of autism known as Asperger syndrome, but they choose to let Drew be Drew. Elementary school for their second child is as much about learning how to fit into society as it is academic lessons. While he earned perfect scores on the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills in the second grade, he faced much greater challenges figuring out how to work with a group of his peers. “Schoolwork is easy; people are not,” said his mother, Kim Bielaczyc. The boy who solves a Rubik’s Cube in less than four minutes can become a spigot of anxiety and tears without warning. More than once, Price has had to tell the boy who often tried her patience to “turn off the waterworks. It’s not going to work on me.” Two weeks ago, it finally did. Price had arranged for fifth-graders who are learning to play the violin to perform for the Granite Falls School Board. Afterward, students were asked what they liked most about playing the violin. Drew gave a passionate, heart-felt answer that ended with him wishing he had a violin of his own. His mom had been trolling the classified Web site Craigslist, but a violin wasn’t in the family budget. The next morning, a staff member asked Price about Drew and if he really did want a violin. Price told her she believed he did. A week later, on Feb. 24, Price called Drew out of class and had him come to the office. She handed him the anonymous gift of a new violin that he cradled in his arms. They shared a happy cry. “When I saw it, I was just like, ‘Oh my God, Oh my God, Oh my God,’ ” Drew said. “I couldn’t help but cry. I was so thankful.” “What a beautiful moment Drew gave me,” Price said. The plan is for Drew to get private violin lessons, but he’s not one to wait. He’s exploring the strings and sheet music on his own. “I squeezed in the national anthem before I went to school,” Drew said the other day. Kim Bielaczyc knows her son will face many challenges ahead. He is a child who can fold dozens of beautiful origami shapes he has memorized from books, but he didn’t lose the training wheels on his bike until he was 8. His parents kept him in a second-grade classroom for academically gifted students for two years because it was the right fit and then had him skip to fourth grade because they felt it was where he would perform best. Last year, Drew was called up to a fifth-grade math class and grew furious with teacher Tracy Land when she introduced her students to pi. “I could not grasp the concept of a number being infinite,” he now explains with a smile. “He has matured so much,” Land said. Kim Bielaczyc celebrates the social steps her son is making and the fact that his teachers and classmates have been so supportive. “So many have been so compassionate. They understand he is a little different but he has come out of his shell so much,” she said. “When they see the good side, they fall in love with him.” Bielaczyc said she was blindsided by the gift of her son’s beloved violin. “I never in a million years expected what happened to happen,” she said. “It’s a godsend. He doesn’t put it down. Finally there’s something to get him off the darned computer.” Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446, stevick@heraldnet.com. More online Mountain Way Elementary School music teacher Jenny Price tells the story in a blog entry of how the gift of a violin to one of her students made a difference in his and her life. The blog is at http://tinyurl.com/giftofdrew. |
- Mukilteo group fighting Eyman initiative remains a mystery
- Stuck climber gets a lift from ledge near Granite Falls
- Man killed in hit-and-run accident named
- Monroe may cut police, other city workers to make budget
- Neighbors respond after fire at park
- 1 dead, 2 injured in bear attack at Montana campground
- Three injured in Tulalip propane tank explosion
- This year's race could be Sen. Murray's toughest yet
- New BP chief; 2 new oil spills
- Dinner is served, with help of many
- Mukilteo group fighting Eyman initiative remains a mystery
(63) - Monroe may cut police, other city workers to make budget (22)
- Stuck climber gets a lift from ledge near Granite Falls (12)
- Arizona helped deport thousands without new law (8)
- Obama to campaign in Seattle for Sen. Murray (8)
- Everett spends thousands for
dog-waste bags (5)
- Everett takes another look at RV code after residents complain (5)
- Lynnwood cops face job cuts (5)
- Woman dies after being struck by truck in Mukilteo (5)
- County's internal report finds no proof of botched autopsies (4)
- 'Deadliest Catch' stars at MLT festival
- Edmonds post office to move
- Celebrating 30 years of playing ball
- Tour de Terrace whirlwind brimming
- Jackson graduate is taking steps to improve his swing
- Activities Calendar
- Braille students get a feel for wildlife
- Lynnwood cops face job cuts
- Cascade posts loss; FDIC acts, 2 directors quit
- Motor Trucks forges ahead with new Everett showroom
- Look for ‘lean' ways to bolster bottom line
- Stevens plus Swedish equals more care, closer to home
- Businesses can learn from Horatio Nelson’s life
- Voters should consider candidates’ business stance
- Union Bank's new NW chief will be based in Everett
|
|
 
|
|
|
|
| TODAY'S TOP JOBS |
| View All Top Jobs |
| Top Cars |
|
| Top Homes |
|
|
ADVERTISEMENT |
|
|
|Contact Us
|Advertiser Services
|Home Delivery
|Newsstand Locations
|Classifieds
|Feedback
|About the Company
|Work@the Herald
|Site Map |
|
COMMENTS | Be the first to comment
Log in or register to post a new comment.
To read other terms and conditions, click here