The Fishing Teacher
By Richard Simms
Scenic City Fishing Charters Inc.

Trent Comeaux is an outgoing young man, at least for a 10-year-old. His long hair cannot hide a cheerful face that smiles easily.

Trent's classmate, Emili Phelps however, is rather shy. Bright blonde hair and brighter blue eyes light up on an otherwise quiet little girl.

Both were 4th graders at Red Bank Elementary School in 2008, and they are among a long of students who have received a rare lesson indeed. With life preservers fastened tight, they cruised across the Tennessee River with their teacher, Sam Simons -- otherwise known at Red Bank Elementary as "The Fishing Teacher."

As he does with his best students every year, Simons was escorting Trent and Emili on a catfishing trip. They won the honor thanks to a special incentive program "The Fishing Teacher" conducts in his classroom.

"I told them early in the year that a 96 percent attendance rate would make them eligible to be in a drawing for a fishing trip," said Simons. "I love to fish and I wanted to find a unique idea to share my personality with the kids -- and to give them the opportunity to experience something they're not normally going to get to do."

When a huge catfish grabbed Emili's bait, and her face lit up like a Christmas tree, it was clear Simons had succeeded.

Simons, 24, migrated south from Indiana to Chattanooga in 2006. He and his girlfriend, also a teacher, saw a picture of the Tennessee Aquarium in a job magazine and decided to visit for Spring Break.

"We really loved Chattanooga and I saw that a few weeks later there was a job fair. We turned around and came back for the job fair and both of us had jobs within two weeks and moved."

You don't have to talk to Simons very long to see that he cares a lot about kids.

Stephanie Hinton, then Red Bank Elementary Principal said, "Sam is really exceptional. He works very hard to build relationships with all the kids. He goes above and beyond to mentor the kids and let them know that they're special."

Last Saturday Trent and Emili didn't care much about being special. They cared about fish. One after another each youngster did battle, feeling the kind of life on the end of a line that many youngsters never experience. Trent topped out with a 17-pound blue catfish while Emili managed to wrestle a 19-pound freshwater drum to the boat.

Both were full of questions… Why are they slimy? What are their whiskers for? What are those fins called?

Of course Simons, The Fishing Teacher, always had answers in an outdoor classroom setting that the two youngsters will probably remember forever.

Trent and Emili caught a lot… a whole lot. Simons was glad, but says there is plenty to learn besides how to catch fish.

"Sometimes just getting them out for a boat ride is special enough," he said. "They see things, birds and other wildlife, they've never seen before and you can teach them about things they don't know about necessarily."

Simons said there was no doubt that his fishing incentive program was making a difference in the classroom.

"I had parents come up to me and say their kids had a stomach ache but they said, 'I've got to get to school so I can get that fishing trip."

"Trent and Emili had to carry their pictures around to show everybody at school this week," he said. "Everyone was really excited, from administration, to other teachers and the kids. I've had lots of requests now to go out fishing."

He says his "fishing incentive program" will continue. Each year he has the previous fishing trip recipients come back to his new 4th graders to share their experience.

Many teachers say that in today's lawsuit-happy society; they would never take on such a responsibility for students outside the classroom. Simons' principal, a 32-year teaching veteran, admits that she cannot officially endorse his unusual program.

"I stay neutral on it." said Hinton. "And yes, a teacher willing to go to that length for their students .... it's very unusual. I still remember one of my teachers years ago who took a bunch of us for cake & ice cream when I was young. Have I ever done it myself .... absolutely not."

Simons said, "I'm not going to lie to you. It is in the back of my mind. But I try to establish a trust with all of my parents. I just want to do something that my kids are going to remember for a lifetime. And I guess that just involves taking some chances. There is so much that you and the students are going to miss out on if you don't do that."

Simons isn't all alone. He says other Red Bank Elementary teachers coordinate other similar efforts. Other teachers sometimes take the top-performing girls to the movies.

"I've been getting a lot of flack from the 5th grade girls at school," said The Fishing Teacher with a smile. "They're mad that they can't go fishing instead of to the movies so we might have to change that next year."

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