http://www.lva.virginia.gov/public/vawomen/2009/honoree.asp?bio=7

http://www.jmu.edu/madisononline

James Madison University - Index

James Madison University - Madison Magazine - Summer 2009 - Index

‘I decided to take baby chicks with no mother
as well as Henrietta and her chicks to the class,
so the children could see the difference.’
— Joann Grayson, psychology professor and Virginia Woman of History
Garrett’s class examined the achievements of past honorees
and learned that altruistic endeavors and “breaking glass
ceilings” were the general themes. The children narrowed
their focus. “The class decided they wanted to nominate
someone who made a difference in the lives of children,”
Garrett says. “At that point, Google took over.”
As the children searched multiple terms — women, Virginia,
child welfare — Grayson’s name was repeatedly in the
search results.
It’s no surprise. Grayson, a 30-year veteran of JMU’s psychology
faculty, is a champion of child abuse prevention
and treatment. Her list of accolades includes the 2006 Virginia
Professor of the Year awarded for “extraordinary dedication
to undergraduate teaching” by two national organizations,
the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of
Teaching and the Council for Advancement and Support
of Education, as well as the 2006 Champion for Children
Award from Prevent Child Abuse Virginia, the 2005 Commissioner’s
Award for Virginia from the U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services’ Administration for Children
and Families, and a 2004 TIAA-CREF Virginia Outstanding
Faculty Award, administered by the State Council
of Higher Education for Virginia and announced by the
governor. Grayson has taken her advocacy for children to
the U.S. House of Representatives Select Subcommittee on
Education and is a past chair of the Governor’s Advisory
Board on Child Abuse and Neglect in Virginia. Since 1981,
she has been the editor and publisher of the Virginia Child
Protection Newsletter.
As the class read about Grayson’s briefings on Capitol
Hill, her work at JMU and in the community, and saw the
leading role she has taken in advocating for children, they
knew she was exactly the nominee they were looking for.
Not only did Garrett’s class nominate Grayson, but they
also invited her for a visit.
Grayson, of course, is no stranger to the classroom. At
JMU she teaches in the areas of child abuse and neglect,
child clinical psychology, clinical psychology and field
placement. Each year, she supervises scores of students in
service-learning work. “We have more than 40 participating
sites throughout the community that partner with the psychology
department for field placements. For example, students
work with First Step, a community organization for
victims of domestic violence, prevention programs at Rockingham
Memorial Hospital, the Gus Bus literacy effort, the
Teen Pregnancy Prevention program, JMU’s counseling and
psychological services, Healthy Families and Western State
Hospital,” she says. “The students grow and become colleagues.
Many of our current site supervisors are people who
went through the service-learning field program as students.
So it’s a nice system.”
Nonetheless, educating a class of fourth-graders on the
history of child protection presented a challenge for Grayson.
“I talk to my JMU class about child protection history
for 45 minutes, and I wondered what in the world I
was going to say to fourth graders for two hours,” she says.
It didn’t take long for the educational and child expert to
come up with a solution.
She found the answer in the family farm’s chicken house.
Grayson observed one of the hens, Henrietta, sheltering a
brood of chicks under her wings. “You’ll notice that baby
chicks are quite content when with their mother hen. They
feel safe. Chicks that you buy, who have been separated from
their mothers, are quite different. Their loud and constant
peeping can drive you crazy,” she says. “I decided to take
baby chicks with no mother as well as Henrietta and her
chicks to the class, so the children could see the difference.”
Grayson knew that Henrietta would provide the students an
excellent example of the value of a protective parent.
Grayson’s classroom visit was a hit. The kids learned the
history of child protection, got acquainted with Henrietta,
named the chicks, and received an introduction to JMU
— Grayson showed the class a video from the university’s
admissions office.
Several weeks later, her mailbox was flooded with letters
from the students thanking her for her visit. “Now I want to
go to JMU for college. I showed my parents the pamphlet,
and they agree with me! Also, do you think that maybe I
could be part of that Virginia Child Protection group?”
wrote Megan Miller. The letters also contained plenty of
well wishes for the success of Grayson’s nomination. “I cross
my fingers that you win,” wrote one student.
The positive thinking worked. Grayson was recognized
as a 2009 Virginia Woman in History and was honored at a
reception at the Library of Virginia on March 26. M
✱ Read more about this Virginia Woman in History at www.lva.virginia.
gov/whatwedo/k12/vw/2009/honoree.asp?bio=7. And, read some of
the children’s letters at www.jmu.edu/MadisonOnline.
44 MADISON MAGAZINE
PHOTOGRAPH BY PETE MAROVICH/DAILY NEWS-RECORD