I saw Mr. Giles every day of the week, except Saturday. He
always amazed me with how much he knew. He answered every question about things in the
book and every question about associated things that were not. When Mr. Giles taught, he
made sure we knew what he was teaching before he built on it, and he never bored us with
unneeded explanations about things we already knew. Someone once said that anyone can
speak and be heard, but not just anyone can speak and be understood. I always understood
Mr. Giles. In order for me to be as clear, I would have had to do drafts and drafts of the
lesson and then read it as a speech. For Mr. Giles it came naturally; he was a teacher at
heart.
Mr. Giles was not only a great speaker, but also a great
learner. Many people I know, including myself, don't like to be corrected. I don't think I
am always right; I just want to be and I am embarrassed when I'm not. So I just pretend I
was right and refuse the correction even though I know it is true. Mr. Giles wanted to be
corrected. He wanted us to know more than he did because he loved us. He could see and
weigh both sides of everything, and he always yielded to the proper side even if it was
not his originally. This is how you learn. Now, reflecting back, I realize that he was not
learning for himself. He was learning so he could teach us better. The more you learn, the
better you are at making others learn. Mr. Giles was devoted to loving everyone.
I have not met anyone as selfless as Mr. Giles. When he was
dying, he was not worried about himself; he was worried about how I was doing. He knew he
was dying and he told my dad that he was worried about me! Mr. Giles is the most godly
person I know. The only thing that could make me admire anyone more than I do Mr. Giles,
is for someone to love everyone more than he does. So far, the only one is God.
About Bob Giles: 
As written by Nancy Gleiner and delivered by Beth Slovensky
at the dedication:
"I have great faith in a seed."
"I am prepared to expect wonders."
It was Henry David Thoreau who wrote that. It could have
been Bob Giles.
His classroom was filled with expectations of the changes
that Nature brings with the seasons, of animals growing and developing, of plants as they
push through dirt and take form. His classroom was filled with students expecting exciting
moments of learning, expecting Nature's marvels to appear before their eyes, expecting a
teacher who connected what was in books to what was outside the windows. Bob Giles never
let them down.
Like Thoreau, he had great faith in the seeds, in the early
signs of Spring that were a promise of the wildflowers he cherished and taught his
students, some of them, at least, to love. He had faith in the seeds of learning and
appreciating what he treasured that were sprouting in the minds of his students.
Bob Gill's life was in
full bloom when it ended an end expected by him, but a sudden blow to almost everyone
around him. His death created a void that people needed to and wanted to fill quickly.
Co-workers, students and their parents, nature-lovers and many others, some who knew him
only by his reputation, asked people close to him for a direction, a way to turn their
grief into action, a way to make who he was and what he loved endure.
It was hard to narrow down the choices; he treasured so
much of Nature. Mr. Giles helped to decide that, in a way. He departed when the trillium
and fire pinks and other early spring wildflowers were giving way to wood poppies and wild
geraniums. Bob Giles and wildflowers were connected in so many ways, as a teacher, he
initiated the wildflower project for every seventh-grader; as a religious man, wildflowers
were a visible sign of heaven on Earth; as a lover of Nature, he shared the wildflowers on
his property on Back Creek with his students.
And wildflowers endure.
The idea became a seed.
How the garden started:
As written by Nancy Gleiner, given in speech at the
dedication:
It took a community to grow this garden. What started as a
trickle, became a steady stream of donations and offers to be a part of this ultimate
science project.
Call it seed money. It came from change dropped into cans
in the cafeteria, from other schools, science departments, parents and people who had
heard of Bob's appreciation of Nature, and that his students thought he was cool, which
was quite an honor. We wanted to create a project that would be a lasting part of the
school's architecture; not as an accessory, but a focal point.
The generosity of so many made it possible to create a
raised garden, one that was very visible and protected the flowers from teen-age soles
(the ones on shoes, anyway). We gave it permanence by using rock. To be accessible or not
to be accessible? Should there be a prickly barricade around the wall to prevent students
from sitting on it, or should we welcome them to it with a place to sit and hope some of
the beauty and wonder might rub off on them. That's how Bob would have done it, and so we
did.
To everything, there is a trade-off. For the garden to be
in plain sight brought challenges. We heard many times, "Oh, you're the ones trying
to grow wildflowers in the sun." We did not look for perfection; we even bent the
rules a little. And we knew it was okay. If you find a plant you think does not belong in
the garden, we invite to bring an appropriate substitute. We heard, what can I do to help;
oh, I have some blah, blah flowers that you can come and dig. It was have trowel, will
travel.
There were spontaneous conversations with strangers bending
over the same plants in garden shops, businesses that said, sure, tell me what you need
and then refusing to accept money. If there was any doubt that Bob's spirit has been
around, giving the plants and the planters an extra boost and inspiration, a little time
spent working on the garden changed that.
Like the students who come through these doors, this is a
work in progress. It is in its infancy now and, like the children, will change and develop
deeper roots through the seasons. Like the children, it has been shaped by people who care
enough to become involved, people who are grateful there was a Bob Giles.
The flowers will bloom, rest and, with a little luck and
some consideration from El Nino, bloom again. The students and teachers who knew Bob will,
like storytellers, pass on his legacy in the tending of his garden.
A memorial fund was established here for perpetual care of
the garden, with SCA involvement, for maintaining plantings and replacing the ones that
refuse to cooperate. A club will be organized in the Fall to work on the garden and to use
it as a learning tool for budding horticulturists (sorry, but sometimes I can't resist an
obvious pun). And a PTA board position will be created to oversee the care of the garden.
Like Bob Giles' spirit, the roots of this garden will
spread throughout the community as thriving plants are divided and shared. A few months
ago, we had a beautiful rock wall, a lot of dirt and a few pansies. Today, we have more
than 50 varieties of wildflowers. Not all native, but all wildflowers, or so we think.
As Thoreau said, expect wonders. This is one of them.
BOB GILES
MEMORIAL PROJECT
We would like to thank all of the parents,
students and staff members who contributed to the Memorial Fund for Bob Giles. Through
your generosity, we were able to build a wildflower garden in front of our school which
will both beautify CSJH and serve as an instructional project as well.
We would also like to express our
appreciation to those individuals who have contributed time or resources to the project.
Lee Henderson and members of his firm, Lumsford & Associates, provided the sketches of
the brick wall. The PTA purchased the beautiful bronze memorial plaque. Jerry Hunt from
Mulch 'n More very generously donated the gravel and soil to fill the enclosure.
Obenchains' contributed some of the pansies and ornamental kale and cabbage for our winter
garden. Doug Basham of Brambleton Hardware provided the fertilizer. Thank you to Virginia
Western Community College for the donations of wildflowers and a commitment to share their
expertise and plants in the future. We would especially like to commend Mr. Jimmy
Francisco for the exceptional job he did on the stonework.
On November 22, pansies and cabbages were
planted in the garden to provide ornamentation until the actual wildflower garden can be
planted and dedicated in the spring. Members of Camaraderie, a Christian organization
sponsored by Mr. Giles, provided the manpower for the planting and mulching. We would
especially like to thank Beth Slovensky, Nancy Gleiner, Betty Henderson, Ann Hagan, and
Sherry Barrett for their roles in the development of this project.
We truly feel that this wildflower project
is one in which Bob Giles would want to be involved.
