PCM teacher brings Navy values into the classroom

Rhonda Buys is a long-term substitute teacher at Prairie-City-Monroe Middle School, and she strives to bring honor, courage and commitment to every interaction as well as impart them on the students in her special education classes.

Rhonda learned the importance of those core values in her time in the United States Navy, and she still brings her Navy experiences and lessons to the table each day.

She enlisted in the Navy’s Delayed Entry Program in the summer of 1995. Her grandfather had served in the Navy through World War II, and it was an experience that he didn’t often talk about. Through her own personal research after his death, she was able to find out that he was stationed aboard the USS New Mexico during its tour in the Pacific Theater when it sustained multiple kamikaze attacks.

For her, the Navy was an experience she could never regret because of the connection it gave to her grandfather.

It wasn’t until a year later, in the summer of ’96, that Rhonda was ordered to her basic training with the Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Ill.

After the conclusion of her eight-week training regimen, she was selected to continue her training with the Basic Engineering Common Core.

She was eventually stationed on the USS Platte, a supply ship that mostly saw harbor during her tour of duty. Soon after she concluded her service, the Platte went on a number of international tours, docking in Nova Scotia among many other international destinations.

Rhonda didn’t miss out on her opportunity to go abroad though. During her service, she married a fellow crewman, Jonathan Buys, and the two of them moved together to his new post in England, where they lived for several years.

During that time, Rhonda started taking classes and she had her first experience working with children at a youth center which served the children of military personnel. She finished out her education at the University of New Mexico and Simpson College, and after the two moved to Prairie City, she began volunteering in the school.

After working as an associate with special needs children, Rhonda was once again called to serve when the special education instructor took a long-term leave.

“I think I use a lot of the lessons that I learned in the Navy in school,” Rhonda said. “It’s important for me to earn the respect of my students rather than automatically getting it due to my position … If I can be honest and respectful with them, we’re on the right path.”

In a talk she gave to the middle school students on Veterans Day, Rhonda talked about courage and how it came in many forms.

“When you think about courage, a lot of people associate it with a warzone, with guns and killing people … That’s not the Navy that I was in,” Rhonda said. “That takes guts, true, but there are so many ways to be brave … We use the military to provide aid, we’re not just there to defend but also to help. We’ll be in the Philippines soon, helping there, and that is bravery that the students can have.”

She addressed the students about the need to stand up for their peers in the face of bullying, to not only help the victim but to also address why bullying is wrong.

She gave them lessons that she not only preaches, but puts into practice every day.

“Sometimes you have to fight for your kids. I have to stand up for them, or who will?”

Staff writer Matt Nosco may be contacted at (515) 674-3591 or at mnosco@newtondailynews.com.