A cultured labor of love

From the beginning of time, civilizations have passed down their respective cultures to the younger generations. Before the written word was developed, this was done through oral tradition. The civilizations that have not continued this custom have faded off into the dusts of antiquity and have become nothing more than a memory.
Over the past 35 years, one local development center has passed down to its students the City of Ville Platte’s customs of cotton and the Tournoi in an effort to keep the Cajun culture in the area alive.
“We, in the beginning, used the Cotton Festival week to learn about cotton, but there’s no more cotton in Evangeline Parish,” said Danyelle Reed of Danyelle’s Early Development Center. “We now have a dad Lucas Pitre who is a consultant and does research. He works with the cotton farmers in north Louisiana and has a test farm here where he does some tests with the cotton to help his farmers up north.”
Reed continued, “He allowed us to go on a field trip to his farm. Last year was the first year we went, and it was such a hit that we decided to go again this year.”
Similarly, Reed has incorporated the running of the Tournoi into her lessons. “We’ve always taught the Tournoi and seen pictures and everything, and I taught is as a lesson,” she said. “Years ago, I had a dad who would ride the Tournoi, and I asked him if there was anyway where we could get someone to make little poles and a little clip for some little rings. He looked at me and said that he would do it for me.”
“I had a little Halloween knight suit, and we bought swords and more capes and stuff over the years,” Reed continued. “Phyllis Stagg worked with me for years and sewed one costume with the little point. She made that when her first grandson was here when we did the Tournoi. He loved it so much that she made him that as a Halloween costume. She keeps bringing it so we can see what the traditional Tournoi looks like.”
Now, Reed’s students run their own version of the Tournoi where they dress up in costume and have to collect three rings. “It’s so cute because these children know about the real Tournoi and ask their parents to go. You should see the excitement when they come back on Monday after they see it, and they explain to their parents that the rings are the enemies of cotton and on and on and on.”
Learning about cotton and the Tournoi fit into the overall mission of Reed’s school. “The school is about education and learning but not just about the reading, the writing, the math, and the language,” Reed explained. “We go on field trips, we go on the bus, we go to the cotton fields, and we pick cotton. The greatest thing that makes a lasting impression on these children is the hands-on experiences, so we try to incorporate that with our holidays and seasons and local customs.”
Among the other activities, Reed’s students enjoy a Mardi Gras run where they chase quails instead of chickens because the chickens are too big for the students.
Reed said, “We’re kind of losing our heritage, so we love incorporating the Cajun heritage with the lessons and what’s around us. It’s fun, and I just do it out of a labor of love.”
The “labor of love” began when Reed graduated from the University of Louisiana in Lafayette with a degree in child development through the home economics department. “Whenever I went to lab schools and did my projects, I found my passion,” Reed expressed. “I graduated in three-and-a-half years, and I started my school because I knew that’s what I wanted to do. This is my 35th class, and I’ve loved it ever since.”
She continued, “My oldest daughter Hannah calls this my first child because I started my school before I had children. I started in August and married my husband Bubba the next May. My class had a special place in Sacred Heart Church. They were my children because I didn’t have children yet.”
Reed’s first school was located on LaSalle Street in Ville Platte. “It was the cutest little grey house with perfect white trim and planted flower beds along the walkway,” she said. “I started as a half day program, and I did that for 16 years. I didn’t have a kitchen and everything that the state required for the cooking, so we had a morning snack. And, by noon, everybody was gone.”
When Reed’s youngest son entered kindergarten is when she decided to make the switch from half day to all day. “After 16 years, I did what I dreamed of doing,” she stated. “I built this school with the knowledge of exactly what I wanted in each area and how I wanted it to flow where we would break up into groups and have different teachers with different groups, and the children have learned. It’s remarkable how much they learn. I don’t know how I got so lucky.”
Over the years, Reed has discovered what leads to the most rewarding aspect of her career. “Now, I have my past students’ children, and, to me, that is one of my biggest rewards,” she said. “Parents tell me that they remember what they did at the little school and how much they loved it. They want the same experience for their children. That’s when I went full circle in my career.”
She concluded, “I still have the passion for teaching. I’ve been lucky to find that passion and to be blessed to be involved in it.”