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Volume XXXIV No.3 November 19. 1990 v , • A SCHOOL WITHIN A SCHOOL: SPELMAN’S DAY CARE by Carla M. Cherry Have you ever walked past Laura Spelman and heard the screams of delightful children? Have you ever wondered what all the commotion was about? Well, Spelman College has a day care center that is celebrating its 16th anniversary this year. Mrs. Annette White is the director of the day care center. She received a bachelor’s degree in English from Spelman in 1964, and received a master’s degree in education from Virginia State University in 1980. She furthered her studies at Georgia State University. The children’s ages range from 2 1/2 to 5 years of age, and are placed in classes according to their age. Their academic program includes the study of language arts, social studies, science, music, art, and physical education. They go swimming twice a week, and when volunteers are available, they take computer classes. The children participate in several campus activities as well. They go trick-or-treating for Halloween, participate in the Thanksgiving convocation as well as the annual Christmas program. They have an annual luncheon, and even took part in Dr. Cole’s Inaugural Convocation. The children hold their graduation ceremony in May and the program closes in the third week of June. The graduation ceremony is open to the general public. The day care center opened its doors in 1930. It was founded by Pearlie Reed, who served as the first director of Spelman’s nursery school. Its purpose was to serve as a laboratory school for students to observe child development, and for parents to have a place for their children to participate in activities. The center is now under the auspices of the Education Department. Students from the Psychology and Education Departments within the Atlanta University Center can conduct studies of the children under the supervision of the teachers. The day care center can accommodate 75 children, but only accepts 60. There are four teachers, two teaching assistants, and one cook on the staff. There is a 1 to 8 teacher- student ratio for the 2 1/2 year olds and a 1 to 12 teacher-student ratio for the 3-year-olds. Not surprisingly, the children were anxious to be heard. A survey revealed that swimming, field trips, playtime in the sandbox, and playing "fire engine" were among the activities preferred most by the 2 1/2-year-olds. The 3-year-olds enjoyed playing with Legos, using the abacus, reading and writing. One 4-year-old confessed that he liked to read about "Batman and Joker," while another professed a love for "basketball, football and pumpkin games." (Don’t ask me; I couldn’t understand it either!) The 5-year-olds preferred playing kickball and basketball, and one 5- year-old couldn’t resist those infamous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. One young lady enjoyed playing "kitchen and doctor," while some of her classmates liked the "monkeybars, the slide and the swings." What books did they recommend for knowledge-hungry Spelmanites? "The Cat in the Hat, Getting Ready to Read, and (my personal favorite) Green Eggs and Ham." The cherubic, energetic children at the day care center keep the staff very busy. Talking to them was truly a joy. Their smiles brighten up the campus. ALUMNAE SPOTLIGHT: SPELMAN PRODUCES PRAISED NOVELIST By Ladonya Massie Attending an institution like Spelman College has many advantages. African-American women have the opportunity to express themselves freely without the male domination that exists in the "real world." We are also surrounded by accomplished female professors and peers. The most meaningful memories that we will carry in our minds always are of the dynamic African-American women whom Spelmanites have the opportunity to see, to know to admire to learn from and to aspire to be like. It is even more exciting when the great women are also Spelman graduates. One magnificent woman, who happens to be a 1971 Spelman graduate, is Tina McElroy Ansa, author of Baby of the Family. For a few weeks this semester, she was our writer-in-residence and taught a creative writing course. In her voice, you can hear the excitement and passion that she has for writing. Ansa, who was bom in Macon, Georgia, said that she knew at an early age that she wanted to be a writer. As a small child reading stories, she knew that she would one day write stories. When asked why she chose to attend Spelman, Ansa gave two reasons. First, her sister was a Spelmanite. The second reason concerned her high school experience. In 1963, she and other African- American classmates integrated a Catholic high school in Macon. Of course, being one of the few African- Americans in the school excluded her from the social activities most people enjoy in high school. She decided then that she would attend a black college. On a visit to Spelman during the Morehouse-Spelman Pre-College program, Ansa fell in love with Spelman College. She entered Spelman in 1967 and was a writer for the Spotlight. As she reminisced about her college days, Ansa smiled and said, "I remember my first story for the Spotlight. It was on Andy Young. I had a crush on him then." And she laughed. At Spelman, Ansa was an English major and education minor. She said that her Spelman experience "was a good experience. . . a nurturing atmosphere." But Ansa said that now, Spelmanites have the advantage to experience many writers like Rita Dove and Toni Morrison and are encouraged to write. Ansa said that during her Spelman days Nikki Giovanni came to campus and maybe one other writer, but her professors were pushing her toward teaching instead of writing. Nevertheless, she did not choose to teach. Upon graduating from Spelman, she went to the Atlanta Constitution determined to get a job. That day, Ansa was offered a summer internship as a copy editor. After the summer she was hired full time and eventually became a feature writer. She worked for the Atlanta Constitution for nine years and then decided to leave to begin work on her creative writing. Ansa wrote a short story about a little girl who meets a big, strong, black, Amazon-like woman in a beauty shop and submitted it to magazines. However, it was not published. Then she sent it to Toni Morrison (continued on page 3) Happy Thanksgiving!