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Visiting Teacher—Link Between
The Classroom And The Home
bv Dale Whiten
“The main objective of a
visiting teacher is really to
be a liaison between the
school and the home,” says
Arthur Lawson visiting
teacher for the Butts County
School System.
Lawson has been working
in the County schools for 13
years, ll years as an
attendance worker and visit
ing teacher.
Lawson works primarily in
the area of attendance, but
his work also extends to
children with social and
emotional problems which
might evolve from school,
from the home or problems
with an individual classmate.
“If a child has a problem,
he may stay out of school.
That’s when we try to find out
why he’s out rather than just
going out to his home to try to
get him in school,” he says.
Lawson says after he goes
to a home, he reports to the
teacher what he finds and
suggests ways the teacher
may be able to work with the
student so he can make
better progress in school.
Some of the situations
Lawson sometimes runs into
in the homes, he describes as
interesting as well as
somewhat annoying. He says
generally he has been pretty
well accepted in homes, but
sometimes gets into situa
tions in which, if there are no
parents there, “students tend
to lock you out.
“Sometimes parents won’t
even let you enter their
homes. They’ll look out the
window, and when they see
who you are, they won’t let
you in. I’ve been in situations
where I’d go to a home and
would not be let in and then
come back to the office and
call that home.
“When they answered the
phone, I’d tell them I was just
out there and no one
answered and they usually
put up a ‘I wasn’t there’ or
something like that,” Law
son states.
Lawson began working as
a visiting teacher during the
1970-71 school year. That was
shortly after the schools were
integrated in Butts County,
but he said when he had to go
into some of the homes of
white students, things gen
erally worked out all right.
“I never had any reserva
tions about going into homes
period. When I go to a home,
I think people are going to
treat me all right, but if they
don’t I kind of shove it off and
keep going. I can see
animosity in a lot of ways,
but usually we get a good
reception,” he says.
Lawson asserts the best
thing a teacher in his position
has going for him is the
system whereby he is
required by law to make sure
S^ETTR^FgASTER.^
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A WIDE VARIETY OF
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EASTER BASKETS I
EASTER TOYS
PARRISH DRUG CO.
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ARTHUR LAWSON
students are in school under
the compulsory school atten
dance law. According to
Lawson, this law states that
any child between the ages of
seven and 16 must attend
school unless they are sick or
unless there is illness in the
family.
Lawson says he thinks a lot
of people still view the role of
visiting teacher as being that
of a truant officer, and he
adds that is one image he is
trying to change.
“There have been situa
tions when I felt it necessary
to chase a kid down in order
to try to find out why he was
running, but we try to get
students to see us as a
helping agent rather than
somebody who’s going to run
them down, put them in
school and then leave them,”
he says.
In distinguishing between a
truant officer and a visiting
teacher, Lawson describes a
truant officer’s job as being
one in which he more or less
“herded students into school.
“The truant officer image
was one of a big bully dude
who was going to bring
students in. It didn’t look into
what was wrong with the
child-why he was running.
There could be something
going on in the school causing
the child to have fear of going
to school. And then in early
years of school, a child may
suffer from school phobia
and may simply be afraid of
school and we try to help
children get through that
kind of situation.”
According to Lawson,
there isn’t a big problem with
truancy or with students not
THE JACKSON PROGRESS-ARGUS, JACKSON, GEORGIA
being in school in Butts
County and that the percent
age of attendance usually
stays about 95 percent.
“We have in the neighbor
hood of 2700 students in
school, and we do still have
those who are going to stay
out-I work with families now
where I sometimes have to
pick the students up especial
ly during the winter because
I know it’s hard for these
children to get up and get
ready for school at 6:00 when
there may not even be a fire
in the house,” Lawson states.
Though Lawson is obvious
ly enthusiastic and optimistic
about his work personally, he
insists there must be more
visiting teachers on a
statewide basis and that one
visiting teacher per school
system or per 2600 students is
not enough to give the kind of
services a visiting teacher
should be giving.
“When you’re spreading
yourself among 2600 stu
dents, and they’re all your
responsibility, a visiting
teacher has to make sure
these children are, by law, in
school.
“And we try to look at it as
not just their being in school
but trying to make them get
more out of school when they
are there. This is our
objective. We don’t want just
a body sitting up in the
AUCTION SALE
FARM and INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT
TRUCKS, TRAILERS, MISC. MACHINERY and PARTS
NEW and USED MERCHANDISE
Saturday, April 16, 1977 lO a.m.
Sale Rain or Shine
An open consignment sale buyers and consignments are
expected from the entire Southeast. This is an excellent time of
year to convert surplus equipment or merchandise into cash. We
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e Licensed Auctioneers
• Motel Facilities
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classroom.”
Lawson says even though a
visiting teacher can help a
student with social, emotion
al or academic problems, he
is not saying a visiting
teacher has the answer to
every problem.
He adds that a lot of times
his office refers students to
other resources and that he
works closely with the Health
Department, the Department
of Family and Children
Services, and the Mental
Health Department in Grif
fin.
“I might not be able to
solve the problem myself but
there are other resources we
have we can refer people to,
and of course we work
closely with the counselors in
the school system in trying to
help students make adjust
ments. Our main objective,
after all of it, is to make sure
a child is in school,” Lawson
says.
A native of Jackson,
Lawson graduated from
Henderson High in Jackson.
He received his under
graduate degree from Al
bany State College and a
degree in visiting teaching
from the University of
Georgia. He was recently
elected President of the
Georgia Visiting Teachers
Association.
Lawson and his wife Ossie
have two children Anthony,
10, and Joni, 7.
T-S GEO. FULLER
RECEIVES USAF
COMMENDATION MEDAL
ALAMOGORDO, N.M.
Technical Sergeant George
E. Fuller, son of Mr. and
Mrs. George H. Fuller of £8
Maiden Lane, Port Jervis,
N.Y.. has received his second
award of the U.S. Air Force
Commendation Medal at
Holloman AFB. N.M.
Sergeant Fuller, a weapons
maintenance technician, was
cited for meritorious service
while assigned to the
Armament Development and
Test Center, Eglin AFB, Fla.
Now assigned at Holloman,
he serves with a unit of the
Air Force Systems Com
mand.
A 1964 graduate of Port
Jervis Senior High School, he
attended Okaloosa Walton
Junior College, Niceville,
Fla., and Troy (Ala.)
University.
Sergeant Fuller’s wife,
Barbara, is the daughter of
Mr. and Mrs. James Cleve
land, Rt. 2, Jackson, Ga.
No Thanks
While checking in at a
motel, the husband was
asked if he needed some help
with his baggage. “No
thanks,” was the reply, “she
can walk .”
BOYS STATE - The Boys State program for Jackson, sponsored by the American
Legmn Post 102, is sending five boys to North Georgia College in Dahlonega, Georgia
\\ here they will study city, county and state government. Frank Barnes, president of C&S
Bank of Jackson, is also serving as a sponsor. The Jackson representatives and their
sponsors are (L-R) Wesley Baker, Scott Smith, Frank Barnes, Frank Fountain Brian
Jones, Danny Patterson and John Smith. Photo by Carole Lawrence.
Former Jacksonian Presides
At Textile Association Meet
Senator Herman E. Tal
madge (D-Ga.) will address
the final session of the
American Textile Manu
facturers Institute’s 28th
annual meeting in Boca
Raton, Fla., on April 16.
He will be joined on the
platform by Senator Ernest
F. Hollings (D-S.C.) and
Jack H. Watson, Jr., an
adviser to the President and
secretary to the cabinet. It is
expected that both senators
will tell the 800 or more
textile executives, wives, and
guests about legislative
activities affecting the textile
industry. The Saturday ses
sion will also include the
election of officers and
directors to lead the Institute
until April of 1978.
The convention opens on
Thursday, April 14, with
talks by the outgoing ATMI
president, James D. Finley,
board chairman of J. P.
Stevens & Cos., Inc., and the
Honorable Tom Normanton,
a member of the British
Parliament and director of
the Marland Spinning Cos. in
England. Mr. Normanton is
the current president of the
world-wide textile trade
association, the International
Federation of Cotton and
Allied Textile Industries.
Friday speakers will in
clude the chief executives of
three major business and
financial organizations. They
are Thomas M. Macioce,
president of Allied Stores
Corp.; Irving S. Shapiro,
board chairman of E.I. du
Pont de Nemours & Cos.; and
Gabriel S. Hauge, board
THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 1977
chairman of Manufacturers
Hanover Trust Cos.
If precedent is followed,
Robert P. Timmerman, the
current first vice president,
will be elected to succeed
Finley as head of the central
textile trade organization.
Timmerman is president of
the Graniteville Cos., Granite
ville, S.C., Robert S. Small,
board chairman of Dan River
Inc., Greenville, S.C., is
expected to move from
second to first vice president
and anew second vice
president will be elected.
The convention will be
preceded by an all-day
meeting of the Institute’s
board of directors on
Wednesday, April 13. In
dustry concern with the rate
of textile imports -- now
growing twice as fast as the
domestic industry -- is
reflected in the agenda.
Other problem areas up for
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348 Mulberry Sr. P 0. Box 3601 Telephone 404- 775-2710
JACKSON. GEORGIA 30233
discussion will be the energy
crunch and government
regulations on the environ
ment, cotton dust, and plant
noise levels.
ALPHA-OMEGA PLAYERS
TO PLAY AT GORDON
The Alpha-Omega Players,
a national touring theatre
group, will perform a
musical comedy, “Hack
berry Cavalier,” for a
dinner-theater at Gordon
Junior College on April 21st,
at 6:30 p.m. in the student
center.
The cost for the dinner and
performance is $5.00 per
person and SB.OO per couple.
“Hackberry Cavalier” was
adapted from George Ses
sions Perry’s short stories
that appeared in the Satur
day Evening Post during the
late 1930’s and early 19405.
SIX FLAGS SEEKS
NAME FOR GOAT
Six Flags has a talented,
but unnamed goat, that will
star in the 1977 show. Park
officials are searching for a
name befitting a star of such
magnitude. Anyone having a
name suggestion is asked to
mail it to the Show
Operations Department at
Six Flags Over Georgia, P.O.
Box 43187, Atlanta, 30336.
The Six Flags staff asks
that names be submitted only
by persons 15 years of age
and under. Tickets for a
one-day visit to Six Flags
Over Georgia will be award
ed the winner’s family, plus a
season pass for 1977 will be
issued to the winner.
FREE
$6 TO $8
VALUE
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