Newspaper Page Text
Jasper Dorsey
Bedrocks 0f Education
WHAT DO MOST Americans expect
of our high schools today? The answer to
that question will vary to a considerable
extent, depending upon whom you ask.
Employers may have one answer,
parents another, teachers, principals, and
superintendents another. Students
themselves may disagree widely, too.
IT MIGHT BE enlightening to ask a
college president about what colleges ex
pect of high school performance. Especial
ly since such a large percentage of high
school graduates are college bound, but
also because college presidents are in the
best position to judge the quality of the
high schools’ products.
The President of Oglethorpe Universi
ty, Dr. Manning Pattillo, in his annual
report recently, had some wisdom on the
point: He thought a school should be judg
ed not only by what it teaches, but also by
what it does not teach. He quoted a
distinguished former president of Oxford
University's Christ Church College to sup
port that.
DR. PATTILLO also found comfort
from Winston Churchill’s famous response
when asked what he’'d learned at one of
England’s most renowned public schools,
Harrow. Churchill’s reply was he hadn’t
learned very much. In fact, he said, the on
ly thing he really learned was how to write
an English sentence. And then after a
pause he added: ‘‘perhaps that was
enough.”
Dr. Pattillo believes the bane of much
high school and college education today is
that the schools try to be all things to all
people, thus resulting in doing few things
well. A high school shouldn't try to take
the place of the home, the church, the
social agency, the psychiatric clinic or the
university. That’s the road to failure, he
thinks. He's right. His point is that a good
school does a few important things and
does them well.
* * *
THERE ARE nine objectives he con
siders the bedrock of secondary education:
1. A willingness to study hard. Too few
have it, and it is the first prerequisite for
success in college.
2. Courtesy, punctuality, honesty and
respect for teachers. Extremely important
for grads at any school. It's also uncom
mon. These elements are far more impor
tant than instilling an egalitarian outlook,
well developed personalities, or the quasi
religion of social and psychological doc-
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29 YEARS AGO
The following are excerpts from the Oct. 9, 1958 edition of The Summer
ville News.
* * *
ANNUAL FAIR OUTSTANDING SUCCESS, OFFICIALS REPORT —
The annual Chattooga County Fair last weekend was a big success, according
to reports from fair officials. Leroy Massey, secretary of the Fair Association,
said that a record-breaking crowd attended the fair throughout the three days
to view the beautifully arranged displays and exhibits.
* * *
IS CONSOLIDATION THE BEST ANSWER TO SCHOOL PROBLEM?
— Consolidation of the high schools of the county into one high school and the
elimination of at least one elementary school is the best answer to the problems
in Chattooga County, according to Allen C. Smith, director of the Division of
Administration of the State Department of Education.
* * *
AD: GARNETT'S FOR FURNITURE — Save S3O to S4O on new cabinet
sinks. 42-inch sink, $69.95; 66-inch, double bowl, double drain sink, $129.95.
* * *
AD: HURLEY'S SUPERETTE — Weiners 3 pounds, $1; Baby food, 3 for
31 cents; Pork shoulder roast, 39 cents a pound.
F
trines, which infuriates so many parents.
T
3. PROFICIENCY in reading and
writing of English prose. Dr. Parrillo
believes this is the single most important
purpose of secondary education, and not
more than 10 percent of high school grads
have it. Critical reading and developing in
tellectual curiosity are absolutely essential
to an educated person.
4. Familiarity with some of the great
work of English Literature. A thorough
study of a few great works is much better
than a shallow acquaintance with many.
Popular contemporary writers are vastly
inferior to those who've stood the test of
time, like Shakespeare.
; * * *
" 5. A WORKING knowledge of
arithmetic, algebra, geometry and
trigonometry. Three years of study is
necessary.
6. Acquaintance with the locations of
principal cities, countries, and waterways
of the world. Not an inspiring exercise, but
is necessary to any educated person in
history and political science.
* * *
7. A SOLID grounding in American
and European history. No student can
gain perspective on his own culture
without a knowledge of history. It should
be taught as the analysis of movements,
trends and ideas that have shaped the
human experience. It's more than dates
and places, and is far more helpful than
social studies, which is more of a wimp
subject.
8. An elementary knowledge of the
principles and methods of inquiry in
biological and physical sciences. Students
can’t develop appreciation of the huge im
pact of science on modern thought without
them.
* * *
9. ABILITY to read, write and speak
a language other than English. This is a
window into a culture, plus a sensitivity
to the careful use of language.
Dr. Pattillo thinks it's clear that
students most capable of the greatest con
tributions to society aren’t being suffi
ciently challenged in most high schools
today.
* * *
OGLETHORPE s a small, liberal arts
and sciences school which is superbly
good. It's 150th anniversary was reached
in 1985, yet its fine performance is, unfor
tunately, a well-kept secret.
Chattooga 4-H’ers
National 4-H Week gives Chattooga County 4-H'ers a
chance to share the fun, education, challenge and value
of being a 4-H member.
There are 170,000 young people ages 9 to 19 enrolled
in the University of Georgia's 4-H program, including ap
proximately 1,000 in Chattooga County.
The 4-H program stresses projects and activities in
which people “learn by doing,” as the 4-H motto says.
Four-H project work in Georgia alone is estimated to be
worth sl4-million.
This year, 80 Chattooga County 4-H'ers presented
educational demonstrations in district and state competi
tion on such topics as rocketry, photography, computers
and nutrition. Four 4-H'ers attended camp at Camp Fulton
near Atlanta. Numerous 4-H'ers attended 4-H rallies,
special camps and leadership training seminars.
Chattooga County 4-H’ers are special young people.
They pledge their Heads to clearer thinking, their Hearts
to greater loyalty, their Hands to larger service and their
Health to better living for their club, their community,
country and their world.
We salute these special Chattooga County 4-H'ers dur
ing National 4-H Week.
GUEST EDITORIAL
Can’t Trust Soviets
Much hoopla is being given'to talks among the super
powers of the world over arms control . . . Soviet Foreign
Minister Edward Shevardnadze was in Washington to talk
with President Reagan about limiting certain types of
defense missiles.
If any progress can be made in the Oval office discus
sions, a summit date could be set for further negotiations.
While we applaud the efforts to bring about world peace,
we have one basic problem with any Soviet treaty.
Can we trust the Soviets to keep their word? Will the
accord be worth anything? Can America relax knowing the
U.S.S.R. has slowed its rush in the arms race?
If we can learn from past actions, our answer is can
didly — no!
— The Press-Sentinel, Jesup
yth County News
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Editorials
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Hey; it's no big deal. It's a simple legal form, that’s all.
Take a minute. Fill it out. Sign it. Carry it with you. It's the least you can do.
Then no one can say you didn’t do anything worthwhile with your life.
Partnership for a Drug-Free America, N.Y,, NY 10017
A Reflections
Ty W, By Kay Abbott
Thanks To All
“YOU'RE eating your happy bread
now,"” my father often said to me when I
was a little girl, repeating what a very wise
old gentleman had told him around 1925
when he was a child. it was my dad’s way
of saying, ‘‘make the most of every phase
of your life,”” and I determined to follow
his advice.
I am leaving The Summerville News
this week to become news editor at Berry
College, but what a treat it has been to
spend nearly four years getting to know
and write the stories of other generations
and to learn the workings of our communi
ty from another perspective.
WHAT A privilege to write down the
thoughts of a man who has reached his
100th birthday; to share the happiness of
a woman who has located a brother lost
decades before; to see a retiree make a
comeback into a rewarding new career;
watch a housewife graduate from high
school with her grown children at her side.
Photographing and writing about this
beautiful area and the people who make it
unique have fulfilled many of my dreams
to somehow capture the feeling of this
place. Many have written to say how a
photo or quote has given them the sense
of being back home, almost as if they were
traveling the quiet back roads and wat
ching the light change on the ridges for
themselves.
Letters To The Editor
Likes Jasper Dorsey
Dear Editor,
I've been meaning to write this for a long
time, but after last week, I knew I couldn’t wait
any longer.
Who is Jasper Dorsey? 1 always enjoy his
column but last week’s (agout labor unions) was
especially good. Since Mr. Dorsey seems to
have a lot of commonsense and seems to really
know what's happening politically, perhaps we
could get him to run for public ofgce. He might
even consider running as the U. S. represen
tative from the Seventh District (he’d sure be
On The Funny Side .. ..
bottle of Pepto Bismol on hand to help me
stomach the content of television commer
cials. Now I need one to help cope with the
format as well.
Bring back the color, okay guys? I'm
tired of thinking my set’s on the blink just
because you're on a new kick to peddle
your wares. Granted, your ads make an im-
The Summerville News, Thursday, October 8, 1987 . .
THERE ARE places here that seem to
be timeless, where elderly couples still live
with dignity in the old-fashioned ways.
There are those who have the self
composed quietness to really live in the
country and be content.
There are homes and sentiments that
have changed little since the dark years of
the Depression and the rugged years of
World War 11, years that etched the lives
of many here with a fine strength of
character.
TIMELESSNESS is just an illusion.
Change is inevitable and it is important to
save what is good and learn from what is
bad. I hope I've helped some to look a lit
tle more closely at what is good about
Chattooga County.
It's not easy to let a journalist invade
your life with questions and cameras and
I appreciate those courageous enough to
trust me over the years. It's typical that
the subject will agonize over ‘‘what they
will look like” in print as much as they
worry over their image in a photograph.’
TO THOSE who have been so generous
with their time in local government,
schools and private life, to those who read
the paper each week, to Gene, David, Tom
my and everyone else at The News,
thanks. It's been great.
an improvement over who we have now)!
If you gave Mr. Dorsey’s ba;:(l;ground in an
earlier issue, I must have mis it, but I'm
iure you would be d(')rixfig n)i?ur readers a se;lvice
Iving it again. Tha ou very much.
. flhngAbbogtt ’ -
Trion
* * *
(EDITOR’S NOTE: Jasper Dorsey is the
retired 'vice president of Southern Bell's
Georgia Division and a longtime columnist for
several of the state’s newspapers).
pression. But, like hitting a brick wall at
100 miles an hour, not all impressions are
positive.
* * *
THE ONLY thing your black-and
white, home-video ads have caused me to
buy so far is the giant economy size of Pep
to Bismol.
5-A