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♦ SATURDAY, JUNE 17, 2006
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OPINION
Daniel F. Evans
Editor and Publisher
Julie B. Evans
Vice President
Don Moncrief Foy S. Evans
Managing Editor Editor Emeritus
Highs, lows of performance
On Wednesday, Governor Sonny Perdue
and State Superintendent of Schools
Kathy Cox singled out more than 100
“high performance” principals working in
Georgia schools.
The criteria for selection was based on the follow
ing five categories:
■ Candidate’s school showed higher than
expected scores on state Criterion-Referenced
Competency Tests in four of five subjects assessed
in elementary or middle school (Reading, English/
Language
Arts, Science,
Mathematics and
Social Studies).
■ Candidate’s
school showed
higher than
expected scores
on state Georgia
High School
Graduation
Tests in three
of four subjects
assessed in high
schools (English/
Language
Arts, Science,
Mathematics and Social Studies).
■ Candidate has been principal at the identi
fied school for three consecutive years (2002-2003,
2003-2004, 2004-2005)
■ Candidate was principal of a school that made
Adequate Yearly Progress in 2005 and was not
in Needs Improvement status for the 2005-2006
school year.
■ Candidate met other necessary goals in regards
to AYP graduation rate, End of Course Test perfor
mance and a growth trend on SAT scores.
Further, those selected represented more than 40
school districts - from Appling County all the way
down to Wilkinson County.
One county was without at least one representa
tive on the list, however: Houston.
Does that mean our local educational leaders
don’t make the grade?
A few may think so but we believe the vast
majority will disagree. We, in Houston County,
have some of the finest principals, if not the best,
in the state.
To those here, who have children in the school
system and from those in the news media who
cover it as part of their livelihood we salute you.
You’re “high performance” to us.
WORTH REPEATING
“Political activities are still sus
pended ... The population has
always acted according to its feeh
ings instead of its mind.”
Albano Jorge Harguindeguy,
Argentina Minister of the Interior,
Statement, Oct. 11, 1976
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To those here, who
have children in the
school system and
from those in the news
media who cover ft as
part of their livelihood
we salute you.
You're "high perfor
mance" to us.
A father's guidance is most valuable
A young boy without a
father figure is some
what like a ship with
out a rudder.
I know. I have had a won
derful father figure. And I
have been without him.
My father worked for the
railroad. This was in the
days when they could make a
man work 16 hours, give him
eight hours off and then back
to work.
My father was gone from
home a lot. But when he was
home he was a father in the
best meaning of the word.
He loved his children, and
it showed in the attention
he devoted to them and the
affection he showed.
He taught me to play
checkers at a very young age.
He enjoyed taking me to the
store where fellow railroad
workers gathered. He liked
to have me play checkers
with them and he got a kick
out of seeing me beat most of
them.
He liked to hunt quail. By
the time I started to school
he let me trail along through
the woods with him.
He didn’t have to tell me
that he loved me. I knew it
by the way he treated me.
>* 1 -jl n , . I . <• • •» .t i r >■ l •• It I’t < 1% ,
"X think Dad likes the grill we got him!"
When I grow up, I want to be just like you 1
Dads matter. And they
can make a huge
impact on the way
their children, especially
their sons, grow up.
Our culture today says
dads are really unnecessary
in the raising of children. '
Single moms or two-mom
families, it says, can be just
as effective at childrearing
as intact families with both a
mom and a dad.
I contend there are cer
tain things a child will learn
best from his dad, such as
how a man should treat a
woman and how to harness
his innate strength and use
it for good. It’s pretty hard
for a family with no father
to model that behavior on
a consistent basis. In fact,
though many single moms
work hard to give their kids
everything they need to
grow up healthy, there’s one
thing a mom can never be for
them: A father.
So this is dedicated to dads
to the impact they can
have on the lives of their
sons and daughters.
■rotation
What are the most fright
ening words a father could
ever hear from his son?
“Dad, it’s about the car ...”
“Um, Dad, I have something
to tell you about Jenny ...”
“Dad, please, before you
overreact, let me explain why
the officers are here ...”
My son, Zach, has said
words even scarier than
these. His statement was
enough to send shivers up
my spine and make me gasp
for air.
“Dad, when I grow up I
want to be just like you.”
Oh my.
I recently received an e
mail with this thought: “The
world would be a much bet
ter place if there were only
more people like me.”
I stopped and thought
twice about it. Then I
thought some more. What if
Foy Evans
Columnist
foyevansl9@cox.net
But he did tell me and my
sisters that he loved us and
the words were icing on the
cake.
Having a father figure
that I admired and loved
gave me confidence as I was
growing up. It was as if I had
an umbrella over my head
providing protection against
anything wrong with the rest
of the world.
All this changed by the
time I was 13. My father
became sick enough that he
was unable to work when I
was 11. He was still there,
gradually dying and shrivel
ing from almost 200 pounds
to less than 90, and even as I
saw him lose his strength he
still was there for me to lean
on and look up to.
When I see young boys
Gregg Hunter
Ga. Family Council
gregg@gafam.org
the world was filled with peo
ple like me? Would it really
be a better place?
Then I remembered Zach’s
words. The sobering thing
is that he will grow up to be
like me. It’s inevitable. Sure,
there are things he’ll want
to do differently, things he’d
even change about me now if
he could.
But there are other things
he isn’t even conscious of yet
that he’ll emulate one day.
The way I answer the phone
and the way I talk about peo
ple who make me mad. The
way I read a story and the
way I offer advice. The way
I cut my steak and the way I
treat my wife.
A character in a short
story by a contemporary
author painted the picture
well. A father had been
unfaithful to his wife, com
pletely uninvolved in his
son’s life a great example
of what not to do as a dad.
But as he stood at the beach
with his 16-year-old boy one
day, he said, “I don’t have to
tell you about me. In a few
years, you’ll be me.”
A frightening statement
that reminds us dads that
our kids are always watch
ing, always learning from
what we do, how we talk and
how we set priorities.
Expression
Do you struggle with self
expression? Is it hard to
tell those close to you how
you feel about them? Times
are definitely changing, but
iSPjPjEI.
without fathers my heart
goes out to them. Even if
they have a strong and car
ing mother they are missing
something important in their
lives.
My father died when I was
13, and it seemed that the
world crumbled around me
the next day. I lost my self
assurance. I felt insecure. I
had been outgoing and exud
ed happiness. I became 1 self
conscious and withdrawn.
It took me decades to over
come my loss on the night
my father died.
My mother was a strong
woman. She held our fam
ily myself and two sisters
together and somehow
was able to keep a shelter
over our heads, clothes on
our backs and food on the
i
_ Jjj&M
when I was growing up the
60s and 70s, dads didn’t say
those words to their kids.
Most didn’t anyway.
These were post-war men,
many raised by tough vet
erans who had helped keep
America free.
My grandparents’ genera
tion wasn’t comfortable talk
ing love. My dad’s generation
continued the trend.
I remember one time in
my first 18 years my dad
said those words. It was a
variation on the phrase, but
I wanted to hear it so badly I
still counted it. He said, “You
know we love you ...”
Music to my ears. Never
mind that I was a rebellious
12-year-old in serious trouble
and my dad was using those
words to tiy to make be
change my ways. Never mind
he didn’t say those words
exactly, as though they were
directly from him alone. I
heard them this way: “I love
you, son.”
Funny how more than 30
years later I can still see my
dad sitting on my bed, trying
to break through to me, say
ing those words. I’ve decided
to change the trend, set a
new one. I tell my boys sev
eral times a day in different
ways I love them. “I love you
no matter what.” “I love you
just the way you are.” “I love
you, son.” “I love you.”
Fun
I wonder if adults really
understand the meaning of
the word anymore. When we
THE HOUSTON HOME JOURNAL
table. It was a Herculean
task during the heart of the
Great Depression.
I do not believe that a man
could have done the job as
well as my mother did. And,
in my opinion, if children are
to lose a mother or father
the mother is the one better
capable of keeping the family
together and preparing the
children for adulthood.
I wanted to quit school
to help pay family expenses
after my father died. My
mother said, “no” and she
meant it. She had to work
harder and longer, but her
iron will made it possible for
my sisters and me to get col
lege educations and stay off
the bottom of the economic
ladder.
I treasure my father for
the years we had each other.
I think of him often and the
example he set and the les
sons he taught me. I still
miss him.
I will be among the mil
lions honoring their fathers
tomorrow, but he lives with
me every day of the year, and
will until I die. I’m glad I had
him for a few years and I’m
glad that I still appreciate
the father figure he provided.
grow up and move into our
careers or life callings, many
of us begin to focus solely on
the tasks to be accomplished,
the objectives to be met.
Then we have kids.
Though we love them end
lessly, we often find their
goals are different from ours.
The main focus of kids
the primary function in their
job description is fun. Kids
tend to measure everything
every game, activity, video,
chore by the amount of
fun it brings them. I think
we could learn something
from them.
A few years ago, my wife
and I began the tradition of
dubbing each new year with
a special designation. We
chose to call that incoming
year “The Year of Fun.”
We decided we would laugh
more, take more time to
be silly, tell more jokes. We
would not take ourselves or
our challenges too seriously.
We would lighten up. We
would act more like kids.
While I can’t say we
grinned and guffawed our
way through the year, I can
say we did have more fun.
I want to give that gift
to my boys. I want them to
remember their growing up
years as fun times filled with
happiness and laughter, with
their dad at the center of
the silliness. I want them to
remember me with a smile
on my face, not a furrow in
my broW. I want them to
tell their kids about times
their dad made them laugh
so hard, milk came out their
noses. I want to be a source
of joy to my kids. I want to
be fun.
Georgia Family Council Is
a non-profit organization
that works to strengthen
and defend the fam
ily in Georgia. For more
information, go to www.
georgiafamily.org, call,
(770) 242-0001 or e-mall
gregg@gafam.org