Evening star., 1955-09-07

lClat4tClJ tCWs WAASAA hCAPSN
keep problems manageable.
Many parents accepted the
new situation. Some did not.
Some principals told Of white
parents who withdrew pupils on
opening day and never returned.
School officials granted about 400
hardship transfers, although of
Ificially not on racial grounds.
Children Enrolled Reluctantly
There were cases. too, where
parents enrolled children reluc-
Itantly. Some kindergartens.
which are voluntary. had fewer
white children than upper
grades. Some white parents en-
rolled undergraduates late. ap-
|parently having waited to see
what things were like.
Principals told Of instances
where parents. both white and
Icolored. suspected the teacher at
fault when children who previ-
lously had done well brought poor
report cards home. Some par
ents objected to having children
in classes with colored teachers.
On the other hand, there were
many incidents involving both
parents and children which In
dictated acceptance. One prin-
lc!pal told of white parent who
had protested about a colored
teacher at first, but later said:
II didn't know teacher could
teach that much to children"
A colored teacher at another
school was given surprise party
by her sixth grade. One white
lgirl wrote her a letter calling her
I"the best teacher I've had yet"
CoIored Mother Heads PIA
At one Northwest school
where the principal had worked
for several years to build goot
neighborhood relations between
white and colored children
goodwill developed to the point
where a colored mother was
elected president of the PTA
although the school had less
than a third colored pupils.
Even more encouraging, tc
school officials. was the spirit Of
acceptance shown by families
whose children for the first time
were required to enroll at Negro
schools. There were many such
cases. These were the more
significant because the white
ratio. in none was higher than
IA per cent.
Principals often reported not
only that such children had
done wen but that their parents
had become active in PTAs and
mothers clubs. helped : take
classes on trips and expressed
enthusiasm about their chill
dren's progress.
Some Negro secondary schools
also had small white minorities
At one junior high, a white girl
was elected student council Sec
retary and was graduated with
honor grades, the only nom
Negro in the graduating class
She told this writer she was
quite happy in the school.
Spiritual Change
The spiritual change which
occurred In the single year was
sometimes eloquently demon
strated. At one Southeast ele-
mentary school this writer
happened to be In the audi
torium at the end Of a gradua-
ton rehearsal when a sixth
grade girl. one Of three white
youngsters in the grade and 80
in the school. stepped up. Burst
ing into tears. she told the prin-
cipal she did not want to leave
the school.
At another school. q 9-year-
old-the only white pupil in the
school--in a letter composed as
an English assignment wrote:
II like my teacher. ! like the
school because all the teachers
are nice. The principal of the
school / like most Of ALL"
One mother who enrolled her
daughter in kindergarten at a
school where she, too. was the
only white child. said she had
some miseivings. even though
she favored integration. But
she said the situation worked out
quite satisfactorily.
"Nothing to Worry About"
"It's the anticipation that's
the worst thing" she said.
when it happens. you find it
isn't anything to worry about"
Generally, colored teachers
seem to have made a good i'm
preston on white principals. It
was obvious in some classrooms.
even to a casual visitor. that
teachers had the respect Of their
pupils and that the education
going on was of high caliber.
Some principals had reservations
about certain teachers. but there
was no special racial distinction
on this.
White teachers, for their part.
seem to have sought scrupulously
to be impartial. The writer heard
of one teacher who at the start
of school seated her class accord
ing to race, but this was corrected
by the principal. Some teachers
said explicitly that they thought
of their pupils only as children.
It was evident that some
teachers were not happy about
the situation, and occasionally
Ione said SO. But parents and
school officials said they were
heartened by the professional
spirit shown during the year. as
well as the obviously hard work
which was done.
Schools made no attempt to 60
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