Tabor City tribune., 1963-12-04
Education


hence low learning ability,
poor attendance and. in
some cases, lack of suffic-
lent extra curricuiar activit-
les to make school life we'll
rounded and to provide stu
dents with added social eX-
periences.
SUGGESTED REMEDIES
Some of the suggested
remedies included:
1-State supported Kinder
gar tens where children
could be properly prepared
to enter school. (Readncss
tests show that about two
thirds of the children are
not ready for school when
they enter the first grade.
Many of these children are
lacking in social exper-
fences. When they read that
Dick and Jane went to the
zoo, it doesn't mean any
thing to them because they
have never been to zoo.
When they read that Dick
and Jane raised an umbrel-
la, it isn't meaningful, be-
cause these unready child
rem don't have unmbrellas.)
IA strong guidance pro-
gram. One principal told us,
"A good first grade teacher,
at the end of the year, can
just about put her finger on
on every child in her class
who is going to drOpOut of
school before graduation"
Each of these children has
Some real potential but, in
the absence of strong
guidance program, no one
has time to hunt out that
potential and guide the
child into developing it.
3-MOre emphasis on fund
amentals, particularly read
ing and arithmetic.
4-EmplOyment of teachers
with backgrounds different
form those of the area in
W hich she teaches. "A
teacher will teach as she
was taught" one principal
said. "If she graduates from
High School A, goes off to
college and comes home to
teach, she is going to teach
just as she was taught in
High SchOOlA, regardless of
the new teaching methods
to which she was exposed in
college. Perhaps if we had
some teachers from the out
side, we would have some
new teaching methods more
effective than those we have
been using over the years"
5-The one thing that prac-
ticall yevery educator we
have talked with has en-
phasized is the need for
more teachers.
More Pay - Less Money
Frankly, we were sur
surprised that there wasn't
more of a cry for higher sal
aries for teachers.
OF course, teachers in this
area have recently had a
pay raise (Which, inciden-
tally and ironically, actually
cut the take-hOme pay OF
some teachers because of in
come taxi and teacher pay
in North Carolina is cOnsid-
erabIy higher than in South
Carolina.
The one person who men
toned a need for higher
pay based his argument OH
the fact that industry is
drawing people away from
teaching. Last year, he said,
DUPONT hired every chemis-
try and physics major who
graduated from a North
none for the schools.
Carolina college, leaving
More Teachers-Lighter Load
But unanimously educa-
tors called for more teach
ers and lighter teacher loads.
When teacher has n
crowded classroom and chill
dren of many learning -abil-
ity levels, IL is difficult to
teach. Either she holds back
the more capable children,
SO that their studies are no
challenge for them. or she
goes faster than the least
capable can go.
Then, too, large classes
make IL impossible for a
teacher TO give each student
the individual attention they
need.
There are other needs edu-
Gators point out II the effec-
tiveness of schools Is to be
increased and II the dropout
problem Is 10 be solved. We
will deal with some Of these
individually in later articles
in this series.