(SIjp Barrrn firrord
Published Every Thursday By
Record Printing Company
P 0 Bo* 70 Warrenton. N. C. 27589
BIGNALL JONES, Editor
Member North Carolina Press Association
ENTERED AS SECOND CLASS MATTER AT THE POST OFFICE
IN WARRENTON, NORTH CAROLINA, UNDER THE LAWS OF CONGRESS
Second Class Postage Paid At Warrenton, N C.
ONE YEAR; $5.00; SIX MONTHS. $3 00
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SIX MONTHS. $4.00
Deer Signs Needed
Where once only an occasional
deer was seen now they are
often seen grazing in herds as
the deer population of South
Warren County has grown to a
degree that causes delight to
deer hunters, concern to garden
ers and farmers, and a spirit of
apprehension to many who ride
the roads and highways of south
ern Warren County after
nightfall.
The Wildlife Department
seeks to reduce the excess
population of deer by holding
either-sex hunting for a 30-day
period, which does not please
everyone. However, we believe
that no one will object to
Highway or Wildlife Depart
ments, as the authority may lie,
erecting deer crossing signs
where needed on Highways of
Southern Warren County.
As a matter of fact, we believe
that many who drive these roads
with a fear of having a deer
jump into the path of their cars
will deeply appreciate this sign
of concern.
Resignation Regretted
Friends of Warren General
Hospital will learn with regret
that Elmer Harris has resigned
as a member of the Board of
Directors of the local hospital.
Demanding
Published In Grit
Promotion only on merit is a slight
ripple which could well become the
wave of the future in public-school
education. It's a return in a compara
tively few schools to a policy which
went out generally some years back
with the advent pf."social promotion."
The policy of social promotion
prohibits holding a pupil in the same
grade until he has mastered the
subject matter; it requires that ad
vancement be automatic. It keeps
pupils with their social or general age
group but often results in undereducat
Reasoning that the aim of the public
school should be to guide children to
mastery of the basic tools—reading,
writing and arithmetic—of education,
Sam A. Owen, superintendent of
schools in Emporia, Va., decided to
dispense with the social-promotion
policy. He replaced it with a policy of
promotion only on merit. That was
i three years ago.
The trend toward fewer pupil failures
since then has been remarkable—from
1,300 the first year to 695 last year. Two
other encouraging developments have
been reported:
1. Emporia pupils, 65 percent of
whom are black, are producing much
improved scores in nationally standar
dized tests, significantly above the
national average in many instances.
2. The dropout rate has declined and
student discipline has improved.
Promotion on merit rather than
automatic advancement to the next
grade in America's public schools
might, well produce citizens more
competent to function effectively in a
free society. Officials from other school
systems are finding their way to
Emporia to check into this exciting
possibility.
Mingled with the regret,
however, will be a sense of
appreciation for the able and
devoted service Mr. Harris has
rendered as member and
former chairman of the hospital
board for more than a dozen
years.
That he promises to maintain
his interest in the hospital and to
assist in its further development
is no surprise to those who know
Mr. Harris and the place the
hospital holds in his heart. It is
well, we think, that at this time
he points out the hopes and
promise of further development.
Warren County may well be on
the threshold of substantial de
velopment, and, as he . said, it
behooves us "to strike while the
iron is hot."
"Mom, I grot rid of my hamstrr Mom
Mostly Personal
The Learning Process
By BIGNALL JONES
Charles Brantley Aycock
at the turn of the century
ran for Governor of North
Carolina on a platform of
public education and was
elected. His term of office
marked the beginning of
public education on a broad
scale in North Carolina.
Soon one and two-rooms
were springing up over the
state to be operated during
the winter months when the
boys were not needed on the
farms. These schools were
usually taught by neighbor
hood girls who had received
the rudiments of an edu
cation.
Ten years later in the
towns, where many had
moved for better education
al opportunies for their
children, grades were being
extended. I graduated from
the ninth, tenth and Uth
grades of the Warrenton
Graded School, but it was
many years later before the
12th grade was added.
At the heart of a good
school has always been good
teachers and I had a few
whom I have always
remembered with effection
and deep gratitude. But it
was hard to obtain good
teachers, particularly men
teachers, at the salaries
they could demand. Twenty
years later I was to hear
"They are rjw being paid
more money than they could
make anywhere else," Then
too often true, but no longer
true.
So I remember my
principal, blessed with only
a high school education, for
whom I was foolish enough
to work an algebra problem,
and another principal, he,
too, I am inclined to believe,
blessed with only a high
school degree. One of his
frequent expressions was
"Return back to your seat,
(My best commanding of
ficer at Chapel Hill was a
second lieutenant who, when
a soldier failed to respond to
his name, would roar
"Smith? where is he at:"
Then there was my French
teacher who pronounced
monsieur "mesjo."
But. slowly the schools
improved, and more and
more students learned not to
end a sentence with a
preposition and that "return
back" is redundancy. And
yet it was generations be
fore "B" grade teachers
were weeded from the
public school and I am not
sure that they all are gone.
(Incidentally some of these
B grade teachers were
excellent teachers, but here
one must deal with the
average; must assume that
the better trained teacher is
the better teacher.)
Good libraries also play a
great part in school and in
my high school days the
local school library was
composed of a few hundred
worn surplus books donated
by parents. I can not
remember a good reference
book except a dictionary.
Now all the Warren County
schools have libraries se
lected for the needs of the
student and every public
school in Warren County has
an accredited librarian
Now second, third and
fourth generations are at
tending Warren County
schools, and slowly the level
of learning rises. Too many
^ i/Cad and write and
should never have been giv
en a high school diploma,
but recent years have been
great years for social
"f^iments, using school
children as guinea pigs. But
thousands of other children
have learned the basics of a
good education, the love of
good books and a desire to
learn.
A few days ago a young
matron of whom I am fond,
told me that her daughter, a
third grade pupil, had pass
ed a national test and had
made about 90. She said she
was very proud of her
daughter's accomplish
ments. I told her she should
be but that she must
remember that her daugh
ter was the third generation
of an educated family. She
admitted that was true, but
said "She also was backed
up by two excellent black
teachers at Mariam Boyd
School. *
As ■ small child j
* youn« black
man who worked fop
father and I remember that
awe and admiration with
which I received his state
ment "give roe a pencil^and
I will tell you the number of
pencil tirf
statement in food faith. But
now there must be thou
sands of young school boys
in this county whocanfigure
it out, even allowing for t
one-fourth of a day. But
more to the point, there
were this spring at East
Carolina University a total
of 3,296 students who were
on the university's official
honor list (including All-A s,
Dean's List and Honor
Roll). It would appear that a
great number of students
have learned to read and
write.
Attend Wedding
Among those attending
the Chadwick-Polk wedding
recently were Mrs. Harrison
Gregory, Mr. and Mrs.
Andrew L. Ducker, Jr., and
Andrew Ducker, III, Philip
Chadwick and Miss Dorothy
Stockton of Charlotte; Miss
Katherine Polk, Dr. and
Mrs. Worth Gregory, Miss
Alix Lovitz, Mr. and Mrs.
Thomas Harvey, Mr. and
Mrs. Gregory Robertson,
and Dr. and Mrs. James
Harwell of Chapel Hill; Mrs.
William T. Polk and Mrs.
James Ross of Greensboro;
Mrs. Barnaby McAuslan of
Voorhees, N. J»; Mrs.
James Lyerly and Miss Fair
Lyerly of Jacksonville,
Fla.; Miss Lucy Banzet of
Washington, D. C. and Mr.
and Mrs. Tom Banzet of
Eden; Mrs. Alice V.
Weatherly and Miss Doro
thy Weatherly of Eliza
beth City; Mr. and Mrs.
James White, Miss Janet
White, Mrs. Ennis Bryan,
Mrs. James Pittman, Mr.
and Mrs. Francis Keel, of
Scotland Neck and Mrs.
Turner Stevenson of Hali
fax; Mr. and Mrs. Thurston
Hicks, Mr. and Mrs. Alvin
Blalock, Mr. and Mrs.
Charles Drake, Mr. and
Mrs. Harry Fishel, III, and
Mr. and Mrs. William
Wrenn of Raleigh; Mr. and
Mrs. Harry Fishel, Jr.,
Frederick Fishel of Roa
noke Rapids; Mr. and Mrs.
James Hearndon of Maccle
field; Miss Margaret Fishel
and Mrs. Frances Gredy of
Kinston; Mr. and Mrs.
Donald Grady of Green
ville; Dr. and Mrs. W. R.
Drake, Jr., of Henderson
and Mr. and Mrs. Stanley
Bumgarner of Tarboro.
i
Letter To
The Editor
REMEMBRANCES
To The Editor:
I read the tribute of
respect to Mrs. Elizabeth
Hunter Weston in last
week's Warren Record.
When my sons were born in
the Hunter Clinic in 1946 and
1950 I use to look forward to
meal time, as she brought
me my meals three times a
day. The food was always
delicious, and she always
had a smile when she came
Attends Florida Seminar
Lee G. Diamond of
Charlotte, associate of the
Allan S. Oxman sales and
service office of The Paul
Revere Companies also of
in. She always brightened
up the day.
I don't know of any two
better people than Mrs.
Weston and her brother, Dr.
Frank P. Hunter. I know
they are resting in peace for
the many good deeds they
did for people.
MATTIE H. HARRIS
Charlotte, was among thoac
attending a recent four-day
national sales conference at
Innisbrook in Tarpon
Springs, Fla. He is a native
of Warrenton, and the son of
Mr. and Mrs. Hy Diamond.
Diamond received special
recognition as a member of
the companies' national
sales leaders' club. The
conference included
sessions on current insur
ance developments, sales
and service procedures and
techniques.
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