THE
Vol. 23 No. 2 Elizabeth City, N. C.
NOVEMBER, 1962
Educators Challenge
Student Teachers
Elizabeth City State Teachers Col
lege held its Third Annual Conference
on Student Teaching on October 20.
The theme was “Meeting the Chal
lenge of Student Teaching.” Presiding
during the sessions was Mr. U.
Lane, Director of Student Teaching at
Elizabeth City State Teachers College.
The main purpose of the Confer
ence was to give to student teachers
and to critic teachers basic informa
tion concerning their respective roles
in the over-all Student Teaching pro
gram.
Speaker for the opening meeting,
which began at 10 a.m., was Dr.
Courtlandt M. Colson, Coordinator
of Student Teaching at Virginia State
College, Petersburg, Virginia. Among
many ideas emphasized by Dr. Colson
was the fact that the student teaching
program is the most important phase
of teacher preparation. “I challenge
the student teachers”, said he, “to
learn to plan effectively, to develop a
value system. I dare you to be ex
perienced and to be creative; I dare
you to teach boys and girls to solve
problems of here and now. Nothing
but excellence will survive you. We
desire a better student teaching pro
gram.”
The Conference was divided into
three interest groups for discussion:
the first. Primary, with Mrs. Elizabeth
Byrd, Supervisor of Chowan County
Schools as chairman and Miss Q.
E. Ferebee, H. L. Trigg School, as re
corder; the second. Grammar, Mrs.
Geneva Bowe, Supervisor of Hertford
County Schools, as chairman, and Dr.
Louise Sutton, Head of the E.C.S.T.C.
Science Department, recorder; the
third, Secondary, Mr. C. R. Paige,
Principal of P. W. Moore High
Schools as chairman and Miss D.
P. Jenkins, recorder. Consultants were
Mr. W. E. Beamon, T. S. Cooper
School, Sunbury; Mr. L A. Battle,
Amanda Cherry School, Harrellsville;
and Dr. Ben Fountain, Superintendent
of Elizabeth City Schools, respective
ly.
The closing session was one of eval
uation and projection with Dr. Elsie
C. Colson, Supervisor of Student
Teaching, Virginia State College, the
main speaker. Reviews of discussion
groups were given by the recorders.
Miss Dobbs, Soprano
Thrills Audience
The second in the Lyceum Series of
Elizabeth City State Teachers College
for the school year ’62-63 was
presentation of Mattiwilda Dobbs, the
much loved American Soprano, who
has spun a trail of music glory literal
ly throughout the world.
Miss Dobbs was born in Atlanta,
Georgia. However, she now divides
her time between the United States
and Europe. She is married to a
Swedish writer, has a home in Ham
burg where she is the leading lyric
coloratura soprano of the State Opera,
and a villa on the romantic island of
Majorca.
Miss Dobbs has been applauded in
recitals, festivals, television and in her
multiple appearances with the Metro
politan Opera in such roles as Glida,
Olympia, Rosina, Zerlina and Oscar.
This is the Mattiwilda Dobbs who but
recently appeared in the first integrat
ed public concert in her native At
lanta’s Municipal Auditorium.
The concert, held in Moore Hall
auditorium on November 16, was in-
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"The Book of Job," First
Of the Lyceum Series
The Everyman Players presented
the “Book of Job”, first of the
Lyceum Series at Elizabeth City State
Teachers College, in Moore Hall audi
torium on October 28.
“The Book of Job” was an inspiring
and enjoyable presentation. In appear
ance, the production hearkened to the
religious mosaics of faraway Byzan
tium; in form, the play utilized the
speaking chorus of ancient Greece.
The Players united their voices to
sing, hum, chant, moan, intone, and
disclaim the magnificent language of
the King James Version of the Bible.
After the presentation, a number of
students and staff members met and
chatted with the Players at a reception
held in the Lighthouse College Center.
STC Students Witness
Game at Washington
Thirty-nine college students attend
ed the last football game of the sea
son, the Elizabeth City-Howard Uni
versity game at Washington, D.C. on
November 17.
The heart-warming atmosphere of
Howard University, the score of 24-8
in favor of Elizabeth City, and the
dance which climaxed the events of
the day made the trip enjoyable.
The group returned to the campus
exhausted but pleased. They look for
warded to making another trip of this
type soon.
'Stimulating Pupil Achievements"
Is NCTA District Theme
The twenty-fifth annual meeting of
the Northeastern District of North
Carolina Teachers Association was
held at Elizabeth City State Teachers
College November 9. The general
theme was “Stimulating Pupil
chievement,” and speaker for the day
was Dr. Kenneth Clarke, noted psy
chologist of City College, New York
City. Other speakers were Dr. Anne
Pitts and Dr. George Preston,
sultants in Language and Mathema
tics, respectively, in the Improvement
Program of District of Columbia Pub
lic Schools.
TTie morning session was given over
to greetings, reports, and brief
The afternoon speaker. Dr. Ken
neth Clarke, was introduced by Mi
D. F. Walker, principal of the Eden-
ton High School. Dr. Clarke discussed
the theme of the conference, emphasiz
ing that the job of achievement in
^iue ^LanL
Student of the Issue
Players to Present
"The Matchmaker"
On December 6 and 7, at 8 p.m.,
the College Players will present the
ever jxipular farce. The Matchmaker
by Thornton Wilder—a play which
crashed through the Broadway World
as a dynamic hit.
A rich merchant of Yonkers, New
York, his beautiful daughter, his three
hilarious clerks, and several of his
friends become the victims of a clever
cupid, Mrs. Dolly Levi. As a result of
the use of her wit, she is given the
name, “the matchmaker”.
The play, filled with dynamic
comedy and a box of fireworks, in
cludes the following players; Horace
Vandergilder, the merchant, Richard
Simpson; Ermengarde, his daughter,
Arzie Sutton; Ambrose Kemper, Tony
Ricks; Mrs. Dolly Levi, Thelma How
ard; Mrs. Irene Molloy, Janice Harri
son; Cornelius Hackl, Colbert Minga;
Minnie Faye, Mary Manning; Barnaby
Tucker, Cljlairles Caudle; Malochi
Stock, Colin Minga; Mrs. Flora Van
Huysen. Van Lee James; Gertrude,
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True Meaning of
Thanksgiving
The earliest harvest Thanksgiving
in America was held by the Pilgrim
Fathers at Plymouth Colony in 1621.
Thanksgiving celebrations throughout
the nation, of course, remained spora
dic, and had no set date until 1863.
At that time. President Lincoln set
aside the fourth Thursday of Novem
ber as Thanksgiving Day.
In the days of the Pilgrims, great
feasts were held symboHzing Thanks
giving. The Pilgrims considered it a
day of giving thanks to God for the
successful harvests and foods, which
had so abundantly sprung from the
rich soils: women in their stiff caps
and capes, men in their neat trousers
and buckled shoes,^nd children joy
fully partaking of the feast, not really
aware of the significance of the event.
How do we, in the 20th century,
celebrate Thanksgiving? All of us are
united with family and relatives, or
prepare the traditional meal. We
worship, each to his own, in some
church or synagogue. Hymns, prayers
and sermons are the framework of
worship. Yet, do we really worship, or
merely carrying out another
holiday? Do we, sincerely, give
thanks for our blessings? Do we only
consider the blessings plainly seen, or
do we thoughtfully reveal in our
thanks, those minor blessings, which
really are of as much value as the
others?
Do we bring our thanks to a limited
area? Students, do you consider your
blessings in being able to receive an
education, or having the health to
strive to do your best? Teachers, do
you consider your blessings for having
a feeling of security for your future,
and for being able to fulfill your
position?
As we turn our thoughts to Thanks
giving this year, let us worship and
give thanks sincerely. When we ponder
over the meaning of this event, let us
extend our thought channels and see
the underlying reflections of the real
meaning. Also, let this be a year of
contemplation. Consider those two
words and their hidden meaning —
“thanks” and giving.”
—Thelma Howard
Alice Myrick, “Miss Elizabeth City
State Teachers College”, has been
chosen by the Compass Staff as the
Student of the Issue. We believe that
she is one of the finest products of the
College and that she will continue to
be a credit to her Alma Mater and to
herself.
Miss Myrick is a native of Como,
North Carolina, and a graduate of
C. S. Brown High School. She is an
Elementary Education major, a mem
ber of the Alpha Kappa Mu Honor
Society and the Delta Sigma Theta
Sorority. She is a former member of
the Lighthouse Fine Arts Committee
and the College Dance Group.
During her four years she has re
presented the college well, having
maintained a place on the Dean’s List
and the Honor Roll. On March 19-23,
1962, she was one of the student re
presentatives to the Twenty-fifth An
nual Convention of Alpha Kappa Mu
Honor Society at Florida A. and M.
University in Tallahassee.
With her poise, dignity, and scho
lastic achievement, she is considered
by all to be a very lovely young lady
who has made the most of her op
portunities.
Vesper Dates
Dr. James A. Eaton, chairman of
the Religious Life Committee, has
outlined Vesper dates and tentatively
selected speakers for the first semester.
The Student Christian Association
will be in charge of the Thanksgiving
Service; the Reverend Harold Braxton
from Virginia State College will speak
on December 9; the annual Christmas
Concert presented by the College
Choir, will be given December 16; on
January 13, Dr. R. W. Kicklighter
will be guest speaker; and a Service of
Meditation will be rendered January
27.
Vesper dates for the second semes
ter will be listed a later date.
our schools of today calls for hard
work on the part of the student and
efficient functioning of the teacher.
As he began his discourse, he re
minded the audience that the burden
of the Negro teacher is very great.
One evidence of this is the racial
discrimination encountered today.
However, with the slackening of this
entity, the Negro has brought him
self forward a bit.
He asked if, excluding the bonds of
discrimination, the Negro could pre
pare or be prepared for a non-segre-
gated situation. The answer to this
question, he declared, is with the
Negro teacher. This vicious cycle of
inferiority in our students will dis
appear if we begin with the teacher.
He called for a well regimented
project to be conducted by those who
can do sound thinking—who can rea
son. As a part of such plan, he said,
there is a fundamental respect that
should be shown by teachers to stu
dents. The student has a right to be
respected as a human entity. As far as
our standards are concerned, the
speaker continued, we must make a
transition from that which is petty to
that which is high in pertinency. There
is a need of a system in remedial
reading and arithmetic to compensate
for all deficits prior to that of the
present situation concerning the child.
Oral communication, a parental
program, vocational broadening and
strict supervision were other
points stressed by Dr. Clarke in his
discussion on “Stimulating Pupil Ac
hievement”.
—Richard Simpson
Mrs. Gregory D.
Ridley, Jr. Passes
Mrs. Tresia Ann Clark Ridley, wife
of Gregory D Ridley, Jr, Assistant
Professor of Art at Elizabeth City
State Teachers College, died at the
Albermarle Hospital, Elizabeth City,
North Carolina, on the morning of
Thursday, November 15, 1962.
Mrs. Ridley, a native of Louisville,
Kentucky, was the only child of Mrs.
Mary Clark of Magazine Street,
Louisville, and the late Sam Clark.
She attended Central High School,
Louisville; also Fisk University and re
ceived a B.S. degree in Elementary
Education and Music from Grambling
College, Louisiana.
Before coming to Elizabeth City in
September, 1962, Mrs. Ridley had
been employed as a secretary to the
Reverend Ralph B. Abernathy of the
Montgomery Improvement Associa
tion, at St. Jude’s Hospital, Mont
gomery, Alabama, and also in the
office of the Registrar at Grambling
College. She was a member of the
Delta Sigma Theta Sorority.
Mr. Ridley was a member of the
faculty of Alabama State College and
taught art at Grambling College be
fore coming to Elizabeth City. He is
a graduate of Tennessee State College,
and received the masters degree in
studio painting from the University of
Louisville’s Allen R. Hite Institute
for graduate study.
Mr. and Mrs. Ridley were married
in Franklin, Tennessee on April 5,
1949. There are three children,
Jeanene Marie, age 7; Gregory III,
age 4; and Clarette, 2 months old.
ECSTC at Fellowship
A conference of Fellowship and
Discussion for those interested in the
ministry was recently held at Duke
University, Durham, N.C. Five stu
dents from Elizabeth City State
Teachers College were in attendance;
David C. Freeman, Joseph N. Free
man, Lloyd Porter, Leonard Slade, Jr.,
and Roosevelt Wright, Jr.
These young men attended several
activities, including seminars, and a
football game. They were guests in the
homes of members of the Divinity
School faculty of Duke University.