Opinion Page
THE BRUNSWICK&BEACOM
Edward M. Sweatt and Carolyn H. Sweatt Publishers
Edward M. Sweatt Editor
Lynn Carlson Managing Editor
Susan Usher News Editor
Doug Rutter Sports Editor
Maijorie Megivern Associate Editor
Eric Carlson Staff Writer
Peggy Earwood Office Manager
Carolyn H. Sweatt Advertlstrig Director
Tlmberley Adams. Cecelia Gore
and Linda Cheers Advertising Representatives
Dorothy Brennan and Brenda Clemmons Moore ..Graphic Artists
William Manning Pressman
Lonnle Sprinkle Assistant Pressman
Phoebe Clemmons and Frances Sweatt Circulation
PAGE 4-A, THURSDAY, JUNE 4, 1992
Leaving Coach's
Selection To Committee
Would Be Big Mistake
In a parting interview with The Brunswick Beacon , West
Brunswick Head Football Coach Marshall Seay had two recom
mendations regarding selection of his successor
First, he suggested the head coach job and school athletic di
rector position be held by the same person, as they once were.
Second, he suggested that, instead of the principal recommend
ing a candidate to the school board, that a committee be formed
to make the selection. That committee, he continued, should in
clude representatives from the faculty, booster club, non-revenue
sports and a senior football player.
With that last suggestion, his idea is that the person holding the
job would have the support-at least initially-of the key groups
with whom he must work during the season.
While the first recommendation is a staff organization decision
dependent upon a number of factors, the second proposal is easi
er to address.
While well-intended, Seay's recommendation is flawed.
If it chooses to follow that process, West Brunswick High
School would be doing its students and faculty a great disservice,
as well as setting a very poor precedent for future staff and facul
ty selection of any type. As leader of his or her school, no princi
pal should relinquish the right to make faculty recommendations.
Certainly having a winning sports program, like having a good
band, helps a school's morale and builds community support. In
tum, support may be attracted for other school programs and stu
dents may be motivated to succeed in areas other than sports.
But what price should a school pay for a top-notch football or
overall sports program?
A high school's first role is and must always be education.
Based on the perceptions of exchange students who have en
rolled here and the performance of our students, it's clear that
such a focus isn't as evident as it should be in local schools.
In the school budget the extra pay faculty members receive for
coaching is called a "supplement" and rightly so. Coaching
should be secondary to the main task of teaching and motivating
young people to want to learn, to think, to make decisions, to
solve problems.
Shocking as this may sound, football, after all, is an extracur
ricular activity. Participation in athletics may complement a
youngster's education, but it is secondary to the regular school
day and school program.
It is true also that the principal in place at the time a coach is
hired may well be reassigned during the coach's tenure and re
placed with someone of a different bent. But it is also possible
that the same could happen to the coach or to the teacher repre
sentatives on the selection committee; boosters and students also
come and go.
Selection of the football coach, athletic director or any other
faculty member of a school should rest with the people who will
be accountable for that decision and that person's performance:
the school's principal, primarily, and then the school system ad
ministration and ultimately, the school board.
It's important to keep secondary school athletics in proper per
spective. Schools can become obsessed with sports to the point
that they lose sight of their priorities. You've seen it happen be
fore: No homework assigned on game nights; teachers pressured
to give athletes grades they haven't earned just so they can keep
playing; key players used almost exclusively so as to ensure a
"winning" season, and so on.
Brunswick County and West Brunswick High School should
not settle for second best. The search will be on for a fine teacher
and a fine coach; ideally the person hired will fill both bills. If
not, the school's first priority should be evident.
There's a lesson in priorities to be learned, perhaps, from Polk
County, Coach Seay's new turf. There the school system has al
ready brought its test scores above state and national averages.
Speaking of Polk County Superintendent Jim Causby, Seay
said, "He's gotten Polk County to that level educationally, and
now he's ready to move forward athletically. They want to win.
They want to be successful."
Let's keep our priorities straight and put education first.
West Brunswick High School students deserve to be winners,
first in the classroom and then on the athletic field. Faculty mem
bers should be chosen with that in mind.
We live and lcam, and most of us
learn some things over time we
would really rather not have known.
I read an article in some maga
zine in which the writer described
an imaginary scene in which a Food
and Drug Administration-type wait
er detailed all the potential hazards
associated with every food item on
the writer's plate. Naturally, the fel
low lost his appetite and left that
imaginary lea room.
Over the past five years I've had
three doctors tell me to lay off cof
fee-drinking, for various reasons.
Cutting back was easy enough to
manage except on press day, Tues
days. Giving up coffee entirely I've
been reluctant to do, though I'm
convinced, from all the literature
these good doctors have provided,
Some Fairy
Tales We
Choose To
Believe
Susan
Usher
Down Summer's
Apparently the older we get, the
more vivid arc memories of our
childhood. For me, this nostalgia
hits twice a year: with the beginning
of school in September when I sud
denly smell fresh pencil lead, and as
spring melts into summer, when all
sorts of images assault my senses.
My first inkling that summer is on
the horizon is that my feet twitch
and want to be free of shoes and
socks. Then I remember my child
hood yearning for the first "bare
foot" day of summer. How delicious
the grass felt under bare feet! What
fun it was to know you could run
barefoot for three months!
1 was a city girl, growing up on
the concrete sidewalks of Oklahoma
City, and seldom had the opportuni
ty to visit the countryside, so bare
foot also meant stepping on sharp
gravel, very, very hot pavement in
mid-summer, and sometimes fol
lowing in the paths of transient
dogs. Nevertheless, it was worth
these hazards.
As the school vacation got under
way, another of my summer treats
presented itself. When I became old
Marjorie
Megivern
enough to manage it, I could take
the bus downtown to the big public
library and bring back an armload of
magic: books enough to last a week.
In those prc-tclcvision days, reading
was my consuming hobby, so in
summertime I could get through
nearly a book a day.
That bus ride was equally enticing
because, as a "people" person 1 am
drawn to watching and eavesdrop
ping on strangers in public placcs.
Frequently 1 went way past my bus
stop, mesmerized by a conversation
behind me on the bus or watching a
couple across the aisle.
"Hie scaring heat of summer be
fore the days of air-conditioning was
made bearable for us city children
Memory Lane
by two marvelous trcais. First, there
was the ecstasy of the lawn sprinkler
turned up full blast and a big No. 10
washtub for collecting cool water.
The neighbor kids and 1 spent after
noons running through the arc of
water, jumping in the tub, reveling
in wetness.
Then, every afternoon a magical
sound rang through the neighbor
hood. A tinkling bell told us the ice
cream man was on his way and it
was time to plead with Mother for a
nickcl (yes, a nickel!) for a lovely
ice cream bar, a slice of heaven in
July. He would pull up alongside the
curb and we children would gather,
clamoroasly, clutching our nickels,
and choose a treat: ice cream or pop
sicles. No one who has not cavorted
and sweated in 95-dcgrcc heat on a
city street can properly appreciate
the heavenly properties of an icc
cream bar.
Children's summers today arc full
of a different kind of fun. No sooner
are they released from school than
most are enrolled in summer camps,
classes, ball teams and special pro
grams that schedule every moment
of their day. After all, it's likely that
Mom and Dad are both working and
the kids must be in some kind of su
pervised activity. Even stay-at-home
Moms, though, believe school vaca
tion time is for "enrichment" via
lessons and programmed busy work.
And of course, evenings without
homework means additional mind
less time before "the tube."
Maybe youngsters arc becoming
enriched and even having a better
time with this sort of summer, but as
June rounds the comer again this
year, I almost feel sorry for them.
Insulated from the heat in air
cooled houses and cars, they will
never fully appreciate the delight of
cool sprinklers and full wash tubs;
with a freezer full of frozen goodies
from the supermarket, they can't
know the cxcilcmcnt of listening for
the ice-cream man; and, sprawled
inertly for hours before television
sets, they have no idea of the excite
ment and stimulation to be found be
tween the covers of a book, de
voured in the old-fashioned quiet of
a lazy summer afternoon.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
7 6 Days Not Long Enough For Superintendent Search
To the editor:
As a result of the announced retirement of the
Brunswick County school superintendent, the
board of education released a superintendent va
cancy notice on May 22 and is accepting applica
tions for the position thru June 8. The board is ex
pected to fill the position on or about Sept. 1.
The vacancy notice provides 16 days for inter
ested candidates to request an application, com
plete and return the application and resumti, re
quest references and arrange to have confidential
college placement credentials and transcripts for
warded to the county schools.
Sixteen days is far to short a period to generate
a pool of highly qualified candidates for one of the
most important posiUons in Brunswick County.
The North Carolina School Boards Association
states, in its superintendent search brochure, that
"the future of the school system and, therefore,
the welfare of thousands of school children is inti
mately related to the quality of administrative
leadership in the district" School board associa
tions across the country unanimously agree dial
the most important decision a school board will
make is the selection of who will provide leader
ship for its school district. It is a decision that
may, if not handled properly, result in a split
board, a divided community, or even expensive
legal problems.
How should a school board conduct a superin
tendent search?
1. Write a description of the position. What
traits, skills and capabilities should the candidate
possess?
2. Schedule structured meetings to solicit input
that coffee and related sources of
caffeine do my body no good.
Every cup sipped brings a flash
of guilt: Here I go abusing myself
again.
Last week, for one reason or an
other, I picked up my paperback
copy of The Picayune Creole Cook
Book , 2nd edition, published around
the turn of the century by the lead
ing newspaper of that wonderful
city.
Joy of joys! Chapter 1 was devot
ed to the making of a good cup of
Creole Coffee, "cafe a la Creole."
The copy is enough to make a cof
fee addict, oops, lover, drool. And
enough to send the FDA and all my
doctors into conniptions. The entire
chaptcr reads like propaganda from
a coffee ini|x>rt house
from community groups such as icachcrs, admin
istrators, PTO. leaders and community leaders to
listen to their hopes and concerns regarding new
leadership.
3. Prepare announcements, advertisements and
forms necessary for the search. Allow at least 60
days for candidates to apply for the position.
4. Conduct "reach out" efforts through personal
contacts with prominent educational leaders to
encourage highly qualified candidates to apply.
5. Tap the talents of qualified community lead
ers to assist with the screening of applications.
6. Develop an interview guide for use by the
board with candidates. Board members need to
know what questions should be asked and what
information may not be used to disqualify candi
dates.
7. Consider visiting home districts of top final
ists.
8. Make final selection and public announce
ment.
I believe that those of us who arc familiar with
the county schools will agree that we have had far
to many leadership changes in recent years. We
need to take time to find a competent educational
leader, provide encouragement and support as
he/she works with staff and parents to provide di
rection and growth for our schools.
Joseph V. Brust
Ocean Isle Beach
Receptionist Appalled By Megivern Column
To the editor:
Marjorie Megivem's characterization of a re
ceptionist (May 21 issue) is stereotypical and ob
viously void of any research.
1 found her column appalling, to say the least! I
am currently a receptionist in a prestigious law
firm; after a long day in the office, I am a full
time college student.
Receptionists are more capable than her asser
tions indicate. For example, I use my network
computer terminal for various secretarial duties.
Not only am I concierge, office rccyclcr, security
guard, in-house child care provider, central com
munications director, shipment receiver, personal
psychologist, comedian, inventor and investiga
tor, but I am also a reflection of the firm.
I generate the first impression when a client en
ters the office. I do all these duties while balanc
ing demands of phone calls, visitors and handling
instructions from those within the company.
So, the next time you are placing a call, first be
thankful it is not a cold impersonal computer on
the other end, and keep in mind these little words
of wisdom printed on a coffee cup a co-worker
gave to me for my birthday, "Be nice to me, 1 can
put you on hold forever."
Further, I suggest you reevaluate your qualifi
cations as a Journalist. I hope your articles in the
future are based on research rather than stereotyp
ical attitudes that pervade society.
Sophie Waltener, Receptionist
Myrtle Beach, S.C.
(Letters Continue On Following Page)
The chapter describes in minute
detail how to make an extremely
fresh cup of Creole coffce, starting
with the unroastcd beans of coffce
grown on "well-watered mountain
slopes." You roast just enough
beans for that day's coffee, taking
care not to bum them, then grind to
the medium proportion that allows
water to filter through without mak
ing the coffee either too dreggy or
too weak.
Cautions the editor, "the GOOD
CREOLE COOK NEVER BOILS
COFFEE; but instead insists on
dripping it-slowly, slowly-DRIP,
DRIP, DRIP" to capture every bit
of the strength and aroma.
Whether black or cut with fresh
cream, the cookbook suggests, Cre
ole coffee is the perfect way to start
the day, a crowning touch at break
fast and a soothing way to cap off
the evening.
It's also good for what ails us, or
so thought the best minds of the
day. Live and learn, whether we
like it or not
The city's "ancient residents," for
example, held that a cup of cafe
noir after a hearty meal would "re
lieve the sense of oppression so apt
to be experienced, and enable the
stomach to perform its functions
with greater facility."
Cafe noir also held a reputation
as one of the best preventatives of
infectious diseases. It was used as a
deodorizer in sickrooms and as an
antidote for poisons.
The editor enthuses, "Coffee is
also ihe greatest brain food and
stimulant known.. .Coffee supported
the old age of Voltaire."
Physicians of the day touted cof
fee as "an auxiliary food substance"
that retarded the waste of nerve tis
sue and "acting with peculiarly
strengthening effect upon the ner
vous and vascular system."
Like smokers reading literature
from the Tobacco Institute or some
such place, this is stuff I like to read
and want, desperately, to believe.
Where were my doctors when all
these marvelous discoveries were
being made? And why can't 1 con
vince them that my body needs cof
fee to run properly? For that matter,
why can't I convince my body of
this?