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The Clinton d^koidde^ CHi/tont S. C. . » Thursday, May 10, 1934 ■■ -L OPPORTUNnY SCHOOLS’ FOUNDER " HAS BEENISTATE^ENEFACTOR but al*o of the schobl trustees, 'Then she made a ho^^to-iious^, /eatfvaas j inviting ali'tli^e growTn people^ijjho were so unfortdnate as "not to able to even read and write to come to a 'night school to be taught by volun teer local teAohers. .-To the first night In northern stated adult education with much adverse criticism from'the school Miss Gray went fifteen miles !i/ iW"i -a- /' By EFFIE E. FIKE, In The Sparianbur|^ Her^d signifies advanced work for educated parehts in this small >vijlage who in- via buggy in a deiuge of rain—a ride men and women. In South Carolina, si.sted thalJi^ir children be_ taught' of five hours.' This first school boast- on the contrary, adult education pro- according to the old RC" methodTed three teachers. The first person vides k second chance to those of no In an effort to enlighten the-^^e coun- to whom .Miss Gray had spoken con- limited opF>ortunities. It offers try parents she attempted to organize cerning the s^chool was a lyio'untain- or new advantages and benefits for that a night .school hut the results were .so eer who said that he was willing to great mass of people which the pub- discouraging that she abandoned the give half of that years "rhakinga:’ to lie school system disregards—the un- idea. This was in 1905. Six years learn to read and write. That night educated adult. later, as supervisor of rural schools when she asked him‘’are you ready to This work was capitalized under of Laurens county, she was more im- go to .school?” he replied. “I feel like the leadership of Miss Wil Lou Gray , pressed than ever before of an urgent I’m going to new ground without any ijj now state suj^ervisor of adult need for adult education because of ti^ols. Lath night another school schools. Vitally interested in^eople the conflict in training her teachers was opened until..tl)e demonstration and keenlv sensitive to their needs, iri modern methods. Mrs. Gora M il- consisted of six rijral,^ schools.— she has given untiringly apd.^un- son Stewart’s .story of the moonlight succe.s.sfiil was this exi>eriment that .schools in Kentucky inspired Miss schools were organized throughout Gray to a similar undertaking in her I,aurens county. .After a .second year native state. with volunteer teachers the pupils It has always been her method to requested state support of Gov. Man- take a small group as an experiment, ning, and an appropnatjon was grant- ups w'hile a country teacher in and she selected ^ pung s township, ^ j Young’s township, Laurens county, where she herself had been a rural In the meantime Miss Gray was given stintingly of her time, energy and means for the fulfillment of her aims r.nd ambition. Miss Gray became interested in the problem of education for grown- r>>- She taught reading according to the teacher, as her first demonstration called to Montgomery- new method which she had ^just .center. She .solicited the support not Maryland with a double learned in Columbia College, but met]only of the needy of th^ community ary. ii II I i i I i SPECIAL for and ■ ■ Friday I8th a.hd .1^ A SOc Pair of Interwoven Sox FREE WITH EACH PAIR OF OXFORDS^3.50^AND UPWARD. We Are Showing a Complete Line pf Men’s and ^ys’ Furnishings L B. DILLARD Next To Casino Theatre Come To... The Ladies Readi-te-Wear Sheppe FOR All Typ es and Styles of Dresses ELLA ADAIR county in raise in sal- During her absence an illiteracy commission was created and she w-as invited to become iLs field agent: In 1918 she resigned her more lucrative IKisition in Mi^ryland to accept this position in her home state. Such is ■ the origin of the present adult educational movement in South Carolina which this year ha,s em ployed over five hundred teachers and h.as touched over fifteen thousand peo ple in forty-one of forty-.six counties. It is almost a mania, with Miss Giay that these people be taught not from books, but from life’s needs— ^he .xtres.ves a mastery of the three in a setting of every day life. r s ing interested not it. She i.s where a school is but that there is a. .school whei-ever a willing student is j ,, found. Clas.ses have been held every’- where—in homes, by the roadside, in store.s, in abandoned hou.ses and in churches. Her aim is to open the eyes of these ^people to their own pos.sibili- ties. She realize.s that scholars can not be made of this material but ev-' ery jiupil may be given a new appre ciation of his conimoh surroundiings. Miss Gray received an A. B. degree from Columbia colleee and a Master’.s degree at Columbia univer.*iil\'i> In 1930 she was invitT«f to \>rgi^nize an adult program ' in Newfoundland. There she organized a department V hich funetiori'i somewhat as the one South Ca‘‘olina. in r ATTss Trray's outstanding" achieve-” nieiit is the organization, in 1920 of an Opportunity School which is a c«.liege vacation school fur workers. For years she was struck with the fact that provision was made for bachers, preachers, lawyers, etc., but that there was no consideration of HAVOLENE WAXFREE OIL FIRESTONE TIRES AND TUBES WASHING AND GREASING The Texas Go. Phone 120 Phone 27 Pitts Service Station Phone 75^ WELCOME TO CLINTON FOR GET-ACQUAINTED DAYS ♦ f • ►>• 1 4 •4 4 ♦ f I i ■ I ..i i that large.st of all groups, the work-, ers, who needed not only study, but a luiH ■.d;| ■ e B a a wludesome vacation. Therefore she lonceived the idea of opening a col li ge which differeil from the usual crdlege in that it re*|uirt-«l no units for entrance. The only preiv«juisites Were a go^wl character, a desire for kriowledgt', w llingiu>.-. to w«irk and ability to ‘Stick”. Pupils who had n«*\er T > a '•‘h'M*! In'fore have eiuerctl the Opportunity S<-hool wliile .*^ttll others ha\e ha<i an elementary education. Since the organization of these .m-IuhiIs over two thousand pu pils have had their lives inspired and re-inade thiolugh the intimate contact with culture*!, lefined teach ers. .Mi.-o. Gray can punt with pride to piiipils who have “nuide good One is secretary to a rn ie I 1-^tat*^ colonel in a marin«‘ corps m- t'hina. .A girl I.s a graduate nui-se in John Hopkins Hospital. Many of the boys have re^ sponsible places in mills—one former student - superintendent. Others aie policemen. Finer tiun all this, however. Are She hundr^s tsho are simply making be*tter citizens through community participation. The spirit of the whole school may be adeituately expressed in the words ot this negro pupil who wrote a letter to the president of the United States: ”Wg..thajtik4Laii for tii«> 4mi| Vhereas we were once disheartened we now work with a song.” Mis.s Gray welcomes hundreds of letters from fomier pupils who try in their own way to thank her fo/the opportunities that she has openetl for them. Recently she received this note from a lidy wha learned to read in 1920, after she was sixty years old: *‘I w ish, to thank you again for what you’ve done for me. You have no idea how I enjoy^ reading library books. \ [ They help pa.ss many a lonely hour.” tl'hat the Opportunity School means to yo^g men can be best ex pressed in the words of a pupil: “I was drifting, but now I hope I know where I’m going.” One of Miss Gray’s ideas in tegard to education is that a person learns by travel a'nd by seeing. Therefore she has always encouraged travel pro jects. .During the years she has car ried pupils Jon pilgrimages to Wash ington, Charleston nad Columbia. The pupils study about the place they’re to visit for over two raontha' ahead. This year on Sunday. April 21, ow three thousand • five hundred people from forty counties went to Colum- I I bia in the spirit of tile pilgrims of ■ 1 # A A e Xr, .a.— A. ? A ^ . ■ ■ ■ ■ i i i Better Furniture ■ P m i i I i • Makes a Better Home i i i i i i f i I t r ^ ■ I I • I I • I i I The Sjafe and sane way to transform your housed any house — into a dignified home is to put better furniture into it. We can trsins- form your ’’dream-rooms” into realities. Home furnishings deserve a regulw, impor tant position in your family budget, for new, attractive surroundings are essentid. to your advancement and the happiness and eing of your famUy. ^ ^ COME IN—WE ARE ANXIOUS FOR YOU TO SEE THE BEAITIFUL THINGS ME ARE SHINING TO MAKE HOMES OUT OF “JUST HOUSES.” old to pay tribute and to visit ike graves of tboM who helped make South Carolina a finer state. SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE ”T1ie Paper Everyhady RcMb” *1^1 mm . ■if.—'S.'*'?-,, i See the NORGE ELECTRIC REFRIGERATOR The Kind They Are All Talking About. Prather - Simpson Furniture Co. I i II p I !l 11 I • t i i I i I ■ ■ II II I • i I ii I i ■ I II ' 11 11 11 |i 11 I I I / s ■ ■ I ■ II L-J ■§ II 11 11 . \ .-I d I mmm mmmm'm | i .ytois, ■ i