The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, May 17, 1934, Image 4
The Clinton d^koidde^ CHi/tont S. C.
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Thursday, May 10, 1934
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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
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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.
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SPECIAL
for
and
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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
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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 ^ .
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Better Furniture
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Makes a Better Home
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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
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*1^1 mm
. ■if.—'S.'*'?-,, i
See the NORGE ELECTRIC REFRIGERATOR
The Kind They Are All Talking About.
Prather - Simpson Furniture Co.
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