University of South Carolina Libraries
THE CHRONICLE, Clinton, S. C., Jan. 22, 1970—1-B Underachieving School BY LENNART PEARSON Head Librarian Presbyterian College The Underachieving School. By John Holt. 209 Pages. Pitman. 1969. John Holt is something of a maverick when it comes to the education of children. As he sees it, the discrepancies between the natural learning patterns of children and what goes on in the typical American classroom are too great. It is doubtful whether the psychological damage inflicted on a child in the course of “edu cating” him can be justified either on ethical grounds or by the educational result. In an earlier book. How Children Fail (1964), Holt describes chidren “using their minds badly”. Using the form of a journal, he set down his ob servations of children humiliated, frightened, and discouraged, “using their minds not to learn but to get out of doing the things teachers think will make them learn”. This unhappy appraisal was followed in 1967 by a second book, How Children Learn. In this he described by contrast children “using their minds well, learning boldly and effectively.” Holt, a grade- school teacher himself, is a superbly sensitive ob server of children. He watched them playing games, experimenting, talking, reading, doing art, math, and a whole lot of other things. The con clusion he drew is that “children have a style of learning that fits their condition and which they use naturally and well until we train them out of it.” The Underachieving School expands on those themes, attacking without mercy the kinds of prac tices whLh stultify real learning. If Holt had his way, schools would be regarded by children as in teresting places instead of as jails. Schools would have much greater traffic with the real world out side. Devices of the rat race—tests, grades, gold stars—would be abolished, along with the require ment of compulsory attendance. Teachers who chatter constantly while shushing their pupils would cultivate the ability to listen as well as talk; this in itself would be a major contribution toward the improvement of education. The ability to use the mind creatively when confronted by new situations is what education is all about. Holt believes the idea of a body of knowledge to be learned in a school and carried about the rest of one’s life "is nonsense in a world as complicated and rapidly changing as ours." To know how to learn is far more important than mas tering a fixed, required curriculum. Some of this sounds a bit far out, but John Holt’s ideas are also exciting and his reasoning is persuasive. Compassion is evident, and there is much to commend itself to common sense. Any one or all three of these books will l>e of interest to those who love or work with children Mr. and Mr*, Michael Turner % iri, blrt BY NANCY PHILLIPS Week of January 19, 1950 0 STUDY INDUSTRY — Twelve Ers- kine College students in Psychology Professor M. B. Brown’s January in terim course in Man-Machine Engin eering visited Parke-Davis Medical- Surgical Products Division in Green wood recently to study problems con cerning how modem industry can best use sophisticated machinery for the well-being of employees as well as maximum production. From the left. W. A. Turner, manager of the elastic bandage department at Parke- Davis shows the looms and weaving operation to four Erskine students— Erskine Thomason, Clinton; Ralph Elliott, Shelby, N. C.; Joe Wham, Mountville; and Joe Morgan, McCor mick. Operating the loom is Linda Harrison. The students were study ing ways of reducing hearing^rob- lems and noise level in this area of the Parke-Davis Plant.—Photo by D K. Lee, Jr. Thomason, Wham Study Industrial Problems DUE WEST-Erskine Thoma son, sun uf Mr. and Mrs. Fur man E. Thomason, now of Clin ton and formerly of Laurens, and Joseph William Wham, son "f Mr. and Mrs. J. M Wham, Mount ville, are am ng 12 Erskine Col lege students participating in a special January interim term course in applied and industrial psych'd gy, “Man-Machine Engi neering," taught by Dr. M. B. Brown pr lessor f psychology, in cooperation with Parke-Davis Medical-Surgical Products Divi sion, Greenwood. Thomason, asem rat Erskine, and Wham, a freshman, visited the Parke-Davis plant three times to study three problems of h 'W that company culd best use its sophisticated and auto mated machinery for the physical and psychological well-being of employees as well as for maxi mum production. On each visit, Erskine students observed and studied the prob lems before returning to the campus to discuss and arrive at courses of action for each prob lem. These were then compared to the ways in which the company had approached the particular problem area. This is one <>( 60 special courses and independent study projects presently under way by aim >st 700 Erskine students throughout the east, in several European and Latin American countries, and n the Erskine campus. The January interim term is part of Erskine's new 4-1-4 academic calendar. S.C. Baptists Gain 4,909 Members In '69 South Carolina Baptist Con vention gained an >ther 4,909 members during 1969 raising the Convention’s total membership to 579,404. The state's largest (denomina tional body saw tlie establishment of 11 new churches, bringing the total number >f Baptist churches in South Carolina to 1,591. Thomas J. Brannon, director of Public Relations for the State Baptist Convention's General Board, disclosedthis information in his annual statistical report to the Board’s semi-annual meet ing in Columbia January 12-13.1 New converts total 15,562 for the year just ended, a decrease f 513 wer the previ ^us year. The Baptists wn church pro perty valued at $236,792,721. Receipts from the churches to taled $50,637,284 and $5,146,683 J this amount was sent through the Cooperative Program, Bap tists' unified w irld missions bud get. Churches <lesignated an addi tional $669,026 to Baptist causes and Woman’s Missionary Union received $1,544,80 5 for state, home and foreign missions. While church memtiership and finances continued to increase, participation in mostchurchpro- gram Tgamzations showed marked decreases for the second consecutive year. The churches paid out$8,- 937,129 for new construction dur ing the year. Total church debt is now slightly more than $40 million. Baptists operate 91 missions across South Carolina and last year they ordained 103 new preachers and licensed 104. One hundred and thrity-three church es are without pastors and the denomination lost 4,771 members by death. The denominati -n lost 1,812 members to non-Baptist church es and received 1,361 nn-mliers from other denominations. 1ht Oid h>m£4. BAILEY’S BONUS Get MORE foryour ,,a, > iM" BAILEY'S BANK. Earls Aboard Missile Ship v o;y Seaman David L. Earls, son of Mr. and Mrs. Leroy B. Earls of 322 W. Main St., Clin ton, is serving aboard the USS Ooservation Island, the only surface ship in the world with the capability of launching both the Polaris and the new Poseidon missiles. He was serving aboard the Ob servation Island on December 16 when the first at-sea launch of the Poseidon missile took place off the coast of Cape Kennedy, Fla. The Poseidon missile is sche duled to replace the Polaris missile aboard the Navy’s fleet of ballistic missile submarines. At the annual stockholders meeting of the Clinton Production Credit Association to be held here Saturday, Governor J. Strom Thurmond will be the guest speaker, with a large attendance of farmers expected. Since Sunday night, January 8, two Seaboard trains servingClin- ton have been discontinued, stated Olin H. Sheely, local agent. Honoring Miss Phoebe Epting, bride-elect of E. Mason Young Jr., Mrs. Tan M. Ray enter tained at her home on Musgrove Street Friday evening. Mr. and Mrs. J. Frank Wilson of Laurens, announce the engage ment of their daughter, Mary Ruth, to William H. McNinch. Mr. and Mrs. Charlie Mc Daniel and family are occupying their home on E. Carolina Ave. Thursday afternoon Mrs. Hen derson Pitts was hostess for two tables of bridge guests being members of her club. Mr. and Mrs. Tom Wooten and son of Startex spent Sunday with Mr. and Mrs. C. W. Wooten. Mrs. Grady Smith and Mrs. J. W. Smith celebrated their birth day Jan. 8. Mr. and Mrs. B. D. Gallmanof Spartanburg, visited Mr. and Mrs. J. G. GallmanSaturday, and on Sunday were in Calhoun Falls where they were guests of Mr. and Mrs. J. L. Gallman. The P. C. hardwooders lost a heartbreaker to Mercer by the narrow margin of 70 to 69. announce the birth of a daughter, Melissa Barnes, Jan. 16 at the Joanna Hospital. The little lady was born on her mother’s birthdav. Mr. and Mrs. C. R. O’Dell and children visited Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Croft in Silverstreet Sunday. Come In Today DON'T WAIT TILL THE LAST KNIGHT With Your INCOME TAX Avoid the last minute rush. Let BLOCK slay your in come tax dragons. We're quick, convenient, and we guarantee our accuracy. Don't put off till tomorrow what you can do tokmght. BOTH FEDERAL AND STATE LIFE We quoran'ef c:' cur. GUAR ANTE f - G* prepurrU r y n * *wery tax return if we rnr-h *• any f-r r that y u any penalty or inter*”'!, wn a pn / n* 1 pnne:!* , r,r > U»• r * 1 5 * HR CO. 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