The Clinton chronicle. (Clinton, S.C.) 1901-current, January 22, 1970, Image 9
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,
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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
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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.
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