Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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PAGE 4—The Newberry Sun, Newberry, S. C., Thursday, Feb. 26, 1970 Star Students and Teachers Are Honored Kandal Holcombe, a senior at Newberry High School, was named County STAR Student at a banquet Thursday night a* the Newberry Inn Restaurant. His STAR Teacher, also a coun ty winner, is Mrs. Marty Math is. The banquet honored STAR students and teachers from the four high schools of the county. The STAR program is sponsor ed locally by the Newberry County Development Board. In addition to the county win ners. other STAR Students and Teachers honored were Lillie Yvonne Bobb, student and Ri chard Glasgow, Gallman High; Donald Wise, student and Mrs. Jennylee Poster, Mid-Carolina; Tommy Shields, student and Mrs. Aileen Aughtry, Whitmire High. The county winners will com pete for STAR Student and Teacher awards in the Third Congressional District. During the banquet, each of the students and teachers made a brief talk. Published below are the remarks of the four STAR Students and the winning STAR Teacher: BY RANDY HOLCOMBE The subject I have undertaken to speak on tonight may be a little dangerous in view of the fact that there are a few teach ers here, but there is one as pect of education which many teachers often disregard in an attempt to fill a student’s mind with as much culture and scho larship as possible in prepara tion for his collegiate years. So many educators lose sight of the fact that their students are not exactly thrilled by their forced enlightenment. Teachers forget what a languid routine learning can be. To the average student, math might be valuable to a physicist or a mathemati cian, but as far as high school is concerned, it's only a few re quired credits, and English is simply another hour of tedium a day. Few pupils ever enjoy a challenging trig problem or learn to appreciate the beauty of their own language. They are never taught to delight in the acquisition of knowledge. We for get dates, figures and formulas. The satisfaction received by fin ally understanding what t h e teacher’s been getting at or the simple pleasure of reading a good novel is not so easily put aside. When a student reaches that point at which he actually en joys learning, he will learn; and more efficiently, more quickly and with greater insight and understanding than before. Can a love of knowledge be taught 0 I don’t know. If it can, I wouldn't know how. Maybe it’s just a knack, an ability to communicate your own emotions to your students or to reach a rapport with a class. I know that as a sophomore in Mrs. Mathis’ class I discovered that language expressed more than just words, a novel tells more than just a story and a poem does more than just rhyme. Mrs. Mathis taught me to enjoy and really appreciate the English language. To me this was more important than all the verb forms and tenses, and mechanics and grammar I had previously been drilled in. Maybe all students don’t have this experience but they should. It must require an effort on the part of both the student and the instructor, but the greatest task is up to the instructor, if the instructor is up to the task. MRS. MARTHA MATHIS Since I am not an intellect ual—possibly not even articulak I am dismayed over the pros- oeots of so much to be said in so little time. However, five minutes can be a challenge, and I am in no position to refuse even if what I say ends up as graffiti on the walls of the bath room at NHS. I do not have the time to “tell it like it is” with tact and finesses. That would require a great many hours. Since I was already an “old” adult—thirty-five years old— when I began my teaching car eer, I perhaps look at the educa tional situation in Newberry from an entirely different angle than those who “came up” in the system. I seriously question whether our present system helps or hinders our students in adjusting to the world as it is today. The world has changed so tremendously, and the sys tem here has changed so little. 1 teach students every day who have been face to face with every conceivable misfortune of life and yet they are still being exposed to the equivalent of “Run, Sally, run” on the high school level. I don’t have the time tonight to tell you about my disappoint ments over citizenry emphasiz ing athletics over scholarship, teachers emphasizing pontifica- tion over student interest and concern, parents emphasizing “A’s” over knowledge, and stu dents emphasizing fun over facts because SCHOOL IS SUCH A BORE!! I don’t have the time to tell you about the summer schools I have attended in the last few years where I have studied with teachers from all over South Carolina who are teaching in schools fully equipped with sup plementary materials that we dream about here in Newberry, teaching in schools with sets of free books for every high school student in attendance, teaching with adequate supplies to dupli cate and make untold transpar encies and materials of real teaching value, teaching in schools adequately staffed, teaching in schools where every nail, wall, every chair, every bit of lighting makes for a sit uation of learning. I don’t have the time to tell you about the high schools I have visited in Greenville, Col umbia and Spartanburg in the last two years where English and math are such a challenge that the students cannot bear to be absent for fear of what they will miss. That seems al most idiotic to sav here. I do not have the time to tell you about the countless num bers of students who are aware that they do poorly on tests not because they don’t know the answers but because they don’t know how to interpret the ques tions correctly or how to phrase what they do know. I wish I had the time tonight to tell you some of the truly “great” things I’ve experienced in the last eight years. I wish I could tell you about my prin cipal who has worked so con scientiously to create a learn ing situation at NHS and who has opened every door for me this year to teach English as an experiment in the way it is being taught in all the high schools in our nation that are ill with the curses of the repeti tive course that English has be come because of our inertia— because of the lethargy of teach ers who teach for money tc travel, money to educate sons and daughters, money for var ious other reasons rather than teach to reach that 75 percent of our students in such desper ate need. I wish i could tell you the in side dope I have on some of my co-teachers at Mid-Carolina and Newberry High who have sacrificed family, social, and church activities for their school work. I wish I could tell you abou' one mother who said to me re cently, “Thank you for introduc ing my son to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Now, he wants to read all of his books.” One mother out of the hundreds of mothers of students I’ve taught who act ually knew to what her son was being exposed in the classroom I wish I could tell you about Randal Holcombe’s comment to a fellow student who laughed and said “Um-hum, Randal, Now you’ve paid back Mrs. Mathis for those ‘A’s”!!—and Randal’s reply, “Nope, I never made an A under Mrs. Mathis.” Rather, he came every day to class with an open mind—he didn’t sit on the middle of a fence—he expressed himself con stantly both orally and written— He listened well and was un afraid to give his opinion be cause he knew that I had few preconceived notions to dampen his interest. He and I made mis takes together and learned to gether. I didn’t make an A ei ther—in fact, he came a lot closer to it than I—but Randal opened my mind and my eyes to some of the sheer delight within himself as is to be found in every single student who crosses my threshold at school. More than all I wish I could tell you tonight about my naive dreams whose fulfillment would make smooth every student’s transition from high school to the world—my dreams of school boards that are dedicated solely to learning and improved curri culum rather than to placement, finances!, and politics—my dream of parents who care more for their children’s learn ing experiences than for their being out from underfoot—my dreams of teachers who work together rather than let position, fears, envy and jealousy pull them apart—my dreams of stu dents who are actually encour aged to think for themselves regardless of a teacher’s ideas. But—five minutes is too little time—and I can’t even decide where to start!!! BY DONALD WISE I chose as my topic, “The Best Thing My School Did For Me”. As I began to think about this topic and this banquet to night, I came to one conclusion. The best thing my school did for me certainly did not include making me a good public speak er. Seriously though, Mid-Caro lina, my school, has helped me in many ways. The best thing it did for me was to provide me with an opportunity to learn, to mature, and to gain an in sight into the everyday pro blems of the world. I do not know of any better experience which could have helped me to develop the qualities and ac quire the knowledge I will need in the future than my four years in high school. Through aca demic studies, athletics, and participation in various organi zations or clubs, I believe that I now have a firm foundation upon which I can build my fu ture. The knowledge gained through academic studies will not only prove invaluable when I attend college, but it also will help me with any endeavor which I might undertake. I am sure Mrs. Foster will agree with me on the fact that one of the most important skills a student can learn in his studies is that of reasoning problems out and thinking through problems thor oughly. I could memorize all the information and facts in the world, but if I have not learned to use this knowledge to reason out problems, it will not benefit me whatsoever. I think mv school, and especially Mrs. Fos ter, helped me considerably in learning to reason out problems. Leadership is a quality that is exteremely important to all students. My school has been extremely helpful in this area. By having officers of each class and of all the various organi zations responsible for planning and guiding activities, my school teaches leadership. During my four years of high school I have been fortunate in that I have had the opportunity to work closely with our superintendent, Mr. Hubert Bedenbaugh, He has been very helpful in guiding me and teaching me the fundamen tals of a good leader. Another quality which goes hand in hand with leadership is that of responsibility. As a stu dent at my school, I have a responsibility to complete my studies and to constantly con centrate on acquiring knowledge In addition to being a leader, an officer of any organization has a responsibility to see that the function of that organiza tion is carried out. This exper ience was good training for me. I realize that a good sense of responsibility is most necessary for a successful life. A third quality which my school has helped me to devel op is citizenship. Our country needs good citizens today, and my school has recognized this need and stressed citizenship in its teachings. By participating in student body officer cam paigns and elections I have be come acquainted with voting procedures. Also, Mid-Carolina has definite rules and regulat ions which must be respected and followed. The penalty for breaking these rules may not be as strict as in our country and state, but, “the board of education” when applied correct ly can make most anyone a law abiding student. Sportsmanship is another qual ity which my school strongly stresses. Through my participa tion in football, basketball and track, I have learned to take defeat along with victory. I have learned to never give up and to always keep trying. Sooner or later everyone faces hard times and even defeat, but a true sport never loses because he never gives up. I can honestly say that Mid- Carolina has given me the op portunity to become a more con scientious and responsible per son, and I hope I have the deter mination to cash in on this op portunity. Plato, the famous Greek philosopher, once said, “The direction in which educa tion starts a man will determine his future life”. My school has certainly started me in the right direction, and my desire is to have the courage and determi nation to continue in this dir ection. BY LILLIE YVONNE BOBB The last year in any school is a unique time for the average senior, particularly the high school senior. He struggles to make the necessary last min ute plans to correct his weak nesses so he can succeed in his future plans. It seems he has worked very hard to get to the top but the task is not yet completed. The last year is the most expensive, the most time-consuming, and energy-demanding but the most rewarding if we have planned wisely. I think the business and pro fessional people in Newberry County can be the excedrin for the excedrin headache of many high school students. Probably the greater precent- age of high school graduates will not be attending colleges or uni versities. Some of the graduates will be seeking specialized train ing in a particular field in tech nical education or trade schools. There are still those whose high school diploma will be the climax of their school days. These young adults who won’t be attending school full or part- time are the ones who will do the most to help Newberry County progress or retrogress. I think business and profes sional people should bend over backwards to show the various students I have mentioned that they deserve a break after their years of preparation. Employers should try to up date their facilities and any “elastic clauses” so they can appeal to better qualified grad uates and improve their busi ness output. Apprentice or job trainee pro grams should be used (which is a growing trend) rather than automatically saying “no” to an applicant because he lacks ex perience. This person presently lacking experience may be the future genius of your business. Today’s young people have a gigantic supply of new ideas. You should listen openly to all of them. You might find it ne cessary to dismiss some of their ideas, but a few of them may sharpen your business your out look, and your future. BY TOMMY SHIELDS First of all I would like to take this opportunity to tell you how happy I am to be honored here tonight. However I cannot take the credit for having at tained the honor alone. My par ents, my teachers, and my friends all have played a large part in helping me achieve this honor. I owe very much to my school. Tonight I would like to tell you what I consider the most interesting thing about my school. Having been active throughout high school in. ath letics, I naturally think of our program of sports as being most interesting. My participation in sports alone has helped me be come a better rounded citizen. Our coaches have taught us sportsmanship and high Christ ian ideals. We have learned the give and take of life and have met many outstanding people in our participation in athletics. Our record for the last few years in athletics speaks for it self. For you see, we have re cently won seven successive con ference championships with one State Championship included a- mong the seven. I, however, am not trying to sound off about how good we are in sports, but I am trying to show what parti cipation in sports has done for our academic life as well. The same desire which our coaches have taught also extend into our studies. This desire, to be the best possible, is very present through out our school and community as well. To me, this desire and pride in ourselves is really the most interesting thing about our school. We are inspired not be be satisfied until we have reach ed the top, both in academics and in athletics. We feel that if we are not satisfied to place second in a sports event, then we are not content to do just average academic work. Even though many times, we may fall short; we have still given it that all out effort with the idea of “reaching for the stars”. This attitude of being the best has enveloped our whole school. And even though many of us graduate from year to year, “the winning tradition” will still linger on in Whitmire High. My high school days, both in sports and academics, are now draw ing to a close. But, the pride, (Continued on page 5)