STUDENT TEACHERS I shall long remember what it has mean to me and I am grateful again and again for the many advantages which have come my way because of my willingness - even eagerness to teach. My logical work area was Sunday School and now that I have grown physically less active – translated that means “old”, I miss it, too.
I was fortunate to have grown up where we had what was then known as “Teacher's College”. The educational concept therein was to try to teach. The very idea of doing such a thing has,I believe, unfortunately faded away today as have then school themselves. It was a gradual process as each school assumed a fancier name for itself. The one in our town changed from a rather meaningless name of:”Radford Normal School for Women” or “Girls” - in popular usage.
I remember the well-known actor and the founder of the famed ”Barter Theater” - the nation's first State Theater in Abingdon, Virginia – ad-libbing his own introduction to “Our Town”. He strolled leisurely on stage, as was his usual manner of movement and told the largely student audience the actors were pleased to be asked to, perform “here at the 'Radford School for Normal Girls'”. That sort of banter became more and more noticeable,I'd say, and to the “City of Radford” residents the name became simply. The local Radford citizen was known bristle a bit when some one jokingly wondered out loud why a scattered little town with, at best with six-thousand people called itself a “city”? It was entirely legal. State Law at the time designated any community of over five-thousand to be called a “city”.
So, since both the “Normal School” and the “City of...” has such identification problems the fared well together. I had student teachers in just about every class at such a secondary staff and I know I profited from such a system. I do remember, too, how some suffered greatly in such on-job training when they met with not uncommon discipline problems. I am pleased when to hear of local colleges are working closely with public schools. It causes welcome growth and understanding at both levels.
Andrew McCaskey Sr. amccsr@adelphia.net 12-15-6 [c381wds]
