"--and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Thus spoke Abraham Lincoln, one of the greatest Americans that ever lived. Today, however, one might wonder if some Gradyites have failed to live up to this ideal.
When a student enters Grady High, is it not his right to be judged for himself alone? Money, clothes, social position--none of these are the true measure of quality in anyone. As America is a melting pot, so should Grady be, removing the veneer of background and wealth, leaving only a person's character and personality with which he is to make his way.
Every Grady student is proud to say, "I am an American." Do each of us practice the ideals of equality and friendship that are such a deep rooted part of the American Way of life ?
The largest portion is allotted to the library and a second large portion pays one-half of the nurse's salary. After the expenses of the test, typing, and mimeograph paper are paid, the remainder goes to the different educational departments.
More than one dollar for each student goes to the library. Various departments such as art, science, music, shop, home economics, and physical education receive the money necessary to fill their needs.
Mr. Eugene Sanders, school treasurer, states that because of the high prices of supplies, every cent of the fee money is needed.
Dr. R. W. Stephens Applauds Students on Scholarship
To the Students of Henry Grady High School:
I would like to repeat here something of what I said in our first assembly.
Henry Grady has made for itself an enviable reputation as a school where high standards of scholarship prevail. Now such high standards do not come by talking but by doing and are primarily the result of a common goal held by the student and the classroom teacher. For the student this goal is a matter of bard work and putting first things first. For the teacher and the student it is the dissatisfaction with the shoddy and second-rate. For the teacher it is an insistence that the student do his best. This high ideal of both teaching and learning should remain a constant objective for all of us.
Last year we sought to improve our school spirit. I think that we all know that school spirit is more than consigning the opposing team to the lower region. School spirit is pride and manifests itself in such everyday matters as clean yards, care of the building, good behavior, and good sportsmanship whether we win or lose. I think you have only to look around you to see what I believe to be the finest school spirit to be found in any high school.
But no school can achieve its potentiality without the strongest emphasis on moral and spiritual values. I would like to suggest that we place high before us the ideal of Honor--a return to the old fashioned virtue of honesty. Did you ever cheat on an examination, take something and not pay for it, or get a book from the library without checking it out? These are dishonest and dishonesty leaves you feeling mean and shabby and little.
At all costs we must keep our self-respect. Is it too much to hope that Honor and High Ideals can be a quality characterizing every student of Henry Grady High School? Then we can look the world in the eye with pride, the right kind of pride. Yes, there is such a thing as being too proud to cheat on an examination, to abuse public property, or to tell a lie. No school and no individual can be truly great or really happy until Honor is the very cornerstone of its being.
Sincerely yours,
R. W. Stephens.