Mr. Roger Derthick, principal, has been selected as one of
twenty secondary school administrators to go on the NASSP Study
Mission to Soviet Russia, Rumania, Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, Denmark
and England, March 20-April 20, 1966.
The purpose of the trip is to obtain first-hand knowledge of secondary
education in these countries. The group will visit schools to
study curriculum, organization, administrative/supervisory practices,
and teaching methods.
Opportunities will be provided to observe classes and talk with teachers and students. The group will function as a team and seminar discussions will follow dayto-day observations. The director of the Study Mission will be an experienced educator, expert on the educational scene in each country. to be visited.
Official receptions have tentatively been set for Moscow, Leningrad, Bucharest, Sofia, and Winchester. In the last named city, secondary modern schools will be visited.
Mr. Derthick needs $1400 for the trip.
The SOUTHERNER has assumed responsibility to underwrite the campaign to help finance Mr. Roger Derthick's intended trip to the "Iron Curtain Countries," England and Denmark, March 20 through April 20, 1966.
Southerner staff members will be continually collecting contributions. A staff member will come to each homeroom every morning. There will also be Southerner staff members roving the halls. Staff members can be found in the cafeteria during all recesses. Contributions may also be made in the Southerner room after 12:30 every day.
Besides individual contributions, the help of each and every service and social club at Grady is needed. To help promote club participation the social club and the service club contributing the largest sum will receive a prize, compliments of the Southerner advertisers. Any club which contributes to this campaign will be mentioned in the Southerner. The SOUTHERNER urges all clubs to begin working now.
The main campaign will take part within the school itself, but contributions from private businesses, parents, and friends of Grady are also needed. The Henry Grady High School Parents Teacher Association has already volunteered a $200 contribution to help Mr. Derthick.
These contributions should be sent to the SOUTHERNER.
The continuous existence of our democratic ideology depends
on the ability of the people to make wise judgements on matters
of national interest.
In a time when this national interest is largely determined by
international activities, greater demands than ever are made on
our people. Not only must we know what is happening in our government
and society but we are required to learn how other countries function
if we are to understand their policies and activities. The truth
is that the culture of every country is strongly, if not predominately,
affected by conditions and movements in other parts of the world.
Furthermore, such influences are not limited to the fact of historical
derivation. Each country is a part of the world. Hermit kingdoms
and iron curtains may distort the fact, but they cannot eliminate
it.
America is an open society. By that it is implied that what we do and believe is open for the world to witness. Not all countries are so free with information about their people and the only way we can become informed about their society is to visit among and exchange views with them. This not only will help us further our knowledge but will present opportunities to tell what is good in our country and bring back ideas of good from theirs.
Because the Iron Curtain countries have a closed society it is difficult to learn the truth so that we can evaluate their system and then better understand how they feel. Mr. Derthick's forthcoming visit to these countries will provide Grady students with the eyes to look over the Curtain and with the ears to hear what is behind it. By bringing back to us the knowledge that he gains he will be making better citizens of his students and providing new ideas to improve our educational system.