Date of Award
8-1952
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Science
Degree Discipline
History
Abstract
The problem of developing an effective supervisory program for the Negro schools of Shelby County has been very difficult. The unwillingness of teachers to accept / supervision, lack of full co-operation of local officials, complacency of the parents with existing conditions, lack of interest among lay people, the need for teaching equipment, poor school buildings, bad road conditions, low educational status among both white and Negro races, and the unwillingness to try to improve conditions generally, have influenced the progress of the program.
Looking at the Negro schools of Shelby County in comparison with those of some other counties, one is not altogether encouraged. The surest test of progress of any race lies not in the accumulated wealth of the people, nor in the degree of perfection in political organizations, nor in its educational advancement, and not even in its organized church life. All of these are, to be sure, indices of development; but the surest test of any civilization lies in the character of its homes. Any race that has the ability to build and keep sacred the institution of the family must be considered progressive. The history of the Shelby County Negroes has not been very encouraging in this regard.
Since Shelby was among the group of counties having the lowest educational status as reported in a survey made during World War II, it seems that the ultimate hope of improving the status of Negro life in that area is to improve the schools through an effective educational program that will meet the needs of all the people of the community--adults as well as children. Case studies have proved that community-centered schools have helped to improve the living status of communities.
A close relationship between the school and the community has a two-way benefit. Education is made meaningful to children, and the level of living in the community is improved. Hie curriculum ceases to be limited to the abstract and distant and is limited only by the needs of the children and the communities in which they live. This is the direction in which many school programs are moving, and this is the direction in which this program projects. Careful planning enables an individual or group, other things being equal, to accomplish things which unorganized individuals or groups, not only cannot achieve but cannot understand. All planning should be co-operative, everyone concerned participating. Experience has demonstrated that organizing a tentative program for the guidance of school interest is essential to the success of any situation.
Committee Chair/Advisor
A. C. Preston
Publisher
Prairie View Agricultural And Mechanical College
Rights
© 2021 Prairie View A & M University
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.
Date of Digitization
3/7/2022
Contributing Institution
John B Coleman Library
City of Publication
Prairie View
MIME Type
Application/PDF
Recommended Citation
Price Wright Forte, L. H. (1952). A Proposed Supervisory Program For Shelby County, Texas, 1947-1954. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.pvamu.edu/pvamu-theses/1269