Charlene Smith - reflects on her teachers at Northside elementary (clip)
Interviewed by Bob Gilgor on February 21, 2001
RG: Are there any other memories of your childhood that stand out in your mind?
CS: No, I think you just kind of accept things as they are, and you don't question them or really see the value until you move on to another stage. Then you can see the importance of what you did have, and what we had, students don't get now as easily. And there's something missing for many of the kids in schools now, compared to when I was growing up. When I attended Lincoln, there were black role models around me everywhere. And you don't look upon that until you get older, and you don't have that. Whether it was always having a black teacher, having a black custodian, having a black principal who directed the way the school was going. Black cafeteria workers. It was black people around you, which you always had a sense of family, and a sense of community. A sense of safety, and a sense of security. Which our students don't have at the present time.
RG: What was it like going to Orange County Training School?
CS: I didn't go to Orange County Training School.
RG: You went to Northside.
CS: I went to Northside, in elementary school.
RG: Oh, I don't want to make you that old, but - excuse me. (laughter)
CS: I mean, I'm old, but no, but I went to Northside.
RG: OK. I promise I won't ask what you weigh.
CS: Promise? Good.
RG: OK, so you went to Northside. Tell me what it was like at Northside.
CS: It was my school. Again, I was with peers that I knew, neighbors that I knew. Again, the same type of thing when I think back. I had black teachers, so that I was very comfortable in my school setting. One of the things I do remember as mom had mentioned, when he did have the operettas or our musical program, you worked hard at being good at whatever you did, and you were always really good at it, and the teachers were very clear in what they expected of you. They expected you to give your best, and to be your best. And they worked at it until you did do that. I had excellent teachers, very caring teachers.
RG: When you say they were very caring, what is it that makes you say that? What memories do you have that tell you that your teachers were caring?
CS: I think it was the time that they were willing to give. Whether it was helping you with your penmanship or whether it was helping you on a concept, or whether it was a special project that you had to have. They appeared to be there, giving more than just the regular time. That they encouraged you to keep trying to do something until you were successful. They really cared about you.
RG: What if you were a slow learner?
CS: They would still work with you until you mastered a particular thing.
RG: Did you see a difference in the way they treated those who were intellectually outstanding and those who were slower?
CS: No. Everybody was expected to succeed, so if you needed additional time, they made sure that you put in that extra time. But there was not a difference between the children who were maybe less challenged than the others. Everybody was expected to succeed, and if you didn't, that was ok, people still worked with you until you were able to do that.
