No, not for me and I don't say this with any conceit either because you
see through good fortune, the first job I had was at the State Training
School for Boys and there were boys there who were committed for all
types of crimes and misdemeanors. Sometimes, unfortunately, even
homicide during that time. I went there from college in 1935, and I
stayed there until 1939. They had a system there--they had a boy's
supervisor who also was referred to a disciplinarian and we had a
part-time social worker and we had seven staff people in the academic
division. I went there as teaching principal of the academic division.
So I was responsible for the discipline within the academic school. I
had a few serious discipline problems with some boys, no girls involved,
but I maybe had pretty good luck because I was challenged a couple of
times but I never was over ridden. So when I came here as principal of
the high school from Morrison Training School, I was challenged by about
four students over the first two or three years that I was here and they
couldn't prevail but I always felt this way. I would tell anybody, you
know we are here for a purpose and I have told more than once. I said,
"I am here because I was employed to do a job," and I said, "The state
provides the school and the school is here for you to learn and they
provide me to help you in every way that I can. I will help you if you
will let me help you." I would say, "You are not going to run the school
and I will tell you why. I came to stay and no one person is going to
cause me to leave. If you are going to run it or if you are going to
have your way, right over there on that rack is my hat, the day that
that happens I am getting my hat and I am going but you are not going to
run this school." I said, "Now you know you can stay if you want to but
you don't have to. You know when you get to be sixteen you don't have to
stay but what you will have to do is you will have to change and your
parents will have to come and they will have to be a part of the
conference and whatever counseling they can give you here or there will
be fine with me." I said, "Now there are 600 students here and I am
responsible for all of them and you are not going to mess it up for me."
They got the message.
Page 7 No principal of the secondary
school ever stayed there a month without having some discipline problems
but I never had a bat, a bull horn, and I was always a little leery of
using a strap. I never used a strap, not with high school students. I
think this was a mistake but it was probably the custom at the time.
Elementary teachers sometimes have switches and sometimes the men had
these little belts that they would use on the boys. As I look back that
was not good practice because I never thought that that was very
effective but it was the custom and I still don't believe that that is
the best approach to discipline. So I had it pretty easy from the
standpoint of discipline but I don't think it was by chance. I just did
not intend--you see I had to work because I had a family coming on and I
couldn't stay there. I couldn't keep a straight face. You know a guy
tells me that he is not going to do what I ask him to do and his reason
and I said, if you don't there is no way both of us can stay and I
wouldn't raise my voice. I had a problem with a teacher once and this is
digression just a little bit. It was an exceptional thing as long as we
are on discipline--it was a young teacher and I believe this was her
first job. I wasn't so old that I couldn't appreciate youth. The CIAA
Convention was being held in Greensboro and my youngest son was in high
school at the time and I can't remember all the details but this person
stated that she had to go to see a doctor or something like that. The
person was a counselor. I said, all right. When the reports came in,
there were some three or four guys who were not in class in the
afternoon. So then we began to inquire around and to make a long story
short, this person had taken an automobile and taken some boys to
Greensboro to see the CIAA and they got back at night sometime. You know
they start during the day you know so it wasn't difficult to get all the
facts so when I called the person in, I said, "That was a very
irresponsible act on your part. Now you can't do this even if you
weren't in the role that you are in, as a young adult and working with
young people you can't do that and expect to have that much influence."
I said, "I can't recommend you for reappointment" and of course, there
had been one or two other instances before but anyway I said, "We will
have a conference with the superintendent and these are the facts and if
there is anything different from this, let's you and I establish those
now so when we have the conference there won't be any misunderstanding
or misrepresentation. On one occasion it was either that time or when
something else was an issue the superintendent would say, "Now Ms. So
and So, Mr. Mask is principal of this school and he has been here a long
time and he was here before I got here." This was the new superintendent
who had just been here two or three years, and I have a lot of respect
for him and a whole lot of other people do too. "He is put here to run
the school and I am working with him. It can't be run by you and by him
and I think he is going to run it."