Piedmont High School - Summit Yearbook (Lawndale, NC)

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LITERARY SOCIETIES, MEDALS AND SCHOLARSHIPS The Musigmarhonian and the Pierian Literary Socie¬ ties for young men meet each week for debate, declama¬ tion and the transaction of general business. In these exercises all members are required to participate and all students who board at the hall are required to become members of the literary society of their choice. It would be hard to estimate the importance of this work in im¬ parting knowledge of parliamentary law, stimulating historical research and cultivating the habit of general reading. In fact, some of the larger colleges are already considering the advisability of making literary society work count toward the winning of a degree. Why not? These society meetings are always attended by the principal and by other teachers who act as critics. Each society offers a gold medal to that member mak¬ ing the greatest improvement in oratory and debate dur¬ ing the year. The Musigmarhonian Improvement Medal was awarded to Mr. Carl Pegg, of Guilford County, N. C. The Pierian Improvement Medal was awarded to Mr. Lawrence Freeman, of South Carolina. The Emersonian Literary Society for young women meets once each week for the reading of various selec¬ tions, the study of the lives of authors, for recitations, for the reading of original essays, and debate. The meet¬ ings are always attended by one or more of the lady teachers who, by friendly criticism and advice, encourage the students to greater zeal in the work. A gold medal awarded by the Emersonian Literary Society for improvement in reciting was won by Miss Elaine Moore, of Henderson County, N. C. The Schenck Scholarship Medal, awarded to the mem¬ bers of the senior class making the best general average for the four years of the College Course, was won by Mr. John A. Hallman, of Lincoln County, N. C. This medal is given by Mr. John F. Schenck in memory of his

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22 PIEDMONT HIGH SCHOOL department, some of the following may be added in order that he may have full work: Bible III, Plane and Spheri¬ cal Trigonometry, Physics, Chemistry, Greek I, and Greek II. Teacher Training Course The demand for trained teachers for the last few years has been greater than the supply. This condition came as a result of the small salaries of the teachers in com¬ parison with the cost of living and the earning power of other lines of business. Salaries of teachers have ad¬ vanced and prices in other lines have declined. This makes teaching a better business from a financial stand¬ point. In fact, it is the intention of the leaders of edu¬ cation in this State to make teaching a real profession instead of the haphazard calling it has been in the past. This means better salaries and bigger opportunities for the teachers but it also means BETTER PREPARATION on the part of the teachers. In view of these facts Pied¬ mont High School is seeking to be of service by introduc¬ ing into its curriculum a teachers’ training course. Text-Books We prefer that the students buy their books after entering, as there will probably be some changes made in the text-books. Teachers Our teachers are all thoroughly competent. Our idea of building and sustaining a first-class school is that a few teachers well qualified for their work can accomplish more than a large number of cheap, inexperienced ones.

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24 PIEDMONT HIGH SCHOOL father, who established it. A special scholarship medal was awarded to Mr. Benjamin Husbands, of Clarendon County, S. C. The Susan Burns Medal, given by the Principal in honor of his mother, awarded to the girl who renders the best recitation at Commencement, was won by Miss Evangeline Hord, of Cleveland County, N. C. The Carme Elam Medal, given by Mr. Carme Elam, Sr., to the best declaimer at Commencement, was won by Mr. John R. Owens, of Onslow County, N. C. A gold m edal, given by Miss Nannie Lee Yelton for improvement in penmanship, was won by Mr. George Canipe, Jr., of Cleveland County, N. C. A gold medal, given by Dr. Thomas B. Gold for im¬ provement in Pianoforte, was won by Miss Inez Cline, of Cleveland County, N. C. A gold medal, given by the Principal, was awarded to Mr. Sankey L. Blanton, of Rutherford County, N. C., for oratory and debate in the annual commencement debate. To contest for the Scholarship Medal one must be a student in the college preparatory department for not less than three scholastic years. To contest for the Declamation Medal or the Recitation Medal one must be a student of Piedmont High School for a period of not less than six months preceding the contest, and must not have won the Declamation Medal or Recitation Medal at Piedmont in years previous. To contest for any other medals one must be a student of Piedmont High School for a period of not less than eight months. No medal will be awarded one who carries fewer than sixteen recitations per week and whose general average, including deportment, is less than seventy-five. The last and by far the greatest awards for merit that come under this head are scholarships placed in our hands by Wake Forest College, Trinity College, Catawba College, and the University of North Carolina. The placing of these scholarships in our hands is, per¬ haps, the highest endorsement that the trustees of these institutions could bestow upon us.