THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, May 21, 1995 TAG: 9505190219
SECTION: SUFFOLK SUN PAGE: 02 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Frank Roberts
LENGTH: Medium: 95 lines
When I recently visited Mount Zion Elementary School in Suffolk, Principal Edward Carter asked me to read something that had impressed him.
I was equally moved by ``The Color of Black'' by third-grader Nicole Rose:
I am a Black American
Not from lands far, far away.
America is where I was born and raised
And where I will always stay.
Even though my ancestors are from Africa,
America is where I want to be!
Even though I'm proud of them,
America is the home for me!
I am a Black American,
Hear me loud and clear.
I know it's a tough world,
I will pledge that I'll never fear.
So you see, I'm proud of what I am,
and there's nobody I'd rather be!
I know I'm not rich, but I'm not poor,
And happiness, I have a lot.
So be proud of what you are
and don't be someone you're not.''
I thought this was particularly thoughtful and incisive for a 9-year-old.
Nicole, who lives with her grandmother, Blanch Rose, told me: ``I like America. I was born here, I have fun here. My teachers, friends and family are here.''
I recently had the pleasure of discussing the life and times of newspaper reporters during Career Day at T.S. Cooper Elementary School in Sunbury, N.C.
It was a pleasure to meet so many nice teachers and very well-behaved students.
Carlene Echols is 37. Her sister, Lisa Lambert, is 29. Their closeness is a testament to family togetherness.
Both are case managers/home health care nurses for 1st American Home Care on Godwin Boulevard. They graduated from the Obici School of Nursing, where they were on the honor roll, as they had been at grade school and in high school.
At one time, they worked together at the Women's Center at Obici.
Carlene and Lisa, whose husbands are best friends, live next door to each other in Walters, and a brother and their parents live nearby.
Carlene has three children. Lisa has two but swears she will catch up.
The women love the Outer Banks and are buying a cottage there.
They enjoy country dancing and spend a lot of time at the Rhinestone Cowboy in Newport News. There are some personality differences.
``Lisa is more patient than I am,'' Carlene said. ``She's quieter, so she fools everybody. They think she's so goody-goody. She's like me, but covers it well.''
Lisa says her sister ``is much more dynamic than I am, more of a go-getter. She comes across as self-confident, but she's not. I push her on.''
They've become closer through the years.
Don White, principal at Suffolk's Nansemond Parkway Elementary, showed me sets of rules for teachers, circa 1872 and 1915. They were established for a rural locale somewhere, and probably were pretty typical for those times.
Here are a few from 1872:
Teachers each day will fill lamps, clean chimneys.
Each teacher will bring a bucket of water and a scuttle of coal for the day's session.
Men teachers may take one evening each week for courting purposes, or two evenings a week if they go to church regularly.
After ten hours in school, the teachers may spend the remaining time reading the Bible.
Women teachers who marry or engage in unseemly conduct will be dismissed.
Any teacher who smokes, uses liquor, frequents pool or public halls or gets shaved in a barber shop will give good reason to suspect his worth, integrity, honesty.
Did things lighten up in 1915? Hardly. These rules are aimed at women teachers.
You will not marry during the term of your contract.
You may not loiter downtown in ice cream stores.
You may not travel between the city limits unless you have permission of the chairman of the board.
You may not ride in a carriage or automobile with any man unless he is your father or brother.
You may, under no circumstances, dye your hair.
You must wear at least two petticoats and your dresses must not be any shorter than 2 inches above the ankle.
Other duties: Sweeping the floor daily, scrubbing the floor every week, and starting the fire at 7 a.m. so the room will be warm by 8 a.m. ILLUSTRATION: Nicole Rose
by CNB