THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, October 13, 1995 TAG: 9510130526
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B3 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON GLASS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 66 lines
At Norfolk Academy, character building and academic excellence go hand in hand, school administrators say.
First-graders, for instance, are expected to uphold this code: ``I tell the truth, do my own work and don't take things that belong to others.''
And students are taught to respect people who are different from them. Classes were dismissed for everyone, for example, on Rosh Hashana, the Jewish new year, and students learned about its significance from Jewish peers and teachers at the school.
``If you don't take the initiative to teach those important values, you're not going to have responsible adults and good citizens,'' said Nathaniel Peirce, director of the academy's Lower School, which comprises grades one through six. ``If you look at what's happening in America, the notion of respect for authority, respect for each other and respect for differences I don't think is as strong as it was two or three decades ago.''
Forty years ago, the toughest problems most schools faced were kids chewing gum in class, speaking out of turn or not doing homework. It's vastly different today: Teen violence, pregnancy and drug use and lack of parental support top a dizzying list of social ills.
Helping teachers, administrators, parents and other community members deal with those challenges is the focus of a four-day conference that kicked off Thursday night on Norfolk Academy's campus.
The Common Wealth in Education conference is expected to draw about 350 participants nationwide, including teachers from all five public school districts in South Hampton Roads. Its theme: ``3 R's for the 21st Century: Respect - Resilience - Responsibility.''
This morning, participants will hook up via satellite with South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu in Cape Town. Norfolk Academy, the conference sponsor, is initiating an exchange program with a school in South Africa on whose board Tutu serves.
``We're all on this little bitty planet together, and I think we have a responsibility not for other people but to other people,'' said Patty Masterson, a retired Norfolk Academy teacher and conference coordinator.
Several heavy hitters in the world of education will speak. Among them:
Howard Gardner, a professor of education at Harvard University. His theories on learning styles are driving much of the effort to individualize education in the classroom.
James P. Comer, associate dean at the Yale School of Medicine and a professor at the Yale Child Study Center. Comer, who has worked extensively with Bowling Park Elementary in Norfolk, has done groundbreaking research in educating black children and helped design school reforms that emphasize self-esteem and self-discipline and efforts to improve a child's life outside school.
Joy Hakim, a former teacher and newspaper writer who lives in Virginia Beach. She recently published a widely acclaimed 10-volume history of the United States.
Peirce said it's cheaper to hold such conferences locally rather than send faculty around the country to attend them. ILLUSTRATION: Graphic
TO ATTEND
People interested in attending the conference today, Saturday or
Sunday may call Norfolk Academy at 461-6236 after 8 a.m. for
information. Participants will be required to pay a fee.
by CNB