THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, April 21, 1996 TAG: 9604210051
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: NORTH CAROLINA
SERIES: DECISION 96
SOURCE: BY PERRY PARKS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WEEKSVILLE LENGTH: Medium: 84 lines
Teaching is the world's most fundamental profession, says Mary Sharpe, who should know.
She taught in North Carolina public schools for 36 years.
``Everything else that a person does, he has to go to school first,'' Sharpe says. ``The doctors had to go to elementary school, the lawyers. . . .
``All children must be given the opportunity to receive the best education that is available.''
Sharpe wants to use her decades of teaching experience to improve the education of Pasquotank County children as a member of the Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Board of Education.
``My main focus will be on quality education for all children,'' says Sharpe, who retired from the Elizabeth City Middle School in 1993 after teaching five different grades in several districts.
Sharpe liked teaching because ``I was able to see how that individual student was able to progress. . . . I was able to help them, to mold their minds to be successful.
``I was one of those teachers that taught values along with book learning. A sense of responsibility. You are held accountable for your actions.
``And everyone deserves respect.''
Teaching those values has become more important, Sharpe says. And it's equally important to make sure students feel good about themselves.
``Self-esteem is a key, and many, many, many students need to know that someone cares, and they are somebody,'' she says. ``So many children don't have the type of guidance from their parents. Or the values are not taught by many parents.
``We as educators should put in place something to enhance the self-esteem of these children.''
Discipline and the district's dropout rate are both major concerns that Sharpe hopes to address on the School Board. And like her opponent, F. ``Mark'' Small, she sees parental involvement as a key to the schools' success.
``Parents need to be more involved in the schools' programs - not go in and tell the teachers what to do, how to teach, but be concerned about the progress of the children,'' Sharpe says.
Teachers, as well as parents, face pressures today that Sharpe did not encounter in her early years of teaching. Technology and regulations have added more burdens to the job. ``When I first started teaching, you had more time to teach than teachers have now,'' Sharpe says. ``I think the child's interest should be taken care of, a larger amount of time than it is.''
Along with parents, School Board members and administrators also must spend as much time as possible in the schools, Sharpe says.
``I think they really need to be there, to see what the classroom is all about,'' Sharpe says.
``If I were elected to the board . . . I would make visitations to the schools, and just take a look at what's going on.
``I believe that brings a closeness of teachers and administrators.''
Sharpe congratulates the leadership on the current Board of Education.
But she says improving the schools will require efforts from the whole community.
``This board here has done an excellent job through the years,'' Sharpe says.
``But the board can't do it all. It's going to take the board, the administrators, the teachers, the parents.'' ILLUSTRATION: [Color Photo]
MARY E. SHARPE
Age: 64
Home: Weeksville
Occupation: Retired teacher
Education: Bachelor of science in education from Elizabeth City
State University; further study at University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill, Duke University, the Hampton Institute
Memberships: The North Carolina Association of Education,
National Education Association, North Carolina Retirees Association,
ECSU General Alumni Association, NAACP, chairwoman of Union Chapel
Missionary Baptist Church Board of Trustees
Family: A sister, five brothers
KEYWORDS: CANDIDATE SCHOOL BOARD ELECTION PROFILE by CNB