The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania • Page 23

-Thursday, February 5, 1998 THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER A23 COMMENTARY A Ruth Wright Hayre anthology Acel Moore Urban Perspective Inclusion, not book bans, should be NAACP's goal Below is a collection of reminiscences by Ruth Wright Hayre. We offer these excerpts in celebration of a visionary woman's passion for education and concern for her students. Hayre spent more than SO years as a teacher, principal, district superintendent and school board president. In 1988, she created a trust fund to give 116 children a chance to get a college education. These excerpts are taken from the book "Tell Them We Are Rising: A Memoir of Faith in Education," coauthored by Inquirer editorial writer Alexis Moore.

Ruth Wright Hayre month of February. Blockson is irked over the one-month focus. "People of African descent have written for thousands of years on almost every conceivable subject," says Blockson. As for the Huck Finn controversy, Blockson believes that groups should be working to ensure that educators include classic works of literature written by African Americans, which offer portraits and inv ages of blacks that contrast with those created by white writers like Mark Twain. It is interesting to note that when W.E.B.

Du Bois was editor of the Crir sis, the national publication of the NAACP, he offered a monthly reading list of black literature. There is still a need for such lists. In the Philadelphia School District, most students K-12 are probably ignorant of the contribution of African Americans to the develop- Ti here was never any question that I would become a teacher. I knew it the day I walked into my first-grade classroom in 1916. Although my teacher's face is lost to memory, I still recall I was a savvy educator.

I knew what the odds were, and I chose to keep the faith. The contradictions between my strict, sheltered upbringing and my Risers' fellowship students'l often free-form, unrestricted development, the contrast between my acceptance of delayed gratification for later reward and their urgent pursuit of immediate pleasures, all intrigue and frustrate me. But contrary to the expectations of some elitists and cynics, these contrasts never interfered with the mutual affection, and in some cases love, that developed between us. The Risers' emotional needs were often cloaked by indifference and hostility toward adults who tried to supply the guidance and discipline they secretly craved. But I think we fulfilled those needs for many.

Too often I was flabbergasted by the many changes the children had to cope with, changes they had little control over the early onset of physical maturity, parents dying or disappearing into prison or addiction, the shift from easy academic success in elementary school to abysmal failures in middle and high school, and the change from eagerness to confront obstacles to apathetic lethargy at the sheer numbers of those barriers. I did my best to keep private my appalled reactions to these difficulties, and I was thankful to have been spared such agonies so early in my life. And yet these many challenges, including the public's disregard for their young lives, has not daunted them, or me. In that, we have a bond that cannot be broken. So often I have wished I could turn back the clock for them so they could grow up protected by the comfort of a khe aura of disciplined calmness that ruiea ner classroom.

Clearly this would be quite different from kindergarten. Each school day, I grew increasingly excited as she decoded the lines and circles of the alphabet to reveal words, which evolved into sentences, and then glory of glories books. I was convinced she was endowed with mystical talents, her mind the repository of magical secrets. These unfolding worlds Why not push to teach more African American history and literature? This is not to join in the bashing of the Pennsylvania NAACP for its wrong-headed resolution urging public schools to remove The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn from required reading lists but I do agree with many of those who have criticized its action. The state NAACP's protest is misdirected.

Instead of urging that Huck Finn, an American classic, be dropped, it should demand that more of the African American experience be included in state public school curricula. That also goes for critics of the state NAACP who themselves have done little to bring Afrocentric or African American experience into our public schools. The ignorance of Americans about things African American is a major factor in this nation's racial divide. Throughout my career, I have interacted with students who want to be journalists. Most students who have gone through high school not only in Philadelphia but also throughout the region can not recite most of the major events or list the major contributions in African American history in this century, let alone the 18th or 19th centuries.

Their ignorance would therefore include figures such as the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Thurgood Marshall and Jackie Robinson. Jeopardy, the popular television quiz program, questions contestants on a diverse range of categories, including history, science, literature, art and entertainment. One topic that stumps even the best contestants is African American studies and achievements.

One contestant recently did not know who Alex Haley was. (Without him, we would not have had The Autobiography of Malcolm or Roots.) Essentially, this nation focuses on African American studies one month out of the year. February is Black History Month, and black professionals in every field of endeavor are busy making speeches, giving lectures, and judging speeches and essays about African Americans. Historians such as Charles Block-son, whose library at Temple University houses the largest private collection of black memorabilia in the nation, are particularly busy in fact, inundated during the KATE SALLEY PALMER "I knew what the odds were and I chose to keep the faith." gave me such exquisite pleasure that I could hardly wait for the next day's journey. If energy, discipline and sheer desire were the profession's criteria, I kflew what my work would be.

Teaching would be my calling, and as years passed, teaching would become my passion. My ambition was entirely appropriate in the African American circle into which I was born. I was a child of some privilege, although I would not understand its responsibilities, burdens and blessings until adolescence. My parents and paternal and maternal grandparents had earned undergraduate and graduate degrees. As you will see, any notion that I would not continue in the tradition was unthinkable.

1 And so I reach the end of my formal educational odyssey. The journey has been endlessly fascinating sometimes frustrating and wearisome but always rich in psychic rewards. My life has been inspired by children, beginning with those Depression-era students in Arkansas. Those practically penniless sons and daughters of black sharecroppers came to Arkansas State College in search of education with little more than grit and mother wit. All of them went on to become good citizens and some to become distinguished leaders.

I I have found my greatest satisfaction in the role I played in helping realize that transition. I have seen how a person can defy ment of America and to humankind in general. Although it has been district policy for the curriculum to be inclusive and acknowledge African American or Afrocentric accomplishments regarding art, culture, science and literature, I would guess that most students who go-through our school system think that the African American experir ence begins and ends with slavery; At best, the teaching of African American history is a hit-or-miss situation. All depends on what school and what teacher you may have. The Philadelphia School- District is not alone.

Like other school districts around the nation, it is trying to set standards, but whatever's being done is not enough. Instead of chasing after Huck Finn, the state NAACP would be better directed in initiating lawsuits against school districts like Philadelphia's that are failing to live up to their policy of inclusion. Acel Moore's column appears on Tuesdays and Thursdays. committed family, spiritual guidance through regular church attendance, a circle of watchful, loving friends and neighbors. Yet at other times I envied their freely given opinions and theories about life unheard of from children in my day their independent, intellectual searches for meaning in life, even if they sometimes went off half-cocked or comically astray.

I have lived with all the plagues of the modern world. I have battled racism, sexism, poverty and neglect and have won a fair number of fights. Perhaps my longevity and continued good health account for my optimism and confidence. I am convinced that schools will become smaller, better places designed to help children realize their best potential. And I believe some of my Risers will help make this happen.

Ruth Wright Hayre, educator and community leader, died at age 87 on Friday. Her funeral takes place today. the circumstances of birth, race and social class to make a positive contribution in life and how a person born with some small privilege can help others find their way up. 1 often reflect upon the lasting impact on me of that little black boy who was the most disadvantaged person I have even known, my grandfather Richard Wright. Born a slave, he made himself into an icon of optimism, hope, trust and faith with the simple statement: "Sir, tell them we are rising." I could try to do no less.

This is what gave me confidence to move on to the next, and most exciting, stop in my educational odyssey. Free night and ueeliend airtime The art of the master: None of us could perfect the Clinton sidestep By Chris Satullo Deputy Editorial Page Editor ow does he do Perhaps you missed it, but a recent poll in the wake of Zippergate found that: legal authority would prohibit its consumption." "What about the two cherry vanillas I bought just for you?" "I have the same human weaknesses as anyone, but no one has been as forthcoming about it as me." "So you ate the two cherry vanillas and the tangerine chiffon?" "I acknowledge causing pain in my digestive tract, but I'm ready to move beyond that, and so should you." "Mark my words, you keep inhaling everything that isn't nailed down and you'll become a blimp." for months. How did they get to be in your office?" "This just came to my attention. Getting an answer is not just a matter of snapping one's fingers. I assure you we'll conduct a thorough investigation and fully comply in due course with your requests." "I asked you months ago if you'd seen them and you said no." "That was my understanding at the time.

Based on this recent, accidental discovery, we'll thoroughly review whether that understanding requires amendment." "Satullo, one more stunt like this and there'll be repercussions." "Perhaps we could resolve this minor misunderstanding if I sought out and paid for a. top- Sign up on a select analog service agreement by February 28, 1998, and you'll get unlimited local night and weekend airtime to use for 12 months from date of activation. 111 Among college-educated women, 68 percent "strongly agree" with the statement, "President Clinton is a cuddly ol' rascal." About 40 percent favor amending the Constitution to allow him a third term to finish his fine work on day care. And a full 14 percent agreed that "we should begin making space on Mount Rushmore." Meanwhile, among mid notch atter-school program for your lovely daughters?" "Hand me those files. Then go get yourself a good lawyer." Free Gift Wrap Free Activation dle-aged men, 74 percent "strongly support" hanging the President by his thumbs from the rafters and swinging him between two rusty nails.

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Satullo, this is your son's teacher. Today he told me a ridiculous tale about a tornado sucking his homework out of his hands as he got into the car this morning, and you all chasing it for miles before deciding it'd be better to get to school on time than to track it down." "Yes go on." Audiovox 475 ABINGTOH 1901 Old Yofk Road 215-498-9236 XROMORE "Well, when I told him barrie maguire not to lie, he told me you "PHILAOELPHIA 22nd Race Street 215-751-9497 SPRINGFIELDMARPLE Routes 1 320 610-256-3425 WAYNE Gateway Shopping Centei 610-213-3622 BRANOWINE Concord Sq. Shopping Ctr. 302-5304620 "CENTER CUT 1700 Maiket Street 215-498-8442 CHERRY HILL 2435 Route 38 609-314-2701 Aid Ardmore West Shopping Or. OEPTFQRO Deptfoid Mall 609- 206-2484 DDWNiNGTOWN New Hechingei's Plaza Rt 30 Bypass 610- 256-4557 KING OF PRUSSIA Plaza at King of Prussia 610-256-5815 MONTGOMERYVILLE 744 Bethlehem Pike 215-498-8797 MOOflESTOWN MALL 609-314-3427 MT.

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How does he do that? A cell phone Is only as good as the network It's "Look, I did try the yogurt but I didn't inhale." "You are a pigdog, you know that?" "Look, what say this Saturday I offer you free child care all afternoon so you can lunch in Chestnut Hill with your pals?" "You were going to have to do that anyway, buster. You're not off the hook." My boss sits down in my office, glances at an unkempt pile of documents atop the radiator. "Wait a second, what are those doing there?" She walks over, picks up some multicolored folders. "These are the personnel files I've been looking for; they've been missing Trudy Rubin on international affairs; Hispanics in North Philadelphia. Phone and airtime oltet require new one-year written cellular service agreement with Bell Atlantic Mobile.

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To contact Chris Satullo, call 215-854-243 or e-mail it.