10 A
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 23, 1963
MKUKORD MAIL, TRIBUNE. MEDFOKD. OREGON
Basic Graded 'A', Frills Flunked, in Experiments
Accidental Shooting Kills Vale Resident
(Editor's Note; The (rum
peling (or better education In
heard In all 50 dates. Three
years ag , the District of Co
lumbia I card the call and
went to work. The result was
the Aniidon elementary school
a new concept in education
for the '60s. Here is a prog
ress report.)
By JOHN H. MILLER
United Press International
WASHINGTON (UPI)-
Three years ago, a new ele
mentary school opened its doors
within view of the U.S. Capitol.
It was a curious school. There
weren't enough students to put
in it. But there it was, the Ami
don school.
Congress had appropriated
money for the 25-room school
to serve an urban redevelop
ment area. But when the school
was ready for use in Septem
ber, I960, the redevelopment
wasn't.
It became a matter of arith
metic. There were only 148 ele
mentary pupils in the area.
They had been attending a near
by school slated (or abandon
ment. These Mil children were the
only customers (or the Ami
don school, which had a capa
city o( 806.
Dr. Carl F. Hansen, superin
tendent of schools in the Dis
trict of Columbia, was quick to
recognize the unusual situation.
He had been waiting for a
chance like this.
In his many years as an ed
ucator, he had heard one ques
tion time and again:
"How can the quality of edu
cation be Improved?"
Hanson thought he knew. The
Amidon school, brand new with
practically no one to put in it,
was his opportunity to find out
it ne was right.
The superintendent felt that
BURIAL FOR PETS The four beloved poodles of Georgia
White Montano were buried in a Colma, Calif., pet cemetery
under a costly tombstone. Mrs. Montano, 37, apparently smoth
ered the dogs before she shot her husband. Air Force Sot. Pedro
Montano, and her ex-husband, Henry H. White. A few minutes
later she died in an explosion which demolished her home. Police
speculate she set fire to the house to cover the crime and perished
when she failed to escape out a window. The burial arrangements
for the dogs cost an estimated $1,000. Mrs. Montano made no
arrangements for burial of the three humans. (UPI)
School Nevs
McLoughlin Jr. High
Current enrollment figures
show a total of 1.204 students at
McLoughlin. This is an in
crease of 25 over last year
when 1,179 were enrolled.
The largest class is the
eighth grade with 408. The
seventh grade has 404 students
and the ninth grade has a to
tal of 392.
Student elections are under
way with primary elections of
class officers scheduled for
Friday, Sept. 20. General elcc-
tion will be held Wednesday,
sept. 25.
Primary election of student
body officers will be Monday,
September 30, and the general
election will be held Thursday,
Oct. 3.
Seventh and eighth grade
yell leaders will be elected
next week.
Ninth grade cheerleaders
were elected last week. Those
elected were Teresa Allen, yell
queen, Beiiette Stephens, Zcllah
Mason, Cathy Bradford, and
Alice Schafcr.
Eight McLoughlin teachers
are involved in team teaching
this year on an experimental
basis.
The teams are composed of
Mrs. Marvel Yung and Mrs.
tauise Davis, geography; Jack
Sutton and Larry Brunette, his
tory; Mrs. Sherril Harshbargcr
and Miss Sandra Lien, English;
and Mrs. Eula Foley and Gor
don Morris, math.
Mrs. Henrietta Leon and Mrs.
Maydell Daniels are teacher
aides working with the teams.
Six teachers were added to
the faculty this year.
Mrs. Margo Maves leaches
typing, Mrs. Kay Brashears,
sevcnlh and eighth grade ail,
and Bob Bork, band.
Three former Mclaughlin
students are among the new
teachers, Ed Albright, English;
Tony Bi aimer, history and
geography, and Tom Morris,
math.
Hedrick Junior High
Sixty-five students signed up
for the annual hunter safety
course which hegan at Hedrick
last week. This after-school
course is designed to teach prop
er care and handling of fire
arms. Lew Thanos is the in
structor. Students who have completed
the hunter safety course may
sign up for the rifle matches
which begin next week. The
marksmanship program allows
students to qualify for National
Rifle association awards and
Army qualification awards.
Matches will be held among the
students, and occasionally (acui
ty - student matches will be
scheduled.
The varsity football team held
a controlled scrimmace with Ea
gle I'oint Tuesday. Team weak
nesses were determined in order
that they could be worked out
before the first conference game
against North Grants Pass
which was held Friday. The
game is being played at iledrick
and begins at 3:30 p.m. On that
same day, the Hedrick eighth
grade team will play the North
GP eighth grade there.
Mrs. Mildred Rogers, school li
brarian, reports that every stu
dent was in last week for orien-
tution. Last week all history stu
dents and those needing the li
brary lor special reference pur
poses will attend lectures on
the use of the reference shelves.
New shelving (or the reference
section was installed during the
summer.
Coach Bob Radcliff reports
that 41 ninth graders are nut for
football with 22 lettermen in the
group.
The first game of the year
matched Mclaughlin and Kla
math Falls at I p.m. Saturday,
Sept. 21, on the McLoughlin
field.
The eighth grade team,
coched by Bill Esselstyn. has 53
boys out (or the team. The (irst
game is with Ashland, Sept, 26,
on the Mac field.
Seventh grade coaches Chuck
Madary and Tony Brauner
have divided 75 boys among the
two seventh grade teams. The
McLoughlin White team plays
Hedrick Reds and the McLough
lin Blacks meet Hedrick Blues
Oct. 3 in their first games.
A girls' Intramural sports dio-
gram is now being organized by
Miss Andrea Siverts, girls' phys
ical education instructor. Games
to be played include badminton,
volley ball, and girls' basketball.
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education was not preparing stu
dents to meet the "new, unpre-
dictable and Immensely com
plex problems which they will
face."
"In other words," he wrote
later in a book on the school.
"in education we have to repair
a leaky roof and at the same
time rebuild weak foundations.
I believe that the new Amidon
concept is a demonstrably sue
cessful step toward these
goals."
What is the Amidon concept?
To many, it was a return to
the 3 R's of the little red school
house. In a way, that's exact
ly what it was. Only a souped
up version.
Under the Amidon plan, as it
became known, emphasis is on
basic subjects: Reading, writ
ing, arithmetic, spelling, science
and history.
In the Amidon classroom, the
teacher runs the show. You
never will hear a teacher ask,
"What will we learn today, chil
dren?" Teacher prescribes.
Amidon school isn't easy.
First graders have homework.
Students walk in the corridors
in single file. They may not talk.
Discipline is important, not so
much for discipline's sake but
because a teacher can't teach
as effectively if students are un
attentive. The principal is Dr. Dorothy
L. Johnson, a professional, cour
teous and thorough.
"We believe that children
have not been challenged
enough in the past," she said.
"We felt they could do better."
The land on which this
school is built used to be a
slum," she said. "There is no
other word for it."
Different Backgrounds
The children are from wide
ly different backgrounds. Many
are Negroes who live in public
housing where the rent is only
$40 a month."
But only 50 per cent come
from the Amidon school district.
The rest come from every
section of Washington," D r .
Johnson said. "They come here
because their parents want
them to. Their mothers and fa
thers have to bring them to
school every morning and take
them home at night.
They are sons of Army offi
cers, daughters of diplomats,
foreigners, children of wealthy
parents and those on relief.
Although 65 per cent of the 640
students are Negro, there is no
racial problem.
Amidon starts at the kinder
garten level and runs through
the sixth grade. One of the most
improtant subjects in each of
these levels is phonics.
We found in the beginning that
the children weren't listening to
the words," Dr. Johnson said.
"Now, our language instruction
is 75 per cent phonics."
According to the results, the
system works. Most of the chil
dren in kindergarten can read,
and read well.
Dr. Johnson gives most of the
credit to the teachers.
"The teachers here all have
three things in common: They
like children; they believe they
can learn; and they show infi
nite patience with them."
Superintcn dent Hansen
agrees. He said the most im
portant quality a teacher can
possess is the gift of caring.
Under this guideline, one
teacher who docs belong at the
Amidon school is Miss Margu
erite Jamicson. A tall brunette
in her 20's, she believes in the
Amidon way and practices it in
her first grade classroom.
Hern Eliminated
"The frills of education have
been eliminated," she said. "We
believe in pushing the child of
average ability. They have been
coddled in the past."
On discipline, Miss Jamicson
said:
"Some visitors said (hey did
not like (he idea of the children
being required to walk in line
In the corridors. They ask if the
school isn't missing out by not
teaching social graces. But is
the school the place for this? 1 1
think it belongs in the home."
Every Amidon student took
standard, national achievement
tests at the end of each of the
school's three years. The results
from this year's testing are not
complete, but here are the 11
and l2 results:
In 1961, 76 per cent of (he stu
dents scored above the national
average, 6 per cent equalled it j lenged. In turn, the parents are don't know whether I am going
and 18 per cent scored below
In 1362, 96 per cent were
above, 2 per cent equal and 2
per cent below.
But principal Johnson feels
that even more important were
the results of tests based on
what was expected of the stu
dents, knowing each one's abili
ties and talents.
The report card:
In 1961, 74 per cent scored
higher than was expected. That
figure climbed to 87 per cent the
following year. j
Results Equal I
The results at home were
equivalent. Parents say their
children are happy to be chal-
naPPy- ' to pass but I enioved beim; in
Here are some representative ' your class "
remarks from the children:
"Amidon," a sixth grader
said, "is some swell school! We
have to work hard but I like it.
You know, I never liked school
before."
Another sixth grader told his
teacher, "We played a lot last
year (at another school). It was
fun but we didn't learn much.
Now we hardly ever play but
we're having (un just t h e
same."
And there was the fourth
grader who shook hands with
his teacher at the end of the
year and said with a smile, "I
The Amidon plan embodies a
track method. Bright, average
and slow learners are put into
separate classrooms.
A specific period of time is
allotted (or every subject in the
curriculum. There is room lar
imagination but a teacher can't
spend 90 minutes on one subject
when she should be devoting
only 45 minutes to it. if (his
happened, something else would
be neglected.
With the exception of reading,
every subject is taught lu the
class as a whole.
"The Amidon plan is designed
to utilize the best of the oM and
new in education," said Hansen.
"It is simply the logical union
between what has been d'scov
ered about the way people learn
and the content to be learned. It
is not a return to the horse and
j buggy days, although much;
good education was available m
those days." '
Said Hansen, I he UecaU-j of
the '60's should tell the Hu.y cf
the success of this type of edu
cation for children today,"
Said a six-year-old to h e r
teacher last term: "I like home
work. When can we have some
more?"
VALE (UPI) Tom Goodwin, while he was showing her hour
70, a long-time resident of Mai-1 10 (jre a ,22 caliber rifle
heur County, was shot to death Tu ., , ,, '.
in his hore here Friday eve-1 J0, ly..
Sheriff Robert
lice on
charee.
Ingram Said I Ineram euirt a .nrnno,'.
Mary Rita Stark, 38, told himauest has been scheduled
she shot Goodwin accidentally! Goodwin formerly owned ex-
tensive ranch property near the
PLAN'S GUAM PROJECT
WASHINGTON (UPI) - The
Navy is planning a multi-million-dollar
project on the Pa:
cific island of Guam to restore
or rebuild facilities damaged by
Typhoon Karen last November.
Officials of the Bureau of Yards
and Docks said Friday the cost
of the project would be "in the
neighborhood of $20 million."
community of Juntura. He sold
nis holdings recently and moved
to Vale.
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