Coral Gables Historical Archive
The Coral Gables Times
Thursday, June 8, 1961, page 33 (of 50)
The page
The text of this pageRead by computer from the scan, so some words may be wrong. The page picture is the original.
For Teachers?
A noted lawyer argues that an inspiring teacher deserves a cum laude at commencement, too BY MORRIS L. ERNST invented a few less sanitary terms since I was in school a half-century back). For example, I ran across a survey this spring in which almost three quarters of the 3,000 students — age 8-18 — who were polled say they prefer tough teachers. Once again our youngsters demonstrate far more good sense than we give them credit for. Yet I wonder how many of these boys and girls, who talked so freely to a magazine interviewer, ever managed to make their views known to their teachers. This is roughly the train of thought that led me to go into competition with the Ford Foundation — on a somewhat smaller scale — as an educational pioneer. RECENTLY I turned over to the student body at Williams three hundred dollars. Each year for three years (subject to extension) they were to select a teacher outstanding for his influence and his inspiration. To him they would give a hundred dollars worth of books of his choice — the only restriction being that the books be outside his own field. I slipped in that proviso simply in the hope of breaking down some of education's compartmentalization. I'd like to see professors of engineering reading "Dr. Zhivago" and instructors in Elizabethan literature meeting John Maynard Keynes. The conscientious law professor will keep up with the Harvard Law Review whether or not anybody gives him a drawing account on a bookstore; I hoped to inflict Carl Sandburg and Thomas Mann on him. It hasn't worked quite that way at Williams; the students decided on a modification. They donate the hundred dollars worth of books, in the name of the honored professor, to their college library. No doubt this is an equally worthy plan, although in giving the books directly to the teacher, I had no idea of insulting him with charity — I just wanted him to read the books. But however it's handled, it seems to me that a teacher-award plan, at a nominal cost, gives students a chance to tell a good professor he's good, to honor him in the coin of his calling, books — and, incidentally, to let the whole academic community in on the important secret that our boys and girls don't want snap courses, that if a teacher hopes to earn respect and admiration in his life's chosen work, he's going to have to teach. THAT'S WHY I thought other parents and alumni of other colleges and even high schools might be interested in my Educational Experiment. So I wrote to Matthew Nimetz, the young honor student at Williams who helped me set up the award program. How, I asked, are we doing? Here are some of the things he told me: The award is presented by the school's two highest honor societies, Phi Beta Kappa and Gargoyle, to avoid any hint of a "popularity contest." It is given as "an articulation of student gratitude for the effort and accomplishment of Continued on page 29 Suburbia Today, June 1961 15
NOTES on new babies
bringing up baby® Hints collected by Mrs. Dan Gerber, Mother of 5 Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue. Some mothers apply this charming wedding custom to baby's layette. Nice sentiment for a new baby. Many a new mother is overwhelmed by the magnitude of being a mother, and often worries unduly about her ability to handle baby. Best advice I know is to read authoritative articles on baby care... heed your doctor and trust your mother instinct. Be surprised how much it will teach and tell you. It's most reliable. Watching baby's diet is one of your doctor's (and your) primary concerns. When he gives you the go-ahead on cereal, you'll want to try Gerber Cereal Quads — the variety package containing small-size boxes of Rice Cereal, Oatmeal, Mixed Cereal and High Protein Cereal. Each one has a bland but distinctive flavor — all four have a smooth-to-the-tongue, easy-to-swallow texture. Most important, they're enriched with blood-building iron, important B-vitamins and bone-building calcium. Night-feedings simplified. You can take the grope and fumble out of night feedings if you lay out robe, slippers, diaper etc., in advance. Luminous paint on hall and kitchen light switches will save many a stumble in the dark. Vitamin viewpoint. Baby's vitamin drops are best put in baby's mouth by dropper. If you put them in his formula and he doesn't finish it, precious drops will be wasted. Another vitamin viewpoint. Vitamin C, so important for sound gums and body tissues, is usually recommended early in the new baby's diet. Gerber Strained Orange Juice is an excellent source of vitamin C. Made of tree-ripened fruit, specially selected for mildness, it's ever so delicate — the way it should be for a new baby. Other good starting juices: Gerber Apple Juice and Orange-Apple. Here at Gerber we carefully prepare over 100 cereals, strained and junior foods to meet your baby's nutritional needs. We're proud to say: "Babies are our business... our only business!"® Gerber BABY FOODS FREMONT, MICHIGAN Gerber RICE CEREAL Gerber MIXED CEREAL Gerber HIGH PROTEIN CEREAL Gerber BARLEY CEREAL Gerber OATMEAL Gerber "QUADS" Orange Juice