Valdosta State College (VSC), 1964
Barely 17, I left home on June 9, 1963, to go to North Georgia College (NGC) in Dahlonega, GA. Wiser than I, my father objected but nevertheless deferred to my choice, though not readily. He applied to the University of Georgia (UGA) for me, and drove me to Athens as a side trip to Dahlonega and we sat in a parking lot for about two hours as he tried to convince me that Georgia was the better choice. I was not to be dissauaged, unfortunately. Soon, I realized NGC was not the place for me. That is another story, but I didn't leave right away because I didn't want to be a quitter. (Thirty percent of incoming freshman men left within two weeks of matriculation.) On the other hand, I didn't want to stay longer than necessary, but I hasten to add that the instruction was all good and some even excellent--my objection was the control that upperclassmen had over freshmen. I didn't need help every day figuring out what to do and when to do it, and I still don't. I was there for two quarters, slightly more than 6 months. NGC will be the topic of another post.
Our family life was in a turmoil and I wanted to be with my family. My father was facing re-election as County School Superintendent. Had he been re-elected, it would have been his fourth consecutive term and the climate was not favorable for that. Indeed, he was the only person to have survived three consecutive elections to that office since at least the turn of the century. Small town politics is pretty rugged and I've no doubt that the aggravation of the office--we never had dinner without an interruption (yes that is a car horn in the front yard at 8 pm so saddle up and go out and try to soothe some irate parent about some heretofore unknown problem)--and disappointment in having to uproot following his loss led to his devastating stroke about three years later. He genuinely wanted to please and impress people and I rebelled against that. Sometimes, I have over-reacted. In the current thread, though, the important point is that I enrolled as a transient student at VSC and then transferred to UGA in the fall, a year after Daddy tried to start me there.
| I was a day student at VSC in the winter and spring quarters of 1964, and I did not integrate into any of the activities. I commuted with Betty Creed (below left) and Ronnie Mathis. They were sweet on each other, and still are. Lynn Futch and Faye Quinn (below right) rounded out the team. Our commutes had some structure, but times &c. were adjusted on an ad hoc basis. I forget details, but perhaps I commuted with Ronnie and Betty one quarter and Lynn and Faye the other. |
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Over the years, I have been exceptionally lucky to have some excellent instructors; though they did not know it, they altered my life. I took two math courses at VSC, trigonometry (Dr. Wall, below standing center) and analytical geometry (Mr. Babcock, below seated right). What a great pair, masters at their art. Back in those days, there were no IP courses, no AP tests, and no CLEPing out. That is the way it should be. I don't know how the idea arose that some students are just so brainy that they know it all without practice. It ain't so. Back in those days, algebra was a separate required course, trigonometry likewise, and geometry likewise. Differential calculus had these three courses as obligatory individual prerequisites. Nowadays, students combine everything with "calculus," and sadly they become juniors without knowing Jack. Exhibit A: In my junior/senior level biology courses, I had to prepare handouts to help students do simple math. We may have come a long way in "documenting" math "achievement," but the sad reality is most of our students can't think and do simple math. Why in the world would a student be instructed in calculus when he or she cannot subtract 10-7 from 10-6?
Mr. Martin to his face and "Jolly Jim" within earshot is standing at below right. He was a terrific instructor, infused with energy and dedication. I always looked forward to his physics classes and always arrived early. His exams were known far and wide, up to 8 hours! He made being a college professor look easy and I was influenced in that direction.
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The two other instructors that I would mention by name are Mrs. Mathis and Miss Ray, respectively at left.
I took lifeguard training from Mrs. Mathis and she was an in-the-water instructor. Ahead of her time, she chided me about smoking; of course, she was right, but it was not the time in history or my life to quit. I also taught her something: there is the occasional person who with fully expanded lungs in a "jelly roll" sinks directly to the bottom. Most of the time I was at VSC I did laps (63 laps in that pool made a mile), but I let my swimming lapse and never picked it up again in any serious way.
Miss Ray was the prototypical old-maid English professor, and I respected her for that. |
Of course, no story needs really be complete and many are improved by judiciously eliminating unpleasantries. But, as I stressed to my mentees, one can learn from the good examples and the bad ones. I vowed never to be as arrogant, detached, and lazy as my economics instructor and so far, I haven't. Listing his name and showing his photograph would detract from the page.
While perusing the 1964 Pine Cone, the yearbook from which these images were taken, I was struck by how much we have changed as a society. It was a lily-white campus and apparently conformity was the order of the day. All the males had closely cropped hair, many in flat-tops. The girls apparently picked from a catalog of as many as three hair styles. . . . and, obesity was not to be observed. I can't resist noting that one of the advertisments in the back of the yearbook proudly stated that their dining room was air conditioned!
In summary, VSC was a stepping stone and I entered UGA with a solid math background and received a minor in it. Some days, I regret that I didn't major in math, but in the vein of honesty, I had a period at Georgia when I lost disciple and I only took math as long as I could do it without studying much. Shame on me. I had to make up for it all when I returned to graduate school after the army (differential equations was required for the graduate professional-level P-chem course series at Georgia), so there is justice! |
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