|
Over the last two Historic Forsyth articles, I have related my remembrances of two early Forsyth County High School (FCHS) teachers. In discussions with old classmates and friends, one particular teacher usually stands out as the most unforgettable teacher in our dozen school years. Indeed, a lady who was about two years my senior at FCHS wrote an article later for GUIDEPOSTS magazine. The article was _title_d “That Dreaded Term Paper.” The author detailed how her high school English teacher had made sure she knew how to write a term paper correctly. This teacher was an English and French teacher at CHS and FCHS who was often feared by many students over the years at CHS and FCHS from the 1940’s into the 1960’s. This person was Mrs. Ado Coots. If you are interested, Google her name and you will be directed to that article.
Mrs. Coots was a no-nonsense teacher who demanded that her students do their best and show her respect. If they constantly showed no interest in her classes, she told them that they had a “don’t care attitude.” This was usually well deserved by that student. In an instance noted in an earlier article here, a ninth grade male student left her class at old CHS, saying he was going to join the Army. In fact, were he still living, he would admit she was correct. Whether you were studying literature, composition, English structure, or French translation, Ado Coots expected everyone to be alert and doing what we were supposed to be doing. She wanted us to have a wide vocabulary and be well read. To that end, she wanted all her classes to subscribe to Reader’s Digest and she made sure that we all got a rate that we could all afford.
Just as the author mentioned above, I, too, remember how Mrs. Coots tried to instill the importance of English composition, including spelling, outlining, grammar, bibliographies, and correct punctuation. I also quickly realized the importance of her drilling and what I had learned from her classes when just a month or so after graduating, I took English 101 composition at Georgia Tech. There, I was initially subjected to the arduous task of writing an in class thesis on a subject selected at random by the very gruff professor. It was gut-wrenching; however, all the things I had learned made it more bearable and I received a B+. I was very proud of that, as few others made a higher grade. Writing stories or term papers would never be a problem for me in any college setting, or since. While I probably never told her of this exact experience, I did on several occasions thank her for what she had taught me when I visited at FCHS in my college years. She always seemed to be proud of that.
In looking back, I realize that Mrs. Coots came from humble beginnings. She often spoke of attending Berea College in Berea, Kentucky, which was similar to Berry College near Rome, Georgia, allowing (even requiring) all students to at least work on campus to earn all or part of their way through school. Obviously, this had a profound effect upon the way in which she taught students. You might liken it to the way a drill instructor or sergeant in the military viewed his recruits. Many students feared her because of this; however, those who followed her directions usually found that they did not have to worry about learning and making an acceptable grade if they were willing to put forth the effort. I believe she realized that many of her students might need to do just what she had done in college—work; and she wanted to provide them with a firm foundation. She also realized that this work ethic would help those who did not attend college. Today’s students could benefit from having teachers and administrators modeled after Mrs. Coots.
NOTE: Several readers have corrected my saying in the June/July issue that the last FCHS Senior Trip occurred in 1959; evidence points to 1962 and something involving a fire poker from Mount Vernon.
|
Favoured: 0
