History of Lauderdale County School District | Page 81

No Foreign Languages – Not one white school offers any foreign language, modern or
classical. Only one offers any art, though all have music. In only a few cases is any American
government or economics offered. Only one school (Center Hill) has made any progress beyond
varsity basketball in the field of sport and physical education. Center Hill plans to field a
baseball team this spring and is in the process of developing a Physical Education program. The
rest of the schools just play varsity basketball, from October till tournament time. No band is
offered. These gaps in educational opportunities are not the result of oversight on the part of the
principals. These leaders agree on their place in an educational scheme. But their hands are tied.
As one principal put it: “For example, we have a teacher on our staff who is qualified to teach
Latin. We would like to include it in our curriculum, but we just don’t have enough students
who want to take Latin to justify setting up a class,” said J.B. Gill, principal at Lauderdale High
School. In a school with only 303 pupils in all 12 grades, and less than a hundred in the high
school, specialized courses are not possible. This is the basic reason for the limitations of
curriculum. It is true not only of Latin, but of everything from physical to varsity football.
Common Denominator – Gill explains the philosophy of his position in term of
mathematics. “Certain courses are a common denominator for all students. They are basic to
education – English, science, the three R’s, but above the common denominator there has to be
some variation to meet the needs of individual student with special talents and interests to
develop.”