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It seems that not a day goes by without reading about some change about to be implemented in the Guilford County Schools.

I don’t have the answers to the problems associated with today’s educational system, and based on what I read, no one in America has the answers as to what our kids and schools need.

I just pray that one day we will find that magic formula that will save our future generations.

Maybe if we looked back at our early history, we just might find what motivated parents and teachers in the pursuit of a simple high school diploma for themselves and their kids.

Something back then worked for me and thousands of others, and perhaps it has some magic that might help cure what has become a monster.

The role of the community school back in the day was more grounded and in touch with basic student needs. It helped foster good health and education.

Maybe a trip back in time to some of the things that were going on in our schools will offer a suitable comparison between now and then.
While looking through hundreds of documents I have collected through the years about High Point’s early city schools, I discovered two that shed light on a much simpler time — a time when health and physical education were part of a well-rounded education, a time when folks raised on the poor side of town weren’t so quick to complain about reaping the benefits of government-sponsored programs.

How quickly we forget where we came from and look down on those who weren’t fortunate enough to escape.

These two documents brought back memories of the many wonderful things the school system made possible for those who wanted and needed medical help. I am talking about a school nurse and an N.C. state dentist periodically visiting our schools.

Thank God the state supplied a dentist for the black schools. Why? Because if it were up to the cities, based on the track record of High Point’s early school system, a dentist would never have visited a black school.

When I brought these documents to the attention of my friend and fellow history buff Bob Davis, he started to recall his visits to the state dentist.

Davis was raised on the poor side of town and remains true to his roots.

After talking with Davis, I decided to share information from two “Weekly Reports of Dental Activity” — one from Leonard Street School, for the week ending Jan. 16, 1932; the other from Fairview Street School, for the week ending April 9, 1932.

During dental exams at the schools, Dr. Robert M. Bell classified the schools as “Negro” and recorded the number and type of services performed, children’s vaccination history, observed “health defects” and number of children 10 percent or more underweight. (Both reports said “unable to estimate.”)

The reports also recorded the “attitude of the teachers,” classified “very cooperative” at both schools.

I am not saying one system is better than the other, but I can say that — outside of segregation — I still prefer the educational system of the ’40s and ’50s.

Thanks to our teachers and principals, I got an education that has helped me overcome racial barriers and become the well-rounded person that I am today.

Glenn Chavis researches and writes about High Point’s black history. Contact him at Storytime40@aol.com