Education As My Agenda: Gertrude Williams, Race, and the Baltimore Public Schools (Palgrave Studies in Oral History)

When Gertrude Williams Retired In 1998, After Forty-nine Years In The Baltimore Public Schools, The Baltimore Sun Called Her The Most Powerful Of Principals Who Tangled With Two Superintendents And Beat Them Both. In This Oral Memoir, Williams Identifies The Essential Elements Of Sound Education And Describes The Battles She Waged To Secure Those Elements, First As Teacher, Then A Counselor, And, For Twenty-five Years, As Principal. She Also Described Her Own Education - Growing Up Black In Largely White Germantown, Pennsylvania; Studying Black History And Culture For The First Time At Cheyney State Teachers College; And Meeting The Rigorous Demands Of The Program Which She Graduated From In 1949. In Retracing Her Career, Williams Examines The Highs And Lows Of Urban Public Education Since World War Ii. She Is At Once An Outspoken Critic And Spirited Advocate Of The System To Which She Devoted Her Life. 1. Beginnings -- 2. Teacher Training At Cheyney -- 3. Teacher At Charles Carroll Of Carrollton -- 4. Counselor At Mordecai Gist -- 5. Becoming Principal At Barclay School -- 6. Principal At Barclay, Part One : Barclay Is Everybody's Business -- 7. Principal At Barclay, Part Two : To Learn As Fast As They Can And As Slow As They Must -- 8. Principal At Barclay, Part Three : We Did Not Want A Poor Man's Curriculum -- 9. Principal At Barclay, Part Four : In The Spotlight -- 10. Retirement. Gertrude S. Williams With Jo Ann Ooiman Robinson. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [227]-290) And Index.

When Gertrude Williams retired in 1998, after forty-nine years in the Baltimore public schools, The Baltimore Sun called her the most powerful of principals who tangled with two superintendents and beat them both. In this oral memoir, Williams identifies the essential elements of sound education and describes the battles she waged to secure those elements, first as teacher, then a counselor, and, for twenty-five years, as principal. She also described her own education - growing up black in largely white Germantown, Pennsylvania; studying black history and culture for the first time at Cheyney State Teachers College; and meeting the rigorous demands of the program which she graduated from in 1949. In retracing her career, Williams examines the highs and lows of urban public education since World War II. She is at once an outspoken critic and spirited advocate of the system to which she devoted her life.

Front Matter....Pages i-xii Introduction....Pages 1-9 Beginnings....Pages 11-36 Teacher Training at Cheyney....Pages 37-48 Teacher at Charles Carroll of Carrollton....Pages 49-70 Counselor at Mordecai Gist....Pages 71-81 Becoming Principal at Barclay School....Pages 83-98 Principal at Barclay, Part One: “Barclay is Everybody’s Business”....Pages 99-126 Principal at Barclay, Part Two: “To Learn as Fast as They Can and as Slow as They Must”....Pages 127-149 Principal at Barclay, Part Three: “We Did Not Want a Poor Man’s Curriculum”....Pages 151-174 Principal at Barclay, Part Four: In the Spotlight....Pages 175-201 Retirement....Pages 203-210 Conclusion....Pages 211-226 Back Matter....Pages 227-311