Teacher Legends Honored at Annual Celebration Employees Welcomed Back with Spirited Pep Rally SMITHFIELD-- Johnston County Schools' 4,300 employees were welcomed to the start of a new year with a revved-up pep rally at the district's annual celebration on Wednesday, August 23. Head cheerleaders appointed from the employee ranks at each of the schools led a district cheer, after Dr. Anthony Parker, Superintendent, shared greetings and a vision for the 2006-2007 school year. One of the highlights of the program was the annual announcement of the district's Living Legends, retired educators who significantly influenced education during their tenure as teachers. "Teachers and staff have much to be proud of. Not only do they provide and oversee outstanding, quality instruction, but our operational services staff in Facility Services, Administrative and Transportation Services, Professional Development, Child Nutrition Services, Finance, Human Resources, and the support staff who serve as the front-line to the public are second to none. While teachers, administrators and school-based staff work one-on-one with our students, our operational services departments are taking care of their colleagues*staffing schools, setting up and delivering their paychecks, maintaining facility infrastructure, and making the latest technology available to every school. Every employee in this county knows that teamwork is the only way to achieve success in Johnston County," Parker said. Recognized for their successful tenures were Living Legends Eula Godwin, Lucile Peacock, and Leona Parrish, retired educators who taught for more than 30 years in the Johnston County Schools. Eula Godwin chose not to have any children of her own but instead to give her undivided attention to the thousands of children she taught during her 37-year teaching career. That she did. From the time she could talk, she played school, and after she had learned to read, she always kept a book in her hand. Her sister was the one who was determined that Ms. Godwin was going to college. Ms. Godwin eventually returned to Johnston County to teach first grade after a brief stint in Newton Grove and with the Wilson Council of Churches day school. She taught at Glendale School for 33 years, starting her career with Johnston County in the same first grade classroom in which she was taught. That grade level was fascinating to her because, "they'd come in crying on the first day and by the last day of school, they'd learned to read. Things are much different now, because it's amazing that children know so much more and are exposed to so much information, but teachers must persevere," she said. "It's more challenging for educators and less challenging for children because it's difficult to excite them." Nonetheless, one of her most outstanding memories was that of a young student who told Godwin she wished she were her mother. Though she had mixed emotions about it, it has stuck with her through the years. For young teachers, her advice is to, "Start off firm the first day and let them know that when you say something you expect them to listen. Be firm but fair." But before you get the picture of a hard-nosed schoolmarm, hear this: "I was for the underdog. I tried my best to build that child up in every way. Every child got a chance to be the leader, from being the first in line to being the baseball pitcher to the kickball kicker to holding the door. I had a system for everything." Using that system as a teacher was a privilege to Ms. Godwin, who believes that teaching is truly a calling. "My mother taught us that it is more blessed to give than to receive and a good name is to rather be chosen than riches," said Ms. Godwin. Lucile Peacock's mother was her greatest influence. Describing her as "one of the most thoughtful persons", the elder Peacock meant for her eight children to feel the same way. Mrs. Peacock says she took that feeling into the classroom with her when she began her 34-year teaching career. "I thought teachers were the most important people in the world," said Peacock. She would beg her mother to let her go across the street to the teacherage to give the teachers the butter and milk her mother provided just "to see those teachers sitting around that long (dining room) table. That was the prettiest picture I'd ever seen," she said. The teachers would in turn come to her home to chat for a while with her mother. "I thought teaching was the most wonderful job in the world," she said. So after graduating from Meadow School*having skipped the 12th grade, which you could do if your plans were to attend college*she set out to East Carolina University to become one and never looked back. With $5 a month from her brother for spending money, she bought her supplies and a one-way bus ticket home every month on the weekends she didn't work. (She caught a ride back to school.) She added that if she saved enough, she could purchase a movie ticket and a soda. Armed with degrees in library science, home economics, and social studies, she taught seventh grade at Meadow School and loved it. "They were old enough to do things for themselves and I liked the way they thought," said Peacock. She would ask the students how they felt about various issues. "If they weren't thinking the way I thought they should, eventually they'd come around." She still sees former students around town, and some still visit her. Mrs. Peacock still lives in the Meadow area. She has two sons, Carl, Jr., and Lonnie, six grandchildren, and five great-grandchildren. Leona Parrish was known as the "goddess of English composition" while at Smithfield High and the present-day Smithfield-Selma High School. She was certified to teach English, French, and Social Studies, but English, by far, was her favorite. She started her teaching career as an Honors English teacher of the gifted in 1944, retired in 1979, and served as a substitute teacher until 1989 Says Mrs. Parrish of schooling: "I played school from the time I was five years old. I loved school all my life. I grew up and worked on a farm. Going to school was play." She adds of teaching: "I was happy to be there and help students individually. I did my work and tried to show them how important it would be (to them in the future)." Mrs. Parrish assigned essays, showing her students how to write. She also taught them how to read literature critically, and how to understand symbols, descriptions, and what they meant. "I marked papers every night of my life. Nobody wrote anything that I didn't read." She was so thorough that when she announced that she was going to retire, her principal Charles Tucker asked her to stay part-time, telling her that even if she did half of her normal work, she would still be the best at what she did. She turned that offer down, saying that there were no shortcuts in this profession. "I still don't think I was doing anything extraordinary. I just did my work. I just taught the way I thought school ought to be taught." Mrs. Parrish helped to create mini-courses that were taught on a quarterly basis, including one class entitled, "Great Minds That Have Changed the World." Her advice to teachers, new and veteran, is this: "If you want to be a teacher, do your job the very best that you can. If you keep trying, you'll get better with each year. Do it. The children deserve it. Say to yourself: They are here and they deserve the very best I can give. Do the best you can. If it doesn't work, try something else (a new strategy)." Obviously, her strategies represent a legacy of excellence: When one of her students matriculated to North Carolina State University and turned in his first English composition, the professor pulled him aside and told him, "You must have had Leona Parrish as your teacher!" Mrs. Parrish has three children: Phyllis, Lacey, and Benjamin, and five grandchildren.
