The Beginning of Wisdom
By Bruce Baker
The Chinese Philosopher Confucious said “the beginning of wisdom is to call things by their proper name.”As one of his areas of emphasis was the importance of education and ritual, I believe he’d approve of the thought given in naming our county’s educational institutions.A few months ago, I penned an article on former Secretary of State Dean Rusk, a native of Cherokee County and the namesake of Dean Rusk Middle School.I’ve since received inquiries asking me about the names of other elementary and middle schools, and rather than responding individually, I decided that this information was worthy of a broader audience.
To start with, most but not all of our school’s namesakes are people. Ball Ground Elementary, Free Home Elementary, and Clayton Elementary are simply named for the communities they serve. Joseph Knox Elementary has the unique distinction of being named for the first schoolteacher to have taught in Cherokee County, way back in 1834 when this was still “Indian country.” Several of his descendants have also served the school district over the years.
Right: Image of Joseph Knox
Johnston Elementary’s namesake is more recent, having only passed away in 1979.Florine Dial Johnston was a much beloved educator who was born in Woodstock in 1898, taught at the Little River School many years, and was a member of Woodstock UMC Church.The school that bears her name was later given an oil painting of Ms. Johnston by her children, which I’m told is still on display at the school.
Left: Florine Dial Johnston, 1938
Another educator, even more recent, is the inspiration for Hasty Elementary. Born in Canton in 1922, he served in the US Navy in World War II before returning to the county. In 1948, William (“Bill”) G. Hasty taught in a one-room schoolhouse. Soon he would become principal, and in 1952 he served as the county’s school superintendent. By 1969 he would take the responsibility of Assistant Director of Probation for the Georgia Department of Probation and Correction, a position he’d hold until 1978 when he began the first of 6 terms in the Georgia House of Representatives. He would also serve in the Georgia State Senate in 1990.
Right: William G. Hasty
Not all who’ve been honored in this way, however, have actually taught; some have contributed to the county’s educational system in other ways. Marie Archer Teasley donated the land on which the original Teasley Middle School was built in 1986.Her son, Bill Teasley, has continued her legacy by establishing The Teasley Family Foundation, whose mission is “to improve student achievement.”
I’ve already mentioned the namesake for Dean Rusk Middle School, so I won’t repeat myself. But another local school is also named for a world-renowned political figure: Ralph Bunche. While he has no ties to the area, having been born in Detroit in 1904, the students themselves voted to rename their school in his honor. An all-black school on Belletta Drive, the students chose the name to honor the career diplomat and U.N. Peacekeeping Leader. Ralph won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1950, becoming the first African American Nobel Laureate. Later in 1963, President John F. Kennedy would honor Ralph Bunche with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and Ebony magazine would rank him as “the most influential African-American of the first half of the 20th Century."
Left: Ralphe Bunche, from nobelprize.org.
R. M. Moore Elementary in Waleska has an interesting history surrounding its name. Many of us will be surprised to learn that Reinhardt University, in the first half of the 20th Century, contained “Reinhardt Grammar School,” at that time teaching children from kindergarten all the way through college. Cherokee County would take over the grammar school in the 1950s, building a school on land donated by a school board member, Dr. Russell Monroe Moore.
Right: Dr. R.M. Moore, 1946. Image from an article in the Atlanta Journal Magazine.
We started this with a philosopher; it seems appropriate to end with one also. Socrates stated that “Democracy is only as good as the education that surrounds it.” And as such, having an educational institution named in your honor is one of the highest accolades a county can bestow on an individual. Whether teacher, principal, superintendent, board member, land donor, benefactor, or a source of inspiration for future generations, a grateful county says thanks for what they’ve done for our most precious resource: our children.