| ° > The Dallas Post Black history , on the books at Lehman oy years By KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Post Staff LEHMAN - In 1976 the federal government designated February as Black History Month with the purpose of honoring and raising consciousness about the black experience in the United States. At that time, history from the Af- rican-American perspective was generally not incorporated into the curriculum at public schools. But one Lake:Lehman history teacher was years ahead of many schools across the country. Around 1977 John Comitz and Bob Roese, who has since passed awdy, designed a class called American Studies. This class com- bines both an honors English and honors History class that not only studies great works of literature, but:the period in which they were written. ‘Comitz has been teaching this course with Jane Smith for the last three years. He and Smith do not make a stir about Black His- tory Month because it's already secure in the curriculum and seen as an already integral part of American history. ““Whosever's history, it’s all part of American history,” said Comitz. ~ The class is unique because its syllabus includes an indepth look into history and perceptions writ- ten by African Americans. ‘The students who wish to take the class must first read Maya Angelou’s “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings,” during the summer and write a critical essay about it. This week the class began “Nar- rative of a Slave” by Frederick Douglass, an ex-slave who docu- - mented his experience with white oppression. The class covers a whole range of people, events and literature. POST PHOTO/KYLIE SHAFFERKOETTER Studying Black history, Lake-Lehman students from left, foreground; James Pitcavage, Brooke Posatko, Lyndsay Amyx, Valerie Fiore, Crystal Copeland, Karen Cole. Behind; Michael P. Casey, Dusty Rhodes, Eric Nygren, Rob Weaver. ‘Whoever s history. _ Us all part of American history.” John Comitz Lake-Lehman teacher For example, the students will study Booker T. Washington's Atlanta Exposition speech, in which he urged blacks to get a vocational education and practi- cal occupations, and his foremost critic W.E.B. DuBois, the first Af- rican American to receive a Ph.D, who argued that Washington was essentially advocating submis- sion. The class then moves on to Restoration, the Civil Rights Move- ment and contemporary black authors. Comitz and Smith not only see the class as a means to an educa- tion, but to tolerance. “It’s a lack of understanding and knowledge that contribute to a lot of prob- lems,” said Smith. “The students are interested in understanding different groups of people.” To Comitz the class puts todays society into perspective. “It's a real eye opener for the kids,” he explained. “They pick up that racism just wasn't pigeon-holed - to one period of history or one part POST PHOTO/CHARLOTTE BARTIZEK Rebecca Scott and Brian Marsh worked on the floor portion of the Lake-Lehman Indoor Guard program. Color guard (continued from page 1) goals,” said assistant instructor Maureen Richards. “Our job is to make the kids shine, so it’s really all for them,” added Taggart. ‘The staff wishes to thank the Lake-Lehman Band Sponsors. “For all their help, with things like transportation and equipment, “said Richards. Due to lack of competition in the 'area, Lehman competes tHroughout Pennsylvania and New x To subscribe | use the handy ’ coupon : on page 2. Combine your auto and homeowners insurance policies into 0])] 3 Comprehensive Coverage Competitive Rates CNA's Universal Security Policy 07] H Slocum Insurance Agency, Inc. 575 Memorial Hwy. Dallas, PA 18612 675-1167 Jersey. “If someone has never seen an Indoor Guard competi- tion, they should if they get the chance, because its something that you remember forever,” said Taggart. “It'sareally special event, almost like a Broadway show.” The Lake-Lehman Indoor Guard has a local performance tentatively scheduled for April 12 at the high school. For further information contact Edward Richards at 675-7458. Bonnie Ziegler's Zig Zag Dezignery Saturday ART WORKSHOPS Beginning Feb. 15 to Mar. 1 Explore the Medium 10 a.m. - Calligraphy for Kids & Kids at heart 12 p.m. - The Drawing Board 2 p.m. - Painting without numbers Reservations requested, but not required. First come, first served Center Hill Plaza corner Center Hill & 309 Dallas 675-1220 or 696-3228 “It's a lack of understanding and | Jmouwiedge that of problems.” Jane Smith Lake- Lehman teacher of the country.” Some of the students who be- gan reading Douglass's “Narra- tive of a Slave” said the firsthand account of slavery enlightened them to the true horror of the time. “It's shocking how much abuse there was, how little they received to live. In many cases they had no blankets and chil- dren working in the fields on plantations were only given shirts and nothing else,” said Valerie Fiore, a junior. “You don’t really realize how bad it is until you read a firsthand account like this. It's eye opening to realize how much they suffered.” Lindsay Amyx, also a junior, said that the African-American experience is inherently part of the whole. “(Black history) is an important part of American his- tory and not separate from it,” she said. BilLo Oil Co. Call around for prices - then make us your last call! We'll beat any adver- tised home heating oil rice in our Per Pp b Gallon area by ynimum 125 GALLONS CALL TOLL FREE 1-888-BUY-BILO pL 8s [1 dy [0] Wg [2] Four years ago Comitz taught a class at Wilkes University with Dr. Robert Heaman and his wife, Dr. Pat Heaman. The class was called The African-American Ex- perience. “It really helped bring new ideas to the high school level,” said Comitz. Dr. Robert Heaman, who con- tinues to teach the class, thinks classes like Comitz’s and Smith's are essential to fully understand- ing the history of the United States. “It is so important to our times that we understand the rich cul- ture of our heritage. The African- American experience is central to our culture. You can't fully un- derstand America until you un- derstand the struggle,” Heaman explained. ‘In many ways it's what it means to be an American, bring- ing together all these cultures and understanding who they are in relation to one another,” Heaman said. “The greatest challenge of the country is to figure out how to work through the racial issue.” Heaman said that in the last 10 years public schools across the country are infusing a more in- depth study of African-American history and literature in their cur- riculum. “For example, the literature has permeated the canon and is now taught in mainstream classes,” said Heaman. Anniversary 55 years to Russell & Marion Rishell in Lucerne Valley, CA fom Algo Chithber What do you seek? Come and See Do you feel alienated from the Church of your youth? Would you like to know why things have changed? Are you ready to give the Church another chance? Come and see what we're all about... we've missed you!!! St. Therese's Catholic Church Pioneer Ave. Thursday Evenings 7:00 - 9:00 P.M. Beginning February 13th For details or directions, call 696-1144 The C.D. Money Market Account from Luzerne National Enjoy account. Both personal and business accounts welcome. reduce the earnings on the account). Now, individuals and businesses can have C.D. rates at money market terms with interest based on the area's highest C.D. rates. « 425% APY Money Market Privileges Rate Reset Bi-weekly the” earns and security of the Luzerne National Bank C.D. Money Market Account. Earn the average of the 6 month C.D. Annual Percentage Yield (APY)* at the 6 largest banks with offices in Wyoming Valley. Balances below $25,000 will earn an APY of 2.30%. A minimum balance of $25,000 required to open * excluding special promotion rates. Rates stated herein are accurate as of 12/19/96. (Fees could « $25,000 Minimum . Limited Time Offer LUZERNE NPS STI NVR = VAN Dallas, PA Wednesday, February 5, 1997 3- Help us assure affordable timely, subscription delivery New postal regulations have required that The Dallas Post re- view all subscriber addresses for accuracy in order to earn the low- est possible postage rate. Thisis a complex process that includes matching addresses against the Post Office’s master address files, converting all addresses to Zip+4 (and in many cases Zip+7) and correcting any errors. Correct addressing is critical in two ways. First, to assure timely delivery, and second, to keep sub- scription prices down by earning the lowest possible postage rate. We need your help so that we can satisfy the requirements set by revised postal rules. The matches must be perfect; if a street name is misspelled in any way, or is identified as “Rd.” in- stead of “Ave.,” for example, the address may be thrown out of the correct delivery sequence. So, we need the assistance of all sub- scribers in order to be completely accurate. Here's howyou can help: e Please check your address label, to see that it matches your mailing address. In most cases, that should be a street number and name, not a rural route box number. If you pick up your mail BE rrr i re mr at a post office, we need to know the box number, not your Sires address. e If you think the address we've assigned is not correct, please fill out and send in the coupon be- low, or call the office at 675-5211 to tell us. We will investigate with the local post office and our sys- / tem vendor to correct any errors. Please give us your phone num- ber so that we can call you if we have any questions. e If your paper arrives late, let us know. Within the Back Moun- tain and most of Luzerne County, newspapers should be delivered with your Wednesday mail. 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Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers