Written by Gradye Parsons
Each month the Stated Clerk of the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) and the Moderator or Vice Moderator of the 220th General Assembly write a column of general interest for the church-at-large.
Miss Kingree, Mrs. Barnes, and Mrs. Wesson were already teaching legends at my high school when I was a freshman. Barnes and Wesson taught algebra; Kingree, first-year English.
All three were farmers and all three were tough. At some point, they each walked the halls with pretty serious farm injuries. But they never missed a day of class – as I said, they were tough. Forty-plus years later, I can look at their photos in my high school yearbook and still get that feeling in my stomach that they might call on me in class. But they were also good, very good. They had honed their teaching skills to the point that, despite all of our collective efforts, we left their classes smarter than we arrived. I thank them now when I appreciate a great book or analyze a basketball bracket.