[Congressional Record Volume 141, Number 203 (Monday, December 18, 1995)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2377]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  PRINCIPAL IS STAYING PUT, THANK YOU

                                 ______


                        HON. JOHN J. DUNCAN, JR.

                              of tennessee

                    in the house of representatives

                       Monday, December 18, 1995

  Mr. DUNCAN. Mr. Speaker, George Perry has dedicated 37 years of his 
life to school children in East Tennessee. His tremendous devotion to 
duty and service to others was recognized recently in an article I read 
in the Knoxville News-Sentinel.
  Because we need many more educators like George Perry, I wanted to 
call this article to the attention of my colleagues and to other 
readers of the Congressional Record.

                  Principal is Staying Put, Thank-You

                        (By Elizabeth A. Pooley)

       ``School Days, School Days, good old golden rule days . . 
     .,'' sang Doreen ``Dody'' Perry to her children every year on 
     the opening day of school. Little Georgie Perry heeded the 
     wake-up call and proceeded to go to school, in one form or 
     another, for the next 55 years--and he's still going.
       ``From a family that was so musically inclined, my mother 
     couldn't carry a tune in a bucket. I guess you could say that 
     I hold some kind of record among Knox County School 
     administrators, 27 years in the same position. If it ain't 
     broke, don't fix it. I wouldn't care to be anywhere else,'' 
     said George Perry, principal of Cedar Bluff Middle School in 
     West Knoxville.
       With compassionate eyes, a spontaneous sense of humor and 
     the ability to make everyone aware of their own identity and 
     contribution, Perry oversees multiple projects and business-
     related concerns while speaking with the multitude who pop 
     into the office for just a ``minute'' of his time. His desk 
     phone is rarely silent and a crisis situation can present 
     itself at any time.
       Perry appears much younger than his 60 years and only 
     recently cut back on his 60-hour work week when he retired as 
     part-time music director at Parkway Baptist Church. A 
     practicing Christian since childhood, Perry well remembers 
     when reading passages from the Bible was an accepted part of 
     the school curriculum, a form of literature.
       ``Today we hear, you are entitled to your religion, but 
     just don't mention it. The courts have made rules and we have 
     to follow them. We can teach scientific theory and 
     psychology. I do feel that the schools are getting a bum rap 
     from evangelists who say we are Godless and atheistic. We 
     have to follow the mandates and keep in mind that we are 
     living in a more cosmopolitan world. The students these days 
     come from all over the world with different religious 
     backgrounds,'' said Perry.
       An educator of 37 years, Perry was born a Depression child. 
     ``If there hadn't been a depression, we had our own private 
     one going on at home,'' he said.
       Following graduation from Mars Hill College, Perry obtained 
     his bachelor's degree in sociology and science from Carson-
     Newman. His work history began in 1958 as a cookware salesman 
     in Morristown. An odd set of circumstances led him into 
     teaching.
       ``I was passing by the music room at Morristown High School 
     one day when I heard an announcement that there wouldn't be 
     any class that day and all the students would be directed to 
     study hall. I volunteered to conduct the class and was then 
     asked to become a substitute teacher at the school for $8 a 
     day. I quit my job selling pots and pans,'' said Perry.
       Following 10 years as assistant principal, Perry then went 
     to Clinton High School as principal for one year. He took 
     over as principal of Cedar Bluff Middle School in 1969.
       ``I don't dread coming to work. I can remember back in the 
     1960s when I was making $6,000 a year, I was offered a job in 
     the insurance industry for $20,000 a year. I thought about it 
     and realized I didn't want to sentence myself with a job I 
     didn't like,'' said Perry.
       Perry believes that if a student can leave Cedar Bluff 
     Middle School and be able to make responsible decisions and 
     live with them, he/she is well educated.
       Too often he sees parents who are unwilling to accept that 
     ``their'' child may have a problem in school. ``They are 
     setting themselves up for problems down the road and 
     crippling the child's ability to make correct decisions. I 
     once had a student here in my office who told me his father 
     could take care of me. We're very fortunate here; the vast 
     majority of students don't cause any problems,'' said Perry.
       Perry's walls are full of awards, citations, certificates 
     and a letter of appreciation from the late Danny Thomas, 
     founder of St. Jude's Children's Hospital. In the letter, 
     Thomas commends Perry and the students' record-setting fund-
     raising efforts. He refers to Perry as giving more of himself 
     to children than just books and school work. ``You are 
     teaching them the meaning of good deeds by personal 
     example,'' Thomas writes.
       Married for 40 years to his wife, Doris, a secretary at 
     Powell Elementary, Perry takes extreme pride in three 
     children: Chuck, Georgeann and Melody. The Perrys have one 
     grandchild, 15-year-old Matthew.
       Leaving his longtime position may be an option for Perry in 
     another five years. Over the span of his teaching career he 
     has accumulated 245 sick days, a year's sick leave which he 
     has the option to apply toward an earlier retirement. In the 
     meantime he will continue to enjoy his students, whom he says 
     are old enough to reason with and still be cute.
       His personal/family life may be summed up by an office wall 
     hanging: ``The best gift you can give your children is to 
     love their mother.'' Perry's attitude regarding his career is 
     best exemplified by the cross-stitched utterings of a frog 
     near his desk: ``I'm So Happy, I Could Croak!''

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