Page 19 - MOST RECENT

that J. A. Young, A. H. S. Beard, William P.
Henley, H. Davis, J. F. Kerner, John H. Hester,
J. E. Kerner, Wm. A. Griffith, N. M. Kerner, D.
Kerner, R. P. Kerner, Israel Kerner, John Wat-
son, and such other persons as they may asso-
ciate with them, their successors and assigns,
are hereby declared to be a body politic and
corporate, by the name and style of "the Ker-
nersville High School," and as a corporation
may have a capital stock not exceeding three
thousand dollars, divisible into shares of
twenty-five dollars each, and may make by-laws,
rules and regulations for their government, such
as by the law of this State all corporations are
allowed to do.
Sec. 2. Be it further enacted, That this
act shall be in force and effect from and after
its ratification. (Ratified the 7th day of July,
1863.)
There was never a large enrollment in the Acad-
emy. The average attendance was probably 35 to 40.
Some of the students boarded at some of the towns-
people's .homes. Dr. Sapp, Mr. Leak and Mr. Israel
Kerner frequently kept boarders. There were usually
15 to 20 boarding students.
Miss Gaiselle Dicks, teacher at An 1894 picture of Addie Ker-
the Plunkett Place. ner Adkins, daughter of Dr.
Elias Kerner, and her husband,
James P. Aakins.
Dr. Eugene Clyde Brooks
Teacher in Kernersville Academy
State Superintendent of Public
Instruction
President of North Carolina State
University
Old Academy Picture
May 1894
Names listed on page 96
15
The beginning and dismissal of classes was different
from today. The classes began at 9:00 a.m. and con-
tinued to 12:00 p.m. with a fifteen minute recess. The
lunch hour was from 12 until 1:00 p.m. Afternoon classes
began at 1:00 p.m. and ran until 4:00 p.m. with a fifteen
minute recess.
There was no organized sports program in the
Academy. Most of the little children played in front of
the building while the large ones played baseball and
marbles in the back yard. There were no water fountains
so the students drank from the well on the Joe Kerner
property. Everyone drank out of the same dipper.
Work in the Academy was not graded. There were
two divisions - the high school and the primary. Many
1
students who left the school were so well prepared that
they entered the sophomore year in college.
There must have been a deep interest in scholarship.
On each Friday afternoon recitations, essays, composi-
tions, debates, memorized poetry, songs and declama-
tions were presented. Everyone in school was required
to take part in this program.
Students used slates for writing purposes. They
cleaned them by dipping their sponges in the water and
washing them. Some students would spit on the slates
and wipe them off with their sleeves.
Two report cards of 1859 and 1860 indicated that
no letters were given on subjects studied. On a relj>ort
card of 1859 the following statements were made: "bur
grades in recitations are from 1 to 5, 1 being the lowest
and 5 the highest. In composition the grades are from
1 to 25." Miss Martitia Watson, grandmother of the late
Kathleen Korner, received a report on March 23, 1860
which indicated that she took eight subjects. They were:
"Spelling, Reading, Penmanship, Arithmetic, Algebra,
Grammar, Astronomy and Composition." At the bottom
of Miss Watson's card there was this explanation:
"Grades in scholarship-IO Perfect; 8 Good; 7 Indiffer-
ent; 5 Very Poor; X Failure. In Deportment, the grades
are: Very Good, Good, Tolerable and Bad." Students
were also checked on chapel, church, and recitation at-
tendance.