Readers Write

Passion and VISAGE

I have known Brooke Vaughan since the summer before her freshman year at Vanderbilt when she visited Nashville and met my daughter, another rising freshman. They decided to room together and have been fast friends ever since. Brooke is an amazing young woman with great passion for life. I wish I could write her a check for the balance of her goal because she is so dedicated to it. Vanderbilt is lucky to count her as an alumna.

Nancy Quillman, B.S.’71
Franklin, Tenn.

Issue accolades

While I receive more literature than I can possibly read, I do consider publications from Vanderbilt Peabody College to be “must reads.” Thank you for including me on your mailing list.

Joseph B. Morton
State Superintendent, Alabama Department of Education

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I have just gotten around to reading the spring ’08 issue of the Peabody Reflector, and I want to tell you that I am proud of the publication and appreciate the news that it includes.  

This issue included a note about Hal Ramer, who I knew when I was there. His father was in an administrative position at Peabody and a good friend. 

I taught at Vanderbilt in winter semesters (they had no summer sessions then) and assisted and studied at Peabody in summers. After World War II, I completed my Ed.D., came to the University of Alabama in 1949, and retired in 1978. My wife (Dr. Elizabeth C. Cleino, B.S.N.’44) and I were in Nashville in October, when she received the President’s Award of Distinction from the School of Nursing. I looked forward to visiting the lovely Peabody campus again. I have many wonderful memories of Nashville, and I am most appreciative of the many opportunities which I had at Peabody!

Ed Cleino, M.A.’40, Ed.D.’58
Tuscaloosa, Ala.

Remembering Professor Cooper

I am an “old” graduate (in both senses of the word) of Peabody, 1957. My years at Peabody were fruitful and enjoyable. Kenneth Cooper’s course in social and intellectual history has served me well over the years (we read original sources from Plato to Orwell’s 1984). I trust Dr. Cooper is still with us. One of my life regrets is that I was always too “busy” to tell him what a great course this was (even though its worth unfolded over the years as I became “smarter”).

Dick Gibboney, Ed.D.’57  
Professor Emeritus, University of Pennsylvania
Birchrunville, Penn.

Editor’s Note: Professor Kenneth Cooper died in Nashville in September 2008. I, too, was lucky enough to have him as my professor for a course in history of ideas. His intelligence, compassion and integrity made that class one of my favorites.

Better wording 

It is always a thrill to receive my copy of the Peabody Reflector. Even though the time since my graduation has increased tremendously, I still remember with such fondness my days spent on that lovely campus. 

Congratulations on the fine articles that are included in the Fall 2008 issue. They are timely, informative and well-written. As I began to read the magazine this morning, one sentence did catch my attention, and I am compelled to mention it to you. It is located on page 6 in the first paragraph of the section entitled “Calculator + math skills = A-OK.” 

“Calculators are useful tools in elementary mathematics classes, if students already have some basic skills, new research has found.” 

That sentence reminds me of those presented in English books as exercises designed to encourage students to rewrite them in a better structure. 

Out of all the words and sentences in the magazine, though, this is a small element. I guess the article was especially noteworthy to me because most of my teaching career was in the field of mathematics.

 Anne Horner, B.S.’60
Harriman, Tenn.