“The more I see, the more I know this is my calling,” Ms. Rayekeisha Freeman affirmed at Open Forum on March 4, 2020. Ms. Freeman came to speak to the TGS students about her work at the Department of Social Services, DSS. She attended Lowcountry Prep and was taught by some of our staff today. Ms. Freeman then transferred to Waccamaw High School and then graduated from Hampton University.

As a child she was molested, her father was on crack, and her mother was a single parent. She constantly wondered why she had to experience these horrible things but “trusted the process.” In her senior year at Hampton University her life began to go downhill. She partied more, fell in love, and became pregnant all in the same year. She was left at a crossroads and decided to change her whole life plan. At Hampton University she had majored in Biology, planning to become a doctor. After her own experiences, she decided to switch to social work. Once she left school she worked at a psychiatric hospital for adults and then moved back to South Carolina.

Ms. Freeman’s presentation was on all aspects on the DSS. She jokingly said that her job (Child Protective Services) was known as “baby snatching.” Ms. Freeman began with an ice breaker: she had students stand next to a line and, if the question she asked applied to them, then they were to cross it. She asked questions like “Are you male or female?” and “Do you know anyone with a drug addiction?” She also educated the students on Foster Care, out-of-home safety, and what makes a case. She talked on all case indications of physical abuse, neglect, sexual abuse, and contributing to delinquencies. She ended with a quote from the Bible, Jeremiah 29:11, which explained her saying “trust the process.”

She opened the floor to questions and was excited to see so many hands raised. One student asked her, “What was your hardest case?” She answered with a story about three girls (ages 7, 5, and 2) who had been molested. Another student asked if depictions of child abuse in media are often realistic. She explained that it depends on the movie or show, but usually the abuse is realistic while the ease with which parents get back their kids is not. She feels that she has to be an advocate for these children and look out for them. Thanks to Ms. Rayekeisha Freeman for speaking at Open Forum. The students learned a lot and were thoroughly engaged.

By Margaret

Mr. Dedric Bonds, one of our own beloved teachers, came to speak to us about a part of South Carolina’s history.  He is currently publishing a book on the subject, and was delighted by the chance to share it with us. The subject in question is the life of Joseph H. Rainey, a Georgetown local who made history when he was elected to the Senate.

Mr Rainey was born to former slaves.  His father was a barber, and Rainey learned the trade from him.  Little is known about his early life, but in the 1850s he travelled to Philadelphia, where he met his future wife Susan.  The two of them returned to South Carolina, where Rainey continued his work as a barber. However, during the Civil War he was recruited to serve the Confederate Army.  As soon as they got the chance, he and his family escaped the war on a boat bound for Bermuda, where they would live for many years.

After the war was over, Rainey and his family returned to South Carolina.  He began to get involved in politics, representing the Republican party first at local levels and then for the state.  In 1870, he became the first African-American ever elected to the United States Senate. While serving as Senator, he supported many influential bills, such as the Anti-KKK Act.  Eventually he returned to Georgetown, where he died and was buried in the “Baptist Cemetery.” To this day, his grave has not been found. Although his name has been largely forgotten, Joseph H. Rainey made history and should always be remembered for his accomplishments. Thank you, Mr Bonds, for enlightening us on this fascinating period of history.

By Ryleigh

Today, we Kingfishers had four special visitors at Open Forum. Tom Carter, founder of the nonprofit All4Paws, spoke to us, accompanied by his director of volunteering Allison, volunteer Ms. Sandy Martin, and a nine-week old-puppy named Astrid. Mr. Carter explained that the mission of All4Paws is to rescue cats and dogs from being euthanized and find them a home. All4Paws is a no kill shelter that was founded seven and a half years ago and is located in Murrells Inlet.  It takes in unwanted dogs and cats to spay and neuter them and give them forever homes. Mr. Carter said that having dogs and cats spayed and neutered is a good idea because there are not enough homes for all the kittens and puppies that are born each year. Mr. Carter mentioned the six values at the core of All4Paws: compassion, excellence, responsibility, respect, learning, and customer. 

“Compassion is sympathy in action,” Mr. Carter said, pointing out that merely feeling sorry for animals does them no good. He said that excellence “is to do the right thing the right way.” The 28 full time staff and hundreds of volunteers at All4Paws must take their responsibility seriously. Animals need respect, but so do people. In school, Mr. Carter didn’t learn about animals, but over time he “learned to learn,” and has helped almost 15,000 animals. His final hope is for the customers of All4Paws—he hopes someone will invent a kit so that people can spay or neuter animals without having to bring them to a clinic. 

Then Mr. Carter turned the talk over to Allison, his director of volunteers. She explained how the volunteering process works (on their website), and when they need volunteers. One of the opportunities Allison shared with us was called Tales for Tails. This is a program where people can come to help socialize the animals by reading to them. Volunteers do valuable work, she said, because socializing the animals helps the animals stay healthier, happier, and get adopted faster. Allison gave us jars to collect money for All4Paws.  At the end of their talk, students got to form a line to pet Astrid, a shepherd-mix puppy as she lay sleeping in Ms. Sandy’s arms. Thank you, Mr. Carter, Allison, Ms. Sandy, and Astrid for your visit. 

By Rebecca

Bill Duncan opened his speech today by telling us about Benjamin Franklin.  “He signed the Declaration of Independence.” He told students. “His face is on the $100 bill.”  However, that wasn’t all he did. Mr Duncan explained that Franklin was an inventor, and a very successful one at that.  He created his first prototype at age 11, and continued inventing throughout his life. “He was something I like to call a ‘lifelong learner,’” Mr Duncan explained.  Franklin was especially good at taking other people’s inventions and figuring out how to make them better.

“Franklin never tried to monetize his inventions.”  Mr Duncan told us. “That’s incredibly magnanimous, but I went a different way.”  After serving as a lawyer for 31 years, Mr Duncan discovered his passion for inventing.  Right now, he holds more than 30 patents. He showed us one of his inventions, the Instant Wall Planter.  It is a picture frame designed to hold plants rather than photographs. Although the idea has been around for a long time, Dr Duncan came up with a way to make the process almost instantaneous, whereas before it had taken 12 weeks to root the plants.  He told students that he wants to “make stuff that will make the world a better place.”

By Ryleigh

Dr. Tripthi Pillai was our featured speaker for the 6^th annual Georgetown Shakespeare Festival on January 30, after the matinee performance of A Midsummer Night’s Dream by the American Shakespeare Center, which she attended with several of her students from CCU.  She spoke on audience engagement with Shakespeare and involved our students, faculty, and some of the ASC actors in a consideration of how gender, class, and humor work in this play.

“The play doesn’t start with love,” she pointed out.  “The dad wants his daughter dead.” In Shakespeare’s time, women were valued while they could produce offspring and a father could force his daughter into an arranged marriage (Hermia/Demetrious) or women could be captured in war and forced to marry (Hippolyta/Theseus). By the end of this play, though, even some men were “forced” into marriage by magic or witchcraft. 

The play features three “classes”: the noble Athenians, the Faeries, and the Rude Mechanicals.  Dr. Pillai told us that in Shakespeare’s time, fairies were not cute—they were “monstrous and destructive.” Since they could not have children, they stole children from people (the Boy is neither Oberon’s nor Titania’s child). The Mechanicals are lower-class laborers, whom Shakespeare identifies strongly with poets, playwrights, and artists.  Bottom and his band put on a terrible performance of Pyramis and Thisbe, which still somehow emotionally moves Titania and the others. Bottom’s “profound speech” when he wakes up from his “dream” of being a king makes us identify with poets and poor people, with anyone whose dream has been snatched away.  We laugh at Bottom, but at the same time we feel his loss.

“Laughter is not the same as joy,” said Dr. Pillai. “Laughter has a cruel side.” But humor in A Midsummer Night’s Dream is always tempered by audience engagement.  When characters are silenced, whether it be through laughter or violence, Shakespeare always gives their voice to another and we hear it again.  Dr. Pillai got the students to talk about which characters had engaged them emotionally and students came up with a variety of characters and reasons.  Fletcher liked the Duke of Athens. “He makes a bad thing seem chill,” he said.

“It is an honor to see all of you relating to Shakespeare,” Dr. Pillai told us.  She complimented our students on their understanding and mastery of the play and encouraged us to keep working. “You all are vibrant with imagination—you should definitely embrace it.  Make it big!” she concluded.