Riley, Sue Spayth, 1920-2006

Wright, Christina

Charlotte, North Carolina

J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections, University of North Carolina at Charlotte

2005-09-13

11 audio file (1:03:26) : digital, MP3

sound recording-nonmusical

spoken word

eng

Sue Spayth Riley was an 85-year-old woman at the time of interview, which took place in her home in Charlotte, North Carolina. She was born in Houston, Texas in 1920. She was educated at Black Mountain College, Goddard College, and University of North Carolina at Charlotte; and was employed as a preschool teacher, an early childhood educator, and a consultant.

Sue Spayth Riley describes her experiences as the founder and director of Charlotte's first integrated and open preschool, the Open Door School. Ms. Riley attributes her decision to establish the Open Door School to a combination of influences, including her parents' pedagogical beliefs and her own educational experiences at the Modern School in Stelton, New Jersey and at Black Mountain College. Ms. Riley discusses the close affiliation of the Open Door School with the Unitarian Universalist Church of Charlotte, and describes the differences between Open Door and other church affiliated preschools. Ms. Riley defines open education as being "child centered," and stresses the importance of integration for fulfilling the open school mission. She discusses her role as a spokesperson for the "People for Open Education" and explains her part in the establishment of Irwin Avenue Open Elementary. The interview closes with a conversation about the current education system and the decline of open education in the United States and in Charlotte.

MP3 access copy created on ingest from WAV preservation master file. Interview originally recorded on minidisc and digitized using Digidesign 003 rack.

Consultants
Preschool teachers
Early childhood educators

Riley, Sue Spayth, 1920-2006

Modern School (Stelton, N.J.)
Central Piedmont Community College (Charlotte, N.C.)
Unitarian Church of Charlotte (Charlotte, N.C.)
Open Door School (Charlotte, N.C.)
Irwin Avenue Elementary School (Charlotte, N.C.)
West Charlotte High School (Charlotte, N.C.)
Project Head Start (U.S.)
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools
People for Open Education

Unitarian Universalist churches--Education
Open plan schools
Education, Preschool--Curricula
Preschool teachers
School integration
Progressive education--Philosophy
Teacher-student relationships

North Carolina--Charlotte
New Jersey--Stelton

Interviews
Oral histories

1960-2010

Open schools in Charlotte-Mecklenburg

Living Charlotte : the postwar development of a New South city

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Digitization made possible by funding from the federal Institute of Museum and Library Services (IMLS) under the provisions of the Library Services and Technology Act as administered by the State Library of North Carolina, a division of the Department of Cultural Resources.

audio/mpeg

Irwin Avenue Open School records, J. Murrey Atkins Library Special Collections and University Archives, University of North Carolina at Charlotte (https://findingaids.uncc.edu/repositories/4/resources/287)

OH-RI0363