Appleby College - Argus Yearbook (Oakville, Ontario Canada)

Page 158 text:

' J ' UeUuf ;4ctw4tCeA ■ or play trains if you are searching for a lost childhood. For instance, one of the most popular un- derground activities this year was the Bird-watchers Club, led by Mr. Snowden, and spent many peaceful hours watching birds. This is an example of one of many activities which the programme provides which you may get a chance to try again. Thus many, perhaps most, students, enjoy the programme because they get a chance to do whatever they like. Another group finds that the Activities are only a cheap imitation of what was advertised. They say that practically no one participates and those that do, do so because if they don ' t they ' ll get a defaulter. Or they participate because of the never-bite-the- The Bird-watchers spent several re Iective hours in different parts of southern Ontario. hand-that-feeds-you syndrome. It is true that the activities programme has fallen short of what was promised. It was hoped each student should view at least one cultural event each year. If one excludes the Dramatic Society productions and Talent Night which dubiously quaUfy for the cultural category, it is likely that only a very small percentage of the school has viewed anything more cultural than Three ' s Company . The Film Society was set up and textbooks distributed with the aim that students would achieve greater insight into film BaseboU and touch football fell into the questionobJe category; the question being should sports be pJayed on a afternoon which is supposed to be allotted to hobbies and intellectual activities.

Page 157 text:

The Thursday Programme: One Boy ' s Reaction by Graham Leggat K H E - ' . i-M . ,. J t y - i •i V 1 1 ' - -■-•v •• For those who are particularly work- conscious or who suffer from guilt feelings if they don ' t do their homework, or for those who are slow to keep up, the Thursday Programme lets you engage in amusing activities or hobbies without worry. The reactions to the Thursday Programme have been varied, as reactions to new things usually are. Some think it good and worthwhile, others are disillusioned because it never reached the level idealists said it would. Still others enjoy it for the breathing space it provides. But whatever side one takes, all are agreed that it is better to have it than not. For those who are particiolarly work-conscious or who suffer from g iilt feelings if they don ' t do their homework, or for those who are slow to keep up, the Thursday programme lets you engage in amusing activities or hobbies without worry. If you are afraid or psychologically unable to in- dulge in extra-curricvilar ac- tivities on other school nights because marks mean a lot to you, you can relax on Thursdays because everyone else is relaxing too (except for the twisted few who wet their beds if they do not work every night.) You can, if you would like, play with trains, play cards, feed fish, pretend you are Jaques Cousteau in the swimming pool, identify new breeds of band- aids, bits of skin and hair, or you can play more sports, supposing you haven ' t had enough. Actually, it ' s good because you get a chance to do something you would or- dinarily, outside the school, get a chance to do, like play baseball or tennis if you are a rugby player,

Page 159 text:

One of the main reasons for organizing the Thursday programme was to provide a space in the routine for more culturoJ activities. The intermediate pJay, directed by Alasdair HaUiday in grade 13, was a product of this desire. There should probabJy be a time durmg the week for a boy to relax without feeling guilt. as an art form. Great, but most joined to see the risque films Mr. Crabb could sneak in, or just for entertainment. Not that there is anything wrong with that-it was just no intended to be that. In fact, a few of the clubs have been formed with great zeal and idealism only to end up coming down a few notches in their goals. That ' s okay, but it adds fuel to the cynic ' s fire. Culturally and intellectually, I don ' t think the school is any more aware than it was two years ago. Where the progranmie has done well is in the lower grades which have a comprehensive pre-North and Cadets programme. But the upper grades do not have as a good a programme; or rather, they are left to choose on their ovm, which amounts to the same thing. The Thursday Programme allows a breathing space from the bother of studying. However, it forces us to enjoy our hobbies as intensely as we must enjoy our weekends, or the 28-hour breaks which are passed off as week- ends. Since our time is so restricted and limited during the day; indeed, our location is plotted every hour of every day so that sometimes I feel like a bleeping dot on a master table in the Headmaster ' s office, like the war tables in World War II; is so structured each day that when we are handed a piecemeal chunk of freedom we tend to be rather lost for what to do. We form clubs for activities which could be enjoyed just as well during spare time in the week, if we had any worth mentioning. The Thursday programme seems to be a con- cession of freedom. Instead of relaxing the evening study, and sports programmes for the senior grades, no distinction is made between grade nine and grade twelve, save the optimates club, which not everyone qualifies for. By grade twelve, boys should have the skills and self-discipline, academic and athletic, so that they need not practice or study every day. Certainly not for a