Brooklyn Technical High School - Blueprint Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

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www.BrooklynTechSurvivors.com 3 ec ication The vast changes in economic, social, political, and religious life during the Renaissance had their intellectual counterpart in the humanist movement. Humanism in the Renaissance derived its name from one of its most crucial concerns: its ad¬ vocacy of a new educational curriculum which would emphasize a group of subjects known as the humanities. At the forefront of the humanist movement was Vittorino da Feltre, the noted European educator, whose ideas influenced European schools for hundreds of years. Da Feltre believed that the traditional scholastic education, which prepared stu¬ dents for direct entry into the professions, was too narrow, too abstract, and too exclusively intellectual. These overly specialized disciplines failed to meet society ' s needs; and to this inadequacy in the traditional scholastic education he attributed numerous defects in the world around him. He attempted to rectify this shortcoming in European education by providing students with an education that involved the body and character as well as the mind, thereby preparing his students for the re¬ sponsibilities of citizenship and social leadership. Da Feltre believed that a truly educated person should have a social consciousness and that he should feel a proper sense of duty toward man; de Feltre cherished an optimistic view of man ' s capacities. Yet, the challenges of tomorrow cannot be met with optimism alone. Our edu¬ cational program must consider the demands of our ever-changing society and evaluate its success in meeting these challenges. An education devoted to the human¬ ities alone or to science and technology only is half an education. Mr. C. P. Snow has eloquently expressed the need for ending the dichotomy between the two cul¬ tures in our society. The tremendous advances in science and technology and the method of thinking that has proved so useful in these fields cannot be in conflict with the ideas and values developed in the humanities during the long course of human history. In dedicating this yearbook to Mr. Auerbach, the Class of 1967 wishes to com¬ mend him for his efforts in educating the entire Technite. As Mr. Auerbach realizes, the true measure of an educated person is not to be found in the degree of special¬ ization he is subjected to, but in the various ways he can employ his education in serving humanity. 2

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V , J Our souls, whose faculties can comprehend The wondrous architecture of the world: And measure every wandering planet ' s course, Still climbing after knowledge infinite, And always moving as the restless spheres. Until we reach the ripest fruit of all. That perfect bliss and sole felicity. The sweet fruition of an earthly crown. In its original and narrowest definition, the Renaissance refers to a complex o ' literary and artistic movements following a revival of classical literature and art ij Italy. However, the Renaissance was more than a conglomeration of social, politi and economic changes that had accompanied previous movements. A fundament; individualism, which manifested itself during this period, distinguished this era froi previous ones. This spirit of individualism and independent thought, this quest for truth and knowledge was known as humanism, the essence of the Renaissance spirit. The human¬ ists believed that an education should encompass body and character as well as mind for the ensuing responsibilities of citizenship and social leadership. Education became more than a stagnant process detached from the mainstream of government and society; it became responsive to the needs of civilization. The humanists represent a new kind of attitude toward human experience and the nature of human knowledge. Accustomed to the everchanging, concrete activi¬ ties of city life, they found the rigid, closed systems of abtsract thought, then typical of the schools, both useless and irrelevant. They sought to free education from the stifling atmosphere of restrictive dogmas and superstitions that had pervaded the Middle Ages. The essential contribution of the Renaissance to the modern world is thus to be found not in its concern with antiquity, but in a new attitude of flexibility and openness to all possibilities of life. This is the true significance of the educational process. This is Tech ' s legacy to us, the realization that the hori zons of knowledge extend beyond the classroom; that a high school education it not just a series of facts to be memorized, but our first confrontation with stimulating ideas of original thinkers. The Blueprint is a testimonial to our endeavors, whether fruitful or not, to attain truth and knowledge. Just as there are histories of the Renaissance, the Blueprint is a history of our stay at Tech. It is a reminder of our quest for knowledge and of the obstacles that we faced and had to overcome. Hopefully, the Blueprint may serve as inspiration for us to tread the bright path of truth and not the dark path of specious reasoning and hasty conjecture. 4