Dedham High School - Reflections Yearbook (Dedham, MA)

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YEARBUUK applies equally to those idle both hy inclination and hy l'oi-ee ol' eii'cumstaru-1-s. Therefore, particularly pertinent to the thousands ot' young' people grzuluatiug from schools all over the country is the question: NVhat shall we do with our uuavoidable leisure? Their training in school should have stimulated to a greater degree interest in science and the arts which could continue their devel- opment in the guise ot recreation. lt is up to us to plan to perfect the peda- gogical system to provide for these three basic needs. To do this, we should realize the uselessness of an accumulation ot tacts when there is no ability to interpret them, the futility of technical skills when there is no capability l'or judgment and reflection. There should be a wide range ot courses and methods adapted to pupils of varied interests and widely differing' capabilities. Through- out the system should be emphasized the development of character and person- ality. Fully to accomplish these aims, it may be necessary to provide public schools for the college age. Teachers should be trained intensively in psychology, so that no genius or talent will go undiscovered, and, on the other hand, no one, no matter how poorly endowed. he unable to find a place in the world or to contribute something to it. Never, in the course of their training, should the physical welfare ot our young citizens be neglected. Each should be taught to carry himself well, to eat sensibly, and to rest sufficiently to offset the strain of modern lite. The nervous breakdown, the mental derangement of an over-ambitious student should become an unknown thing in schools and colleges. The reverse should be equally true. The far more frequent lazy and indiiterent pupil should be aroused to intellectual curiosity and activity, to industry and alertness. The field of our generation 's responsibilities is limitless. I have touched merely the surface of a few of them. Assuming' sufticient knowledge and jiulg- ment to do so, I realize that it would be an impossible task for me to discuss, even to mention, all our national and international problems. I know that not by our generation, nor even by the next, nor the next, will society he made perfect. Each age can only do its best to bring about some degree of improve- ment. High and threatening, our problems loom before us, but we must not shy away like poorly trained horses. Already, we have had practice in clearing easy hurdles, and as we approach the greatest difficulties of our time, every iota of our previous training can and should be utilized to the utmost. But it will be entirely up to us individually, whether we approach the barriers with enthu- siasm and determination to make the best possible record, or whether we turn back and try to sidle around them. Shall we allow a black horse to surpass us, or shall We clear our fiery bars '? Anna-Betty Clark. i932 W

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IIDHAMILS. tional IlI'Ullll'lllS, probleins of ccononiics Zllltl finance, problc111s of c1'i111c fllltl law t?lli.Ul'l't'lllCI1l, of national politics, Zlllfl of international relations. 'lllicse are sonic of the fiery lllll'tll0S that lie before us i11 our course. We can 111-ver Nllflllfllllll thein successfully unless religion and morality are first sti-o11g'tl11-111-il. lflacli 1112111 11111st choose l1is ow11 faith and follow it, but whatever that faith lllily bc, to benefit hiniself and others, it Sllflllitl include love of truth, honor. and loyalty. llis religion does 11ot l1ave to be of a certain creed, nor docs it iieccssarily niean the observation of set forins, but it does 11192111 having and upholding ideals, believing i11 tl1e possible i1np1'oven1ent of mankind, and striving toward a distant goal. When our gi-nei-ation hears the word Ul1l01'2ilS'7, we are inclined to feel antagoiiistic, for have we 11ot been accused, time and again Cunjustly, I believej. ol' having none, or none worthy of tl1e iianie? Morals. so-called. for the present day may ditfcr from those of the past, but standards of conduct we must have, lllgfllvl' and better ones than those whose failure we l1ave see11 about us, if we are to stand successfully against the degenerating influences of present day society. A C'O1lHiEllli leveling process i11 till' field of 1HOI'E1lS has been going on against which we 1llllSl iight. lVe lllllSt niake possible tl1e realization of tl1e lHllt'l't,'lll dignity in lllllllillllilllfl which Shakespeare saw three centuries ago: Hxvilill a piece of work is lllillli llow noble i11 reason, how infinite in faculties, in action, how like an angel, i11 apprehension, how like a god l VVe must take a firin stand against the t'1lCl'0ZlClll111'lll of superticiality, cheapness, and vul- garity. Our standards for lllllllflll living 1l1llSl include tl1e best criteria of speech, ot' nianners, of social behavior, Zllltl of family life. lVe niust inake lillNll1PSS 111etl1ods fair Zllltl honest. Politics inust be changed from a dirty ganie to tl1e disinterested service of our country. Partizan and sectional legislation, incompetent officials, dishonest elections, graft-all must he vigorously fought. lVe must learn to conduct i11ter11atio11al relations with the saine scrupulous honor we would use among personal friends. Ultimately, any iniprovenient i11 these broad fields 1l1llNl spring from tl1e character of the indi- viduals wl1o compose tl1e llillllilll. As no cl1ai11 is stronger than its weakest link, so it is scarcely a11 exaggeration to say that no nation can rise higher than its lowest 1-1-1111111f11, certainly, it C2111 never transcend tl1e average quality of all its citizens. Do 11ot put any very great reliance on tl1e influence of our best fellow- 111011. No inatter l1ow perfectly one horse may jump, another in tl1e same group, if lie is 11102111 Eillll obstinate, 111ay jump no better, Every single one of us must sl1ow refineinent of feeling, consideration for others, Hllil reliability of character, if society is to he improved, and this C5111 never be brought about by law, but by personal conviction Zilltl effort. You cannot make people pure of heart, to say nothing of nierely law-abiding. by legislation. Another of tl1e fields of challenge is education. lVe who l1ave profited from tl1e present syste111 should be the 111ore able to improve it further. Each genera- tion should atte111pt to better the record of its predecessors. Public education should perforin three functions. lt should prepare tl1e individual to obtain a life work, to get along with l1is fellow-men. a11d to spend his leisure time profit- ably. The ed11catio11 of today produces these results to a partial degree, but it has yet to realize complete success. Too 111any of our youth are sent out of school ill-prepared for a definite occupation, unable to co-operate with their fellow-citizens, lacking self-control and responsibility. Their manners are of the poorest, a11d social skill entirely wanting. Thousands of' them Waste their unoccupied i1l111Q in attending tl1e cheapest movies and dashing futilely about the country. The spending of leisure is of especial interest today because there are very definite pitfalls that arise from tl1e business paralysis, such as the enforced idleness of young Hllfl old, especially serious in the case of those who l1ave never justified their existence by service to tl1e World. It is sadly true that tl1e old proverb, Satan finds some mischief yet for idle hands to do l932 ' 26 T

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- IIDHAMILS.-' Honor Essay GOALS Almost every one has a goal in life. Some set their goals early, not too far beyond the horizon, and by striving constantly and relentlessly. reach them. A small ehild struggling to reach a gaudy toy has such a goal. Nothing else mat-- ters to him until he has elutehed the pretty bauble in his fingers, and then he erows and chuckles with delight, for he has reached his goal. The business man who seeks only a fortune, the aviator who flies for fame, the actor who lives for notoriety--they all have goals as definite as the ehild's and by perseverance like his they often attain them. And yet children, even with pretty toys in their possessions, don't crow and ehuekle constantly, and men who have reached their goals of wealth and fame are not completely happy. Emerson 's suggestion that we should hitch our wagons to stars implies not only that we should seek a worthy and unselfish goal, but that we should seek one so high that we can scarcely hope to reach it, so lofty that the mere striving for it is great. For often those who, after years of persistence, reach their goals find themselves left without a purpose and the zest gone from their lives. Solomon, who said, l gathered me also silver and gold and the peculiar treasure of kings and of the provinces. I gat me men singers and women singers, and the delights of the sons of men, concluded that all was vanity and vexation of the spirit and there was no profit under the sun. And so today we find sueeessful men mired in boredom, famous statesmen trapped in eynieism, and millionaires turning to suicide from a life that has lost its savor. They are happier ones, though they might deny it. who have not reached their goals, who after years of climbing see them still shining as far away apparently as when they started toward them. The student seeking not merely a diploma but all the knowledge of all time, a Pasteur, hunting for the causes and cures of all diseases, a statesman still working for a perfect state-they will never know the satiety of ambition too soon fulilled. They will meet many disappointments, it is true. The diseords of disillusion will often wake them from their hopefulest dreams, and many at the end may feel that they are failures, but they will have had someflzing-perliaps some little progress, cer- tainly the glory of a struggle, which indeed is life itself. John Keats had inscribed on his tombstone. Here lies one Whose life was writ in water. Columbus failed to find the Indies. Sir XVHHQI' Raleigh died without discovering El Dorado or finishing his history of the world. The English were still in France whe11 Joan of Arc was burned. Each of these suffered: eaeh perhaps felt that he had failed: and yet each knew a sublimity undreanit of by those of his contemporaries who longed for food and got it, who sought wealth and became rich, and who tired of life and subsequently died. Probably the happiest of all are those who, having set themselves a goal that seems beyond their reach, yet manage to draw near it, or even attain it, after a lifetime of endeavor. They are the few who, like General VVolfe, can praise God and die happy. They are the ones we hope to imitate. Each student leaving high school has not only plans for the future but a goal as well. The two are quite different. His plans may include Where he will work, what further studies he will pursue, or how he Will spend his summer vacation. His goal will be that thing, as dear to him as life, for which he will do almost anything. Almost anything, for there is no goal so great that it can justify all means of attaining it. No matter how far we may go in business, no matter how many papers print our pictures, or how many mouths cry our fame, if we are conscious of but one unworthy deed done to further our ambi- tions, we will find a bitter taste in our mouths that will turn our triumphs to l932 28