London Normal School - Spectrum Yearbook (London, Ontario Canada)

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My Profession liver since I was a small child, my main ambition has been to be a teacher. Why, someone once asked me, do you want to be that? just think of the exciting life you would have if you were an airline hostess. Or if such a life requires too much energy for you, you could be a secretary, who takes life easily, sitting on a chair all day. If even this doesn't suit you, you could benefit humanity by being a nurse. But a teacher! Bah! Mark my word! You will be a nervous wreck in two years, and no one will appreciate your efforts. You will be the target of all the community gossip, too. lf you don't believe me, just wait and SVC. Your arguments are right in some degree, I answered. But now let me tell you all the pleasures of being a teacher. To begin with, I know I shall like the nork. It will be thrilling to know that I have revealed to some young mind some of the wonders of science. I can imagine the sensation I shall get when some child finally understands why the area ofa rectangle is length X width X 1 square unit. lt will be similar to the feeling I had when, at last, l could distinguish the difference between combinations and permutations. Yes, it will be a hard fight, but think of the trium- phant victory! And who wouldn't rather work with the active minds of young children than with account books, or hypochondriacs? I am sure I shall be amused countless times with their peculiar expressions. and childlike views. Fancy the stimulating experience of kindling the mind of some youngster who might become a second Sir Ernest MacMillan! But even if you do not consider these as motivating forces, I still have other reasons for wanting to become a teacher. One is the fact that the future life of the nation is largely in the hands of the teacher. Since there is a very slight chance that someday I may be a member of parliament, l can find satisfaction in knowing that some of my pupils will probably, someday, in some way, infiuenee the political life of our country. And teachers are powerful factors in guiding children to see the truth and to have good characters, and well-informed minds. Thus, it is clear, teachers affect to a great extent the future of our land. Then, too. I have selfish reasons for choosing this career. The first is that I have a weakness for wanting holidays. XYhat other profession allows one to have two months holidays every summer, and two days holidays every week? None, of which I know. The second selfish reason is that teachers now have quite good salaries. Now what other vocation, I ask you. has as many advantages as teaching? My friend could not suggest to me any profession with more arguments in its favour than teaching has. Now. in case you have to stand up for our profession. just reinforce your argument with these lines: For me is the life of a teacher, I love the young boys and smart girls, If I teach them with zest and with interest, lily reward will be worth more than pearls. You may have your excitement or patients, Or scrub all the live-long day: But I shall have children to work with, And shall make my work interesting play. Now, if you are in doubt of your future, And like youngsters better than pay, Your life is all laid out before you, just pick up and follow the way. DOROTHY E. CHANDLER. Page Twenty

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What Progressive Education Means It means that in your teaching you: Guide pupils to learn by doing worth-while things. Help pupils to grow towards physical, emotional and social maturity. fhallenge pupils to think constructively by well selected problems. projects or enterprises which they do under your guidance. Avoid too much lecturing and telling, but rather stimulate pupils to think things through for themselves. Begin with their experience and ueconstruct and enrich it by co-operative developmental methods. Manage the class as a co-operative group that each may contribute towards enriching the knowledge, the attitudes, the skills and the appreciation of all. Conduct discussions by clear-cut questioning which requires pupils to think clearly. Remember that pupils' answers are for the benefit of the whole class. Praise keen observation. clear thinking and neat work. Avoid dictating notes to be learned. Permanent records in pupils' notebooks are to be the findings of the whole group working in co-operation with the teacher. Make blackboard summaries brief, systematic and meaningful from the contributions of the pupils. Use the inductive procedure wherever possible and guide the class to reach and express generallzationsfthe Search-Discovery method. Make use of panel discussions especially for reviewing science, agricultural and social topics. In this, require correlation with composition, spelling, enunciation and pronuncia- tion. Encourage creative endeavours by sympathetic co-operation through suggestive remarks and illustrations or demonstrations. Make the school room and the out-of-doors largely workshops where pupils are stimulated to End out truth and acquire abilities and skills which are useful in their subsequent thinking. Recognize four stages in the' creative process namely preparation or gathering materials, incubation or unconsciously elaborating what has been gathered, inspiration or becoming somewhat aware of the solution of the problem, and verification or subjecting the new idea to systematic reasoning. Realize that any topic or problem which requires the learner to organize his thinking develops creative ability. Maintain a keen interest in the activities of the work-a-day world outside of the school and correlate these with activities of school life. Listening to radio broadcasts for schools and visiting local industries should be helpful. Supplant the old idea of making the recitation period a procedure of questioning to repeat the words of the textbook with the new idea of proposing, planning, evaluating and dis- cussmg. Drill on fundamental facts, rules and principles after they have been motivated or made purposeful by clear-cut teaching. Effective drill establishes the habit of accuracy and skill. GEO. XY. HOFFERD. Page Ninelecn

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Star Gazing at Western U On March the 12th, between the hours of 7 and ll, the Normal students of '45 found their various ways to the lyestern Observatory. The night air was chill and clear. echoing such interrogations as XX here is it? and XVhere do we go from here? Finally we viewed its small domed shape ahead and we were greeted by cheers of fellow' students who had been more fortunate in Ending their way. As our eyes became accustomed to the brightly-lighted room we saw Dr. Hofferd and Kliss Conover demonstrating a few of the mysteries of the sky with the planitarium. This illustrated on a smaller scale the relationship of the various planets to the sun, and how they all, like the earth. rotate around the sun. XYhen we climbed to the dome we gazed around us in the gloom. l-lveryhody seemed to be everywhere, but finally we distinguished a line slowly moving to mount a ladder and gaze through the telescope. Twinkle, twinkle. little star. How I wonder what you are llp above the world so high, Like a diamond in the sky. From the telescope they would proceed to the roof to scan the heavens with the naked eye or by a smaller telescope. Through the large telescope we observed Saturn and its rings, the crescent of Venus, and the brilliance of big jupiter. The answer to our many inquiries concerning Venus is that it has phases just as does our moon. This was all we could see of our Solar System. On the roof, through the smaller telescope, we again gazed at Saturn, jupiter, and the Pleiades of Taurus. Those who were waiting for use of the telescope scanned the skies with the naked eye for Pleiades or the Seven Sisters shaped like a small dipper, and Orion, the mighty hunter, with the three bright stars of his belt and two dogs following him: Taurus, whose head forms a V, and the shoulder marked by Pleiades, the Heavenly Twins, at whose feet Saturn rested: Draco found between the big and little dipper, and Leo whose head is marked by a sickle-shaped group of stars. Because of the interesting sky studies with Dr. I-Iofferd and this penetrating outing to the observatory we believe that the Normal Students will now adopt the following new version of the old poem: Twinkle, twinkle, little star. Now, I know just what you are: XYhen into the midnight sky, lYe, the spectroscope apply. The only new star discovered was by Barry Moore, who found it on the ceiling of Brescia Hall. VVe extend our thanks to the University and to Dr. Hofferd, for this opportunity. BI-IRNICI-Q WENIG. MURIEL ROGERS. In gardening, always first plan the layout The problem method of teaching focuses on paper and then plant accordingly. attention, stimulates interest, and requires , ,, , thinking and expression. Remember to use your primary reading ' chart. That is what you made it forl Art likeScience teach pupils to beobservant. i X 3 if if if Recall how we worked out the incubation Corporal punishment should not be used project. Go thou and do likewise. too frequently in schools. Page Twerzly-urze