Oakwood Collegiate Institute - Oracle Yearbook (Toronto Ontario, Canada)

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Pal dtctarg To question all things; — never to turn away from any difficulty; to accept no doctrine either from ourselves or from other people without a rigid scrutiny by negative criticism; letting no fal- lacy, or incoherence or confusion of thought step by unperceived; above all insist upon having the meaning of a word clearly understood before assenting to it; these are the lessons we learn from ancient dialecticians. John Stuart Mill. No, it is not true that those able men and women who taught us during our embryonic years at Oakwood were quite that ancient, nor do I recall, were they ever referred to as dialecticians by their colleagues or by ourselves. Nevertheless, the lessons which they unfolded were as meaning- ful and implicit as those lessons cited by John Stuart Mill. Before I proceed, however, I must follow my own advice, which is a rather bitter pill to swallow. I will insist upon having the meaning of a word clearly understood before using it. Dialectics, therefore, is the art of practice of exam- ining statements logically, as by question and an- swer to establish validity. Question has been important both in word and in deed at Oakwood. Never have our ques- tions been laughed at or avoided by those who taught us. As we look back, perhaps our first in- tellectual question occurred when we were in Grade IX, in mathematics class, as we couldn ' t quite reason why x times y was either xy or yx. We passed through Grade X to Grade XI, where the puzzling worlds of Physics and Geometry were opened to us. In Grade XII, we were introduced to the fascination of Chemistry. Who can forget the immortal question: What weight of potassium hydroxide must be neutralized to form 50.5 grams of potassium nitrate? As we grew older, our questions grew in stature with our years. They became questions of opinion rather than questions of fact, and required solid intellectual answers before we were satisfied. At present, many of us are students in a com- munity where questioning comprises the focal point of our studies. This community, founded on question, is the university. Not all of us attend a university, but we are all able to exercise our right to question which we learned so well in the class- rooms of this building. Society itself, the complex- ity of our modern world, presents questions to us that must be resolved. In asking and answering questions that pertain to our society, we create for .ourselves a philosophy of life, a set of principles and ideals that will guide us through the mazes that will be encountered in our lifetime. Oakwood provided us with forums for these questions, forums where we could ask, answer, and exchange opinions as best we could with fel- low students. We championed our honour in ques- tioning momentous decisions as holding a dance on February 12 rather than February 19, and charg- ing 50c or 75c for admission. However, ludi- crous as it seems now, these issues were important, as we were part of these decisions at the time. They affected us. Our questions did not imply ignorance, rather, they indicated both intelligence and an awareness of a world greater than our youthful sphere. In- deed, one must not underestimate the intelligent perceptivity of youth. Our generation is thinking, and more important, we are involving ourselves in the affairs of our times. This is the age of protest — of questions. I feel that because of the rich education which we have received here, we cannot condone com- placency among tonight ' s graduates. Perhaps com- placency is the greatest sin of all. In our questions, we may question a concept that is valid, an insti- tution that is honourable. But we will also ques- tion a widely held concept that is invalid, and institution that may be the basis of the destruction of mankind. If I have not said farewell to O.C.I, tonight in the accepted idioms, it is for a definite reason. I feel that the purpose of education is not to teach us to memorize facts, not simply to enable us to obtain a Senior Matriculation Diploma, such as the one we have received tonight, not to prepare us to gain a university degree in the future. Edu- cation must provide us with the ammunition to meet the challenge of a callous world. We must not forget the principal reason for our attendance through five grades of Secondary School We must not forget the lessons of Oakwoud ' s not-so-ancient dialecticians. We must not fall short of the hopes of our teachers, who have attempted to reveal to us the true meaning of a most noble word — Why? Mark Sidney 13

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C ' ( Andrew Armstrong Grace Bulfoni Susan Campbell Maria Castellarin Michael Finkelman Abraham Friesner Arthur Kamin Juliana Kucher Garfield McCaul Joanne Minken Peter Munk Robert Needel Ronald Nikaido Graeme Page George Sandor Chaim Shustik Leonard Sternberg Mark Tucker Forbes West Florence Wise SCHOLARSHIP WINNERS AWARDS TO HONOUR GRADUATES Lynda Ackroyd — The York University First-Class Honours Scholarship. Andrew Armstrong — The York University First-Class Honours Scholarship. Mariagrazia Bulfoni — The Ontario Scholarship. Susan Campbell — The McMaster University Gover- nor ' s Scholarship. Maria Castellarin — The Ontario Scholarship. The University of Waterloo Tuition Scholarship. Michael Finkelman — The Ontario Scholarship. Abraham Friesner — The Ontario Scholarship. Arthur Kamin — The Ontario Scholarship. Juliana Kucher — The Ontario Scholarship. Garfield McCaul — The Ontario Scholarship. Joanne Minken — The Ontario Scholarship. The Innis College Admission Scholarship. Peter Munk — The Ontario Scholarship. The Innis College Admission Scholarship. Robert Needel — The Ontario Scholarship. Ronald Nikaido — The Ontario Scholarship. The Innis College Admission Scholarship. Graeme Page — The Ontario Scholarship. The Mrs. F. N. G. Starr Memorial Scholarship. The William Jackson Little Scholarship. George Sandor — The Ontario Scholarship. The St. Michael ' s College Alumni Scholarship. Chaim Shustik — The Ontario Scholarship. The John Wolfe McColl Memorial Award. The New College Admission Scholarship. Leonard Sternberg — The Ontario Scholarship. Mark Tucker — The Ontario Scholarship. The New College Admission Scholarship. Forbes West — The Ontario Scholarship. The Elliot Grasett Strathy Scholarship. Florence Wise — The Ontario Scholarship. Maria Castellarin — The Optima Cup for Scholarship, Character, Good Sportsmanship and Leadership, pre- sented by the School. Robert Abrey — The A. W. Dunkley Cup for Scholar- ship, Character, Good Sportsmanship and Leadership, presented by Major A. W. Dunkley. Chaim Shustik — The Charles W. Robb Memorial Prize, presented by Mr. Malcolm Robb, Q.C. Jacob Zarek — The W. V. Tovell Prize for General Proficiency in Grade XIII. Joanne Minken — The Donald Hamilton Robb Memorial Prize, presented by Mrs. C. W. Robb. Gordon Sturgess — The Marvin Benny Memorial Prize, presented by Mr. and Mrs. B. Benny. Robert Abrey — The Ontario Secondary School Teach- ers ' Federation (District 7) Scholarship. Douglas Bing — The Patrick Manning Memorial Scholarship, presented by The Toronto Board of Education Assistant Caretakers ' Association. Ronald Nikaido (by reversion) — The Jessie B. Reade Latin Prize, presented by Mr. G. A. Dunlevie. Joseph White — The Dr. Hardy Hill Prize. Joseph White — The Sir John A. Macdonald Award, presented by the Minister of Education. Robert Needel — The J. S. Wright Award for Physics. CAPUT MERIT PIN A WARDS Klara Hecht George Iwaniuk 12

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