Westfield State University - Tekoa Yearbook (Westfield, MA)

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1909 WESTFIELD NORMAL. 21 the seniors had gone, never to return again as a class of students, and we were gone, to return again at the close of the summer. Almost before we realized it, summer was gone and we were back again at Dickinson Hall, this time as seniors. It was a pleasure to notice the difference between our class and the poor unsophisticated juniors and to give them as much information as we could upon various subjects. This year the house party took the form of a children's party and was even more successful than last year's had been. Imagine our surprise and delight to find Mr. Monroe as one of the children. Wle had learned that Mr. Monroe would not be with us much longer. Although some of us did not quite appre- ciate Mr. Monroe 's methods, there was not one of us who did not realize what he and his work meant 'to the school, and it was with sorrow that we thought of his departure. XVe fully believed our principal when he said that if another would do half as much for us as Mr. Monroe had done, he would be doing exceedingly well and as much as could be expected. Mr. Monroe liked to make us work. He told us that he tried to keep us busy all the time and he certainly succeeded in so doing. But there was an- other side to his nature also, although some of us were slow in finding it, and did not realize it until the last moment. Mr. Monroe left at the end of the first term. The farewell reception given by the faculty in his honor showed what a host of friends he had made during his stay here. NVe cannot thank Mr. Monroe too much for all he has done for us nor for making our last period with him a happy one. After his departure we awaited with eagerness the arrival of our new teacher, Mr. Hockenberry. XVe were very much pleased with him when he did come, and exceedingly glad to know that he realized we could not do our best work when frightened stiff. .

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20 IVESTFIELD NORMAL. 1909 result, brilliant recitations from our class became more frequent. NYe no longer had Mrs. Knight as a teacher, and in place of zoo- logy with Mr. NYilson, physiology was substituted. It was in this class that one of our members astonished the teacher with some 'interesting facts regarding t'French cooks. The first reception given by the seniors was a most enjoyable social affair. lVe soon returned the compliment by giving them a reception which fairly outclassed anything of-the sort which had ever been given before. The winter term seemed even shorter than the fall term and, with the advent of spring, we were obliged to set ourselves to the grindstone and work harder than ever. In this term we took up the study of physics in which we were introduced to many interesting phenomena. Is it not so? Imagine our surprise to find ourselves presented with shower bouquets in this class. Geography, about which we had heard a great deal, became even a larger thorn in our path than psychology or anything else had ever thought of being. Although already acquainted with Mr. Monroe's methods and customs, it did not help us much. Memory and reason rarely combined in this class. Our sympa- thy was always ready for the poor unfortunates called upon to take the floor, or asked to 'tstep to the map, please, and point out tl1e heat belts, wind belts, or to 'ctrace the migratory heat equator. Then, after a vain attempt to do what was re- quired, we would sink into our seats, only to hear that we could 11ot have done worse if we had been blindfolded. Even though it seemed impossible we survived this first year of work. Commencement time arrived and with it a longing for a. much-needed rest. It was a sad time, too, for now we must say good-bye to the seniors, who would not return again in the fall, as we hoped to. But sad things and glad things are contin- ually coming our way and soon that first year was all over,

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2,2 WESTFIELD NORMAL. 1909 The course of our senior year flowed peacefully on, for now we were 'fdignifiedl' and did not engage in such silly pranks as we did when juniors. XVe spent most of our time now in taking care of those Hyoung juniors. This year we were again formed into classes under Mrs. Knight. Ywle learned from her that in our apperceptive step, our presentation, and our generalization, we must be cheerful. positive and animated, have good distribu- tion of questions and, horror of horrors, while doing all this, we must keep the attention of the class. It seemed impossible at first, but we soon found that it could be done in trying to teach a class of our 'tcolleagues' at least, but whether or not it worked out with the Training School children, we will leave it to indi- viduals to say. Speaking of good distribution of questions reminds me of our geography class in which we all feared that our turn was coin- ing next. Strange to say, we heard the same remarks at almost every class,- Miss Charest, we will let you recite this morning , Going down this table. Miss Roche, you may take the tloor g XVhat can you add, Miss McGee t? Mr. Goodwill can vouch for the fact that we were a very progressive class. During our first year we composed numerous class songs and formed a Glee Club. It was our intention to send this club to various schools to give exhibitions of our talent but, owing wholly to lack of funds, this idea was never carried out. Ilowever, the Glee Club continued its meetings this year, purely for the aesthetic value. Mr. llockenberry is assured that we have remarkable memories, for did not one member of our class inform him, accurately, at what age she began to walk '? This year as well as last year we have had several good times, both at the school and at the hall. On these occasions we became acquainted with our teachers in a social way and it is gratifying to see how amusing they can be out of school, even