Abington High School - Oracle Yearbook (Abington, PA)

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JUNK ISSUE these hours should be devoted to exercise. The student whose school spirit is so strong that he feels that his school must have a creditable paper must sacrifice either his studies, his exercise, or his sleep in order to find the time in which to produce that paper. This condition need not exist. A very large part of the work can be done in the class-room, during school hours, without crowding out anything of importance. Whenever and wherever this plan has been put into operation, and yet the actual management of the paper allowed to remain in the hands of the students, it has met with unqualified success. When the true value and importance of high school journalism becomes evident, prejudice against this scheme will vanish. No one, if the truth were admitted, will work without reward. The members of the staff of a school paper, who, after having worked hours indoors writing, correcting, proof-reading, and pasting dummies, while cl.ssmates outside were engaged in some sport, naturally feel discouraged when they see those same classmates publicly rewarded for athletic services to the school, while their own efforts received scarcely a word of recognition. Present conditions produce three types of graduates: those who have sacrificed journalism for athletics, those who have sacrificed athletics for journalism, and, sad to say, those who have taken an interest in neither. Since journalism is the best method of gaining a practical education in high school, and since athletics is the best means of securing sound and lasting health, none of these types is desirable, though they cannot be avoided under present conditions. If the purpose of a high school is to produce healthy, intelligent citizens, with an elementary training in business and in life, let us place the school paper, one of the best methods of training such citizens, in the position which it deserves to occupy. Page Twenty-nine

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THE ORACLE dlmmtaltam in Sitgl) rlinnl An Address Delivered by Walter R. Sassaman at Commencement Exercises THE importance of journalism in our modern social system is beyond es- timate. The influence wielded by our two penny sheets over the daily lives of their millions of readers is so great that when this control is misused the results are alarming. A foreign correspondent often has more power than the representative of our government in that country. The editor of a big city paper is as influential as a dozen city fathers. He who determines the policy of the press of a country controls that country’s destiny. Unfortunately, the daily paper constitutes the only reading matter of most families of the poorly educated classes in the United States. Our domestic tranquility and prosperity depends to a great extent on the character of our journals, for they are the only means of educating and elevating these people to the point where they are no longer a danger to our American institutions. To those whose financial or geographical position makes an education of a specialized nature impossible, trade journals may render invaluable service. As an opportunity to serve mankind, journalism has few equals. Journalists of the right calibre can only be supplied by the high schools and colleges of the country. Work on the school paper offers an excellent elementary training in journalism. Besides this it offers the only practical schooling in business, and in a larger sense in life that can be gained in most schools. Only by the actual handling of money is any real idea of its value gained. The students on the staff of a high school paper must rely on their own initiative to supply the money needed. They must see that it is expended wisely and that an accurate account is kept of all finances. Salesmanship and all that it implies in tact, courtesy, alertness, willingness to work and serve, and persistency must be learned by the energetic high school journalist. The combination of clear-headedness, decision, foresight, diplomacy and earnestness constituting executive ability is as essential to the successful high school editor as it is to the head of any business. The opportunity as a training ground and experimental station offered by the school periodical to literary and art students is becoming more and more apparent every year. As the newer methods of teaching gain ground, the school paper daily becomes more important. The fascination of journalism is such that given two things, the high school paper is certain to thrive. These are opportunity and appreciation—that is, the time, equipment, and aid necessary to produce a worthwhile publication, and the publicity and reward for faithful services needed to attract and retain those in whom the call of the pen has not been aroused. Add to the length of the school-day, the time required for outside study, and the time for other necessary work, and it will be seen that the few hours between the close of school and dinner is the only time at the disposal of the high school journalist. No one will dispute the statement that for the growing boy and girl Page Twenty-eight

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THE ORACLE Athlftira att tltp An Address Delivered by Oliver Wolcott Brock at Commencement Exercises TtT HE tenth commandment says, “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s house; thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s wife; nor his man-servant, mm nor his maid-servant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor anything that is thy neighbor’s.” But this does not say anything against desiring a house or a servant or an ox just as good as your neighbor’s, if his is better than yours. This desire is one of the most useful human instincts. Many of the greatest philosophers say that the world exists for progress. Progress, to be beneficial, must be progress of the whole world. The thing that spreads the use of a progressive invention or method is nothing more than the desire, which I mentioned before, to have all the advantages that your neighbor has. If your neighbor has brilliant electric lights in his house, and you have dim gas ones, it is perfectly natural for you to desire electric lights in your own house, even though you were satisfied with gas before. This desire is so strong that you are not happy without electric lights, and so, in time, you have them installed. And that is the way the world progresses. Now, when a young human being submits to the immense bother of acquiring enough education for a high school diploma, there must be a reason for it. The reason is not hard to see. It’s the same instinct that caused the installation of the electric lights. No one wishes to enter his son or daughter in the marathon of life with equipment inferior to that of the other entrants. The right equipment will bring success. In seeking a definition of success, if you will examine the work of any successful man, you will find that his success lies in his control over other men— control over their thoughts or action. The “equipment ” of which I spoke before, then consists of vigorous physical and mental health, a small amount of knowledge, which may be obtained from high school studies, and the power of controlling other people. The key to this power is self-confidence. When an important move is to be made by a group of men, the plan of the most self-confident man is the one adopted. If things follow a natural course, this man is later elevated over the others and becomes their executive. Self-confidence is gained by constant proof of superiority over others. When you have won a dozen arguments from a man, you thereafter value your own opinion much more highly than his. Therefore, it is highly desirable to give each student in high school an opportunity to exhibit superiority over others. It is unfortunate that the struggle for marks does not afford this opportunity. A pupil of average ability may study four hours a day and at the end of a month receive good marks, and yet feel no self-confident thrill, because there has been very little original work done. Nobody has been overcome. It has merely been a mental endurance test. Speed and accuracy tests in the classroom are fine builders of self-confidence, for those who are successful; but here there are always a gifted few who can easily win, causing the average pupil to lose confidence in himself. Page Thirty