Alberta Normal School - Aurora Yearbook (Edmonton, Alberta Canada)

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EDMONTON 7 NORMAL SCHOOL

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1941 - 4 . DEPARTMENT EDUCATION AERERTA PROVIMOIAE GOVERNMENT

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AURORA, 1941-42 21 PRACTICE T€flCHinG On October 23, 1941, there left for points widely separated a group of highly excited and expectant young students. Why? Because as “mission¬ aries of education” some of them were going to the country of the mighty Peace, some to Athabasca, others East, still others South. ’Tis true that on that fateful Thursday, just before the “All aboard” for bus or train, many looked back longingly to the pleasant days and friendships that a month of Normal had provided. But after the iron wheels had begun to roll, and the tires of buses had begun kicking gravel at cars behind them, who looked back? After debussing or detraining came the ride to school on top of a lumber wagon. Every limb of the budding pedagogue had to be dedicated to the task of holding vital pieces of baggage on board. What matter if his coat was torn on the bedspring which was his fellow passenger? Who will ever forget how, on that first morning, he bravely led his group in the singing of “O Canada”, his voice ringing out strong and true, clear and unfaltering—until it cracked on the top note? Who will forget that morning on which he awoke with a premonition of things to come, and got to school to find the inspector waiting on the doorstep? Days came and days went, swiftly—some misted over with the problem of what to do with Jimmy, others rose colored with the knowledge that on this day at least he had taught somebody something. There were rabbit hunting days too, and days when some walked twenty miles in search of deer, while others stayed at home and let “dear” come to them. Is it not for this reason that our numbers were decreased by one? Ask two of the boys about the time they rode miles to see a third teacher, and, on enquiring of a small boy how much further they had to go, received the answer “Poppa and Momma”. They’ll tell you. Ask two of the other boys how they like canned pork and beans. They’ll tell you. Ask one of the girls about the three well-groomed horses that stood at the hitching post every Friday. She won’t tell you a thing. Well, they forded rivers and filled out reports, put on concerts and shot rabbits, ate bread and venison one week and venison and bread the next, learned new languages and met new people. Then they came back, some dis¬ illusioned, some more enthusiastic than before, but all with the feeling that “I wouldn’t have missed it for the world”. If you want to know what conditions are like on the frontiers of education, ask the trainees. “They Have Been There”. A. RONAGHAN, Class A.