Alton High School - Tatler Yearbook (Alton, IL)

Page 12 text:

IO “TH E TATLER.” man, which is only a fragment of a true man. A man can make a much better living out of truth, justice, energy and perseverance than he can out of geometry, chemistry or Latin. These reflections are introductory to the proposition that the elements of good morals arc more essential in the struggle of life than the elements of language, mathematics, science or philosophy. It is better to know justice than rhetoric, to know virtue than science, to know truth than philosophy. There is no doubt as to the importance of all of these studies, nor can it be denied that they in themselves do encourage the virtues. Other things being equal, a man or woman of learning is much more likely to be successful than an unlearned one, but mere learning does not constitute a sufficient equipment for life. Let me call attention, therefore, to some of the important and necessary elements of education which I think can and should be mastered by High School students. i. Manliness.—There is no acquirement of an intellectual character that can take its place. T use the word here in its dictionary sense—the possession of courage, dignity, bravery and true heroism. A man with his head full of mathematics might, in these days of competitive examinations get a Government or banking-house position, but without true manliness an honorable success is impossible. Our boys need more courage, not bravado n r braggadocio, but a spirit of valor, intrepidity and dauntless will. They need an energy that defies opposition and surmounts difficulties. The basis of this development is physical manhood. I contend, therefore, that the High School should encourage such sports as arc calculated to develop physical courage. Let the boys learn on the playground to give and take in a manly spirit. Let them court the hardships of preparation for a contest without whining about it. I venture to say that the boys of A. H. S. who go into their sports to win honorably and who take the leadership in their contests, have a better chance to win in the battle of life than the poor little cowards who thrust their hands into their pockets and shiver on the side line. This element of manhood should not be neglected. Give me an Enos who knows how to win anywhere,—give me a set of boys who have developed the skill that wins in foot ball, basket hall or on the field, or one who can thrash a bully when it is necessary, and I will vouch for their success. A manly boy is very apt to become a manly man—one who will push himself to the front in spite of disadvantages. i

Page 11 text:

9 A T II O U (i II T H A M B L K . HE secret of all success is getting a good ready. There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at its flood leads on to fortune, but of what use is the tide if the craft is unseaworthy? History presents many illustrations of the fact that circumstances do sometimes make men. but circumstances make no men out of unprepared or unfit material. A sad spectacle is that of a young man or woman who stands with folded arms and dejected mien at the foot of some great mountain of opportunity, to whose summit he’is being invited, while he can only reply, I would like to make the ascent, but I am unprepared. The melancholy of the scene deepens when the response must be. 1 have not enough self-reliance. But the picture is sadder still, as gloomy as it is common.—when the youth is forced to the admission, I am morally unworthy.’’ Are you prepared for life’s opportunities? Have you developed self-reliance enough to tackle them? Are you worthy of the confidence of your fellow-men? It is the purpose of this paper to emphasize some of the lessons which the High School should seek to impress indelibly upon each and every one of its students—lessons not contained in text books, but of more importance in the development of the highest type of citizenship than the formal lessons of any text. A foreign educational commission recently passed upon the American schools this criticism: Instead of educating the child for real life, the American school is tending to educate him away from the broad idea of life. This criticism should cause us to pause and seriously consider. It is unfortunately true that the American idea of Ihe practical has resulted in an attempt in the schools to produce mind rather than men. The schools have given no much of their strength to mental development, having seemingly forgotten the fact that to possess a will active .nd active on the side of right, justice and truth is better than to he a great classical scholar or an expert scientist r an exact mathematician. Just as the old political economy dealt with an imaginary economic man. who did not veil slightly resemble the man in real life, so our schools too often deal with a mere learning and remembering

Page 13 text:

“THE TATLE R.’ ’ 11 2. Honesty.—The world needs open, frank, straight-forward, upright, just men—men that are sincere to the core, incapable of fraud, trickery, treachery and insincerity in trade or politics—men of high principles, who will ‘ not betray a trust. Integrity of character lies at the foundation of all true nobility of life. These may seem small things in the school, and hardly worth noticing, but remember that “the boy is father to the man”—the boy that acts the lie in a recitation will act one on the judge’s bench or in the senator's chair. The dishonest scholar makes the dishonest merchant, clerk, lawyer or statesman. In this age when such sentiments as, Do your neighbor or you will be done by him” are uttered in a tone that is not all jest, we are nearing the danger line in this regard. 3. Self-reliance.—This element naturally grows out of the preceding two. The boy who learns to rely upon his own exertions has learned a more important lesson than if he had found a grammar machine that would convert all his uncouth sentences into elegant English. Nothing can take the place of self-reliance in life’s earnest struggles. Without it we have parasites instead of men, idlers who rely upon luck instead of pluck to win them fortunes. If society could only rid itself of its parasites, it would rid itself of pest-houses, jails and the expense of police force. 4. Self-control.—It matters little how great is a man’s power of endurance, how perfect his honesty, or how complete his self-reliance, if he fails to keep his powers under control he is a weak and helpless being. The Greeks held self-control to be the highest of human virtues. It was trained into them from childhood. They gained it in their numberless games and sports as well as at the feet of their great teachers. There is no virtue more sadly wanting in our American life than this. “We are a race of immoderate, intemperate, inordinate men and women.” We need to learn that our highest enjoyment and greatest usefulness depend not upon quantity, but quality. The self-disciplined man is the ruler of his world. He that has mastered his own powers has taken the longest step toward the mastering of others. It is a high honor to stand at the head of one’s class, but it is not the highest honor if attained at the expense of one’s body. I have seen wrecks that I pity and yet admire. They have graduated at the heads of their classes, but at the end of healthful, vigorous lives. I am not attempting to discount scholarship. but 1 would discourage one-sided development. Cicero said that an intemperate youth hands over to old age a worn out and useless body. Nothing is more true.