Angola High School - Key Yearbook (Angola, IN)

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6 cdutata EDUCATION, A NECESSITY FOR DEMOCRACY We, the senior class of the year nineteen hundred forty-seven, are about to step out into a new world. We have spent the previous twelve years of our lives in school, gain- ing an education. It is said that an education is needed by our future citizens to prepare them for the way of life in a democracy. One may ask, Just what do you mean by the word, education? The dictionary gives the definition: EducaLion is the knowledge and abilities gain- ed through the training of the moral and intellectual faculties. This definition has a broader meaning, however, and it may be expanded to meet the needs of our present day society. This does not mean that schooling alone will impart knowledge; it means that one must have constant practice in applying what he has been taught. The war that has been fought and won in the last few years is finished as far as the actual hostilities are concerned. But this is only the first part of the great task that faces us today and there are many lessons yet to be learned. We must now try to secure an everlasting peace for the whole world. This may sound like a note of optimism, but peace can be obtained on one condition. That is, if the people of the world are educated sufficiently to understand their own needs. An educated man must have an open mind; he must be willing to listen to reason; and he must act with confidence in himself. This doesn ' t mean he is gullible and accepts the first argument that sounds as if it could possibly work, but he collects all the facts, weighs them with the utmost care; then, and only then, he comes forth with an intel- ligent decision that will benefit all concerned. In a democracy there is no room for prejudice. Prejudice is an emotion, not the result of right education. It causes blindness to the facts, and the results of such blind- ness may bring hardships to untold numbers of innocent people. Racial prejudice and political prejudice are two of the greatest enemies of democracy. They can not be over- looked, for they are not matters that will right themselves if they are left alone. We must make studies and then effect compromises which, if carefully planned and carried out, will bring satisfactory results to all. The right to vote is a weapon of democracy, although it is often abused by ignor- ance. People can be persuaded to change their vote if the promise or reward is big enough to justify the means. If people will do their own thinking, they are using their education to the best advantage. But if they listen to only one side of the story and guide their acts by emotions, they are throwing away education and its advantages. Some of us are planning to go on to college after graduating, in order to gain technical knowledge for our future jobs. This additional training that we will receive will better equip us to take our place in society and be useful to our associates. Education does not stop when the schooling stops; it continues through life. If a person will keep his mind clear and be alert to his surroundings, he will learn some- thing new every day. Education is part of the process of growing up and one ' s mind can be constantly improved if the individual himself really has the will to learn. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Albert Einstein are all examples of well educated men. They were all specialists in different fields, but each, in his own way, gave something to the world. We can ' t all be as great as these men, but by educating ourselves to the best of our ability, we can be worthy of our great democracy. —BILL LEMLEY ' Pave TiLcnty-nine

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{MueJUctoA OUR FUTURE Youth has always looked forward to the future. Children of four and five are always eager to enter elementary school. Tomorrow holds for them a brilliant future. Their thoughts, though they cover a comparatively short period of time, are very important. It is then that they first form a basis of personality and may I say — their future? Elementary school is a training period. Through classes in the grades a student learns to study, to be attentive and most miportant of all — to plan. What the student learns here adds to his personality. His attitude toward school, gained in the grades, will mainly determine his scholastic ability and record in high school. Our high school training will undoubtedly play a great part in our future. The greatest single factor which determines one ' s personality is perhaps his association with others. He learns from this association in high school. By the time a student graduates he has positively formed the basis of his future. From high school we have learned many things. The ability to work with others comes from the athletic program. The ability to work alone and rely upon one ' s self comes from the various courses studied. These two abilities are very important. Students have learned them in varied degree according to their aptitudes. This, in turn, is a determining factor in our future. There are many factors which should be considered. The training received at home is vitally important. This is influenced almost entirely by the parents. I do not believe that this can be overstressed. The religious aspect is another very ' important, and too often overlooked, part of our education. These three parts of our preparation form a triangle, personality, formal education, and home training combined with religious training. Like a triangle, the whole is dependent upon the completion of all its parts. Today we are skeptical; yesterday we were eager. What does tomorrow hold for us? For many it holds success, happiness, prominence, and all of the good things of life. As we approach our graduation we realize how large and formidable the world really is. It is, today, in a very unstable condition. It has not yet recovered from the ravages of war, starvation, and inflation. Even after many years these memories will live on. All of these thoughts lead us to wonder just what the future holds for us. Perhaps life will be a bed of roses; more than likely, however, the roses will also bear thorns. We must take these troubles in our stride. When our parents were graduated from high school, the world was in a worse state than it is today. They were undoubtedly full of perplexity and wonder. From them we gain encouragement. We feel that the conditiorr-of the world has never been so bad that it could not have become worse, nor has it ever been so good that it could not have improved. Nevertheless, the world has always held a future for youth. Shall we live in pomposity or in necessity? That is entirely up to the student. May we remember Henley ' s famous lines: I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul. I am convinced that our future shall be what we make it. —DALE McCLELLAN fage Twenty-eight

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Top row: Angela Foutz, Shirlee Allen, Jean Killer, Rose Marie Ashley, Don Sell. Second row: Lorna W alte, Betty Miller, Bonnie Kessler, Joan Kundard. Third row: Lorna Waite, Carolyn Bender, Barhara Bratton (in cabi. Harriet Rose. Burton AA hitiock. Fourth row: LaVerne Easterday, Pats ' Cremean, Dick Romero, Doris Kyle. Fiftli row (three pictures below): Joan Kundard, Clifton Nilson. Bob Williamson (standing). Si.xth row: Bob Walter, Clifton Nilson and Dick Romero, Dale McClellan, Margaret Owens and Barbara Bratton, Donna Steyens. Ptf. f Thirty