Appleby College - Argus Yearbook (Oakville, Ontario Canada)

Page 96 text:

MUSIC T Arts. This does not mean that the School or the students in 1969 were pre-neolithic savages who wrote with crushed berries on papyrus and lived a primitive existence. There were, as there alsvays has been, opportunities. However, the school was small, 240 total enrollment as opposed to 380 present, and interest in the Arts was also small. There has not been an improvement in all areas either. For instance, in the 50 ' s Mr. Bott took a very good choir on an extremely successful tour of the U.K. (losing only one game). Since then it seems, despite the recent use of incentives, interest in the choir has almost died com- pletely. This lack of interest in the choir is indicative of another area which seems to have become worse. That is, the general attitude towards the Arts. Our school is, not suprisingly, a microcosm of society at large. There exists in society a closed-mindedness, a resistance to the Arts. It may be conscious criticism such as the pseudo tough makes - Painting is for faggots, man. or it may be the unconscious turning off that seems to occur in most English classes each time the teacher brings out the poetry book. In both, it is a fear of the unknown.

Page 95 text:

Drama was limited, in ' 69 and before, to small one-act plays. When Mr. Davies introduced the Operetta and the three-act play a short time after that, it was en- thusiastically received by the boys in it and the audience who watched it. But it was not on the same scale as the Dramatic Society productions are now. This year, as well as a full length play, and an Operetta, the Junior School put on a fine piece written and directed by Mr. Boyd - something unheard of ten years ago. In the year 1912 the school ' s Dramatic Club presented its first performance called, All in Vain. The Club later became the Appleby Dramatic Society whose first stage appearance being an attempt on the Victorian farce, lei on Parle Francais , which, according to Raymond Massey, who starred in both the aforementioned plays, Nearly put an end to theatre at Appleby. There was a lady who came from Toronto one afternoon per week to teach art. There was no art lab - it was done in the classrooms. Art was not available to the whole school. There is now an adequate art lab and a full time art teacher who runs a very good art program available to students throughout the school. In 1969 there was one piano teacher who came in one afternoon a week to teach a handful of boys. Now, there are over 100 boys taking lessons in one instrument or another, as well as two full time music teachers on the staff. The Argus has changed im- measurably over these years and a Thursday Activity program has been incorporated which has at- tempted to foster interest in the Arts as well as other areas. There is a natural tendency to overexaggerate the fact that the school has grown greatly both physically and, it would seem from the comparisons mentioned in the H.M.S. Pinafore , 1968

Page 97 text:

It is an unwillingness to expand one ' s limits of knowledge for fear that the new knowledge gained will shake up one ' s rigid view of the world and oneself. It seems to have become sHghtly worse. Possibly, with the advent of more cultural activities it has simply become more conscious and thus more vocal. This resistance to new ideas and forms, or chnging to old ones springs from a lack of exposure. Most people are not well exposed to the Arts before university. (Some are not even exposed to it at all). The first contact and conflict with the Arts comes in high school. It is there (here) that one first learns how to react to creativity in others. It is extremely important then that an atmosphere of tolerance and en- couragement is engendered and maintained. It would be shameful to turn someone away from creating poetry or painting by harsh criticism when they are at this confused stage. Exposure is essential for ac- ceptance of the Arts. Exposure to, and an opportunity to take part in various forms has improved over the last ten years. The school has always been geared towards having the majority attain a competent academic standard. It does not however provide exceptional training for the exceptional students. There is an anti- intellectual attitude, so that active encouragement of the very best students is frowned upon as elitism or intellectual conceit. Sometimes FINE ARTS this charge is justified, sometimes this apparent cleverness is pseudo- intellectual cynicism, sometimes it is genuine and it ' s a pity that those very talented few have to squander their talents. While overt encouragement is discouraged, a number of im- provements have been made which enable those who wish to get on, to do so. Firstly, there is the system of unsupervised study. It places the onus more on the student, enabhng him to indulge his interests a bit more. Not a lot more, though, for the school has the general attitude of relatively formal academic discipline which is directly at odds with a relaxed, creative, artistic environment. There is just too much going on to find enough time to devote oneself, with a pressure-free mind, the Arts. The same applies to the Thursday activities. More and more it seems, the activities themselves are rather low on the priority list on Thursdays. Work undone, television, sports or just socializing seem to hold higher places. One of the goals of Thur- sdays was to expose more people to cultural events. This has not worked out. It seems to be defeated before it has even started by the obstinancy of the students. They do not want to be exposed. It ' s the same fear, sometimes expressed as boredom. And there is no point in forcing the Arts down anyone ' s throat. It is antithetical to the Arts themselves. The person viewing must put in almost as much time as the creator. As they say, You can lead a horticulture but you can ' t make her think. The opportunities are open; it is only the attitude which closes them off. Perhaps if certain cultural events were brought into the school it might achieve better response than planned trips out. One of the best ideas in recent times has been the workshops in the art lab. In these, a whole day can be devoted to the studying of a specific skill under excellent crafts-persons, without the worry of going to classes or wearing classroom dress. It is this sort of relaxed, informal