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To Alfred Hodgkins, M.A., B. Com, Principal of Balfour Technical School 1939 - 19 47 This Edition of the BALFOUR BEACON is respectfully and affectionately dedicated. Mr. Hodgkins, who announces his retirement from the Principalship of Balfour in this issue of the Beacon, joined the staff of the Commercial department of Central Collegiate in the fall of 1921. Previous to this date he had served as Vice-Principal of V ictor ia Public School. After teaching in Central for two years, classes were opened in the OKI Hospital building, more favorably known as Central Collegiate Annex. In 1924, Scott Collegiate was opened and became the temporary home of the Commercial department under the head¬ ship of Mr. W. C. Angus. In 1925 Mr. Angus resigned and Mr. Hodgkins was made head of this department. So decided was the growth of commercial work that a wing and a cottage school were added to Scott Collegiate. Further growth made it necessary to hold some classes in Benson School. By 1928 it was found necessary to move two classes to Central Collegiate. In January of 1930 a new Collegiate, the Balfour Technical School, was ready to relieve the overcrowding at Scott and Central. The Commercial High School came into being with Mr. Hodgkins as Principal. This continued until 1939 when the Commercial High School and Balfour Technical School were combined with Mr. Hodgkins at the helm. During Mr. Hodgkins’ administration Balfour has grown tremendouslj. Plant and staff have been increased, and great strides have been made in educational techniques. The Hodgkins era has been one of growth and experimentation. Pedagogical practices have been examined, innovations have been made where practi¬ cal, and many unique features have been introduced. The double shift system, the practice rooms, the extension of laboratory facilities, are just a few examples of the changes Balfour has seen during this period. As the Principal is, so the school goes, is almost a truism. Mr. Hodgkins has been moie than a good Principal. It is a matter of common knowledge that Balfour (s known far and wide for its school tone, efficiency of administration, internal dis¬ cipline and educational standards. It would be hard to find a Principal who has stood so solidly behind his staff, who has sought its advice more readily, who has implemented more faithfully its con¬ sidered decisions. It would be equally difficult to find a Principal who has had more lespect for the individuality of his students, who has done as much to see that his charges are happily situated in school and graduate life. That is not the whole story. There is the example of a man who has risen from the ranks through his own initiative and conquest of difficulties; a man who, by diligence, sacrifice and force of character, attained post-graduate college honours with a minimum of intra-mural work. There is the example of the preacher, interested in the spiritual, as well as the material welfare of his students; of the ardent churchman, always zealous in the betterment of his community. There are some things about Mr. Hodgkins which are rather difficult to reconcile in the eyes of the casual observer. With his genius for organization, he could have sought the financial prizes of the business world. He turned his back on a business career to become a teacher. With his gift of eloquence, he might have occupied some of the larger pulpits of our cities. For many years he has preached in city and country churches, actuated only by the desire to be of spiritual help to congregations in need. He has travelled miles on Sundays to meet small groups of worshippers with never a thought ol the physical and financial effort involved. Why did this man become a teacher? The answer is to be found in the hundreds of letters from former students that reach his desk. He has an overwhelming conviction of the importance of young people in the scheme of things. He will go to great lengths to instil in the minds of young people the need for earnestness of purpose, high character, and utmost diligence in the affairs of life. Mr. Hodgkins is a crusader. Deeply religious, he believes that spiritual quicken¬ ing is the foundation of high purpose. He is keenly alive to the injustices and shortcomings of the social and economic order. He will espouse the cause of the downtrodden and the underprivileged no matter what the cost to himself. As a teacher he is an incorrigible optimist, believing in the future of his pupils. As a student of world affairs he has grave misgivings on present trends. As a man he is unalterably convinced that the quest for Truth is the road to economic and social wellbeing, and that religious experience is the motive force in bringing this about. A teacher must be a humanitarian. It may be that a passion for the betterment of humanity was the urge that led Mr. Hodgkins to the classroom. It was this passion that led him on occasion to reprove social injustice from the public platform; that caused him to heed the cry of a dying child in China and to inspire students with the desire to help. Much could be said about Mr. Hodgkins as a teacher. Those who were lucky enough to have him drop in for a lesson will tell you about the dynamic quality of his teaching, the magnetism of his personality. For many years he conducted a class on the campus of the University of Saskatchewan. It is a tribute to his teaching that some of his former students are now members of the Balfour staff. Balfour will now have a Hodgkins tradition, rich and lasting. It will be a tradition for organization, efficiency, and hard work. But it will be rich in the acknowledgment of the dignity of the individual, the power of personality, the worth of character. It will be lasting in school spirit, far removed from external demonstrations of fictitious solidarity, but abundantly evidenced in the harmonious working of the component parts of the school and the enthusiasm with which students and teachers co-operate in the common cause of individual betterment. Mr. Hodgkins has become a part of Balfour, and Balfour will always be a part of him. Page 2 Balfour Beacon ’J7
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