Ben Blewett High School - Brochure Yearbook (St Louis, MO)

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mama, maj as revealed IH Dlckens boys was far dlfferent from that offered the boys descrxbed by Rlley The Dnkens boy was anythlng but a self starter wh1le the Rxley boy always possessed certam lflltlatlVE whnch IS revealed ln the above lllL1StI'3tlOllS For 1llustrat1on httle Paul Dombeys educatlon was adapted to adult hfe mstead of that of chlldhood Thls novel lb mtended to depnct the prxde and selfishness of old London merchants Old Dombey when l1ttle Paul was but 8 hours and 40 mmutes old sand Dombey and Son would be the name of the firm Old Dombey thought the world was made for th1s new f1rm to trade rn and so Paul was tramed for the hrm Hls mother dxed when he was but a few days old and the father became h1s tutor When just able to talk hls f1rst lessons 1n language and ar1thmet1c by hls father were such e ons as would endeavor to gxve the youngster som 1dea of the purchasmg power of money H1s father would talk to hxm about the great value of money One day l1ttle Paul sald Papa can money do anyth1ng9 and when old Dombey replled Yes l1ttle Paul sald Why dldnt If save Mamma? This set the father to thlnkm to play 1n the sand but she would never perrnlt the l1ttle fellow to ask any questlons One day when he dared to ask her a quest1on she told hmm the tory of a l1ttle boy who was gored to death by a bull for asklng questlons How rephed l1ttle Paul could a bull know that the l1ttle boy asked questlonsu Upon thls the ugly old nur e gave Paul a slap on the head and told him to attend to hxs own buslness Old Dr Bllmber the old professor one day sald to old Dombey who w1shed the professor to deal wlth Paul as an adult Instead of a boy Shall I make a man of your son before he 19 a chxldj Mr Dombey kept pllmg cares upon l1ttle Paul untxl he became old fash1oned and dred very early 1n hfe How could a self starter b p 0 duced under such a system of educat1on9 Thmk for yourselves 1n performmg the tasks ass1gned you by your teachers Meet determlnedly the rebuffs and dnsappolntments as they come to you In your thmkmg before drawmg a concluslon seek the advlce of cxperxenced persons A Self starter IS one who dares to take the mltlatxve m carrymg out convlctmons whlch he has reached through clear thmklng whlch comes as a result of such tramlng as you are recelvmg at un1or Be a Self starter 1n llfe mstead of always wartmg for some leader to turn the crank wh1ch w1ll set you m ITTOIIOU L W Rader I I Y 5 1 Y A YY N Y W rf- 4 'wg I -:tri ' X ' . - ' 9 1 ss . ' ' e ' ' ' hs V! ' Q ' .A ' ' ' 18 Mrs. Pitchin, an ugly old nurse, would take Paul down to the sea shore . A Q , ' ... . 4 . 4. ' 4 S ' , 4 I Q . . . . . H Q 1 . L4 4 4 l L. l L4 y '5 . . . . A ,L - ,, S r -

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amrsrrzraat mnriszm words A spelling match was suggested which was approved by the boys and the instructor proposed that any two of the boys organize the group for a match Two boys stepped out and after a conference in one corner of the room proceeded to organize the group and ln a few minutes the group was divided and the two sides were combating each other the two leaders pro nouncing the words and the instructor acting as umplre Upon inquiry I found the two leaders had been pupils at Junior High Another illustration of the process by which self starters are made is that of the work seen during advisory periods Very recently I visited a certain group during the advisory period at Junior and saw the following President took charge of group Two or three pupils spoke of the an nual number of the junior Life emphasizing the importance of assisting in making it a success Three new pupils had just Joined the class one from a junior High in Los Angeles The President called upon different members to explain to these pupils the program of the school Certain pupils volunteered to escort the new pupils to lurch room and other class rooms The pupil from Los Angeles was invited to tell of the junior High from which he came questions Certain representatives of clubs spoke of the advantages of clubs and encouraged members to be more active The following clubs and actlv ities were discussed Paper Collections Savings Bank Use of Library Auditorium Sessions and Behavlor in the Lunch Room A pupil was requested to prepare a forceful speech for the next day setting forth reasons why the group should have its picture in the Annual of the Junior Life During the last twenty minutes the teacher took charge of the group and the problems of the class rooms were discussed The work of each class period was taken up and diiliculties encountered by pupils removed as far as possible In one case the assignment in Mathematics was not clear to a few pupils and was cleared up by other members and the teacher One pupil said he was falling behind in History Others endeavored to offer suggestions to him and one boy who seemed to be his pal said the trouble was in a lack of preparation He advised his friend to spend more time in study The teacher then offered some valuable suggestions as to how to do home study The entire hour was spent in discussions of matters relative to the development of a better school spirit and in assisting pupils who needed help either in bringing about better conduct or class room work Other subjects of vital importance to the work of individual pupils and the morale of the school were laid over for the next advisory perlod I have always been interested in the boys found in Dickens writin s as compared with those of James Whitcomb Riley The process of education ll! I 1 I - ' ' A I t . l O' , D 1 ' 7 y . , . . ' ' ' Lt 97 ' H . . ,, . . . . . . 3 l 1 . . . After he had told of its leading features, the other pupils asked him numerous . I .U . . . . I . . , . . pn S

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amrwreat mem I clue mon lht lommumlx s Im tstmtnl OW and then I have occaslon to talk wlth a ch1ld who has de clared the xntentron to leave school and get a Job That IS the cue for me to make a plea for h1s contlnumg hls educat1on I 15650941 try to pomt out to h1m the advantages whxch w1l1 accrue to h1m through further choollng I wonder sometlmes how smcere my argument sounds for whlle I talk to h1m about what he Wlll gam from more educatlon my m1nd and consclence perslst 1n jumpmg to another thought f fafmvk vii Of course he w1ll profit IH many ways rf he remams and apphes hlmself to h1s task but I can t help thlflklflg that after all by all odds the greatest profit goes to the Clty of St Louxs or to the commumty 1n whxch he IS to take up hls abode Every lgnorant man ln th1s town has xt IH h1m to make trouble tor us all Every thmkmg man has It 1n h1m to be an asset to the commumty Of course there are uneducated people who make the world better by thelr membershlp and there are educated crlmmals There IS the dlffer ence that character makes Perhaps some forms of monarchy would profit by having a c1t1zenry ol lgnorant nar1ow vrsmoned serfs But ln thlS country we have not only the Job of making a l1v1ng but the task of governing ourselves The latter IS much harder than the former It takes more study and thought and more character Our salvatxon in matters of government w1ll come through keep mg chlldren at study durmg the1r youth so that all our boys and glrls may be equxpped wlth ideals and knowledge and sklll ln self government Wl'llCh have been taught them by persons who understand the problem and who have the mterests of the communlty at heart So th1s school 1ntends to keep ltS pupils unt1l it can send them on 1nto further educatlon or at least unt1l the perlod of chlldhood IS past If one of these pupxls does not seem to fit the course of study we are golng to take the pos1t1on that the Creator knew what He was domg when He made the pupll that we human school people who have made the cour e of study are ln error In other words the questlon IS not so much whether the ch1ld lb sultable for the school it IS rath r whether the school IS fit to recelve the ch1ld H H Ryan l ' l ,A . 1 1 - r- w ' 9 4 ll x 7 ' YL' l A C A A K ., tx . . . - .N gr ,, -! . . ,A - -y - B ,Q ' Q? a . . . . . n t. - f, , . . . . - 1' ,17 '-fu :- e,, if V , S . . . V - . - 9 . . , . . ' 9 l - 1 9 ' ' Cr , ' . , . ' 9 7 ,- . v .u 1 Q 1 y -f i Y . 1 l. . p .4 . . , .. . -1