Bourne High School - Canal Currents Yearbook (Bourne, MA)

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6 CANAL CURRENTS HORACE MANN “Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity” In the wonderful world of ours there are many memorials, statues, monuments, and other various honors, indication of our appreciation and admiration, dedicated to the memory and ever-existing fame of numerous types of heroes and hero- ines. In my belief, one of the most outstanding, but least remembered, personages in our American history is Horace Mann, educator, patriot and reformer. This year, 1937, we celebrate the centennial of his election to the Massachusetts Board of Education. Born on May 4, 1796, in the small, picturesque town of Franklin, Massachusetts, Mann spent his boyhood days work- ing on his mother’s farm, his father having died when he was but thirteen. After attending the village school for a number of years, Mann, eager for further education, obtained a diploma from Williams Academy and soon entered Brown University, from which he was graduated with highest honors in 1819. From this point on, Mann devoted his entire life toward the betterment of public education. His first major step toward this goal was his election as Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education in 1837, for which position he gave up a lucrative law practice. This was followed by his most import- ant achievement, the establishment of the first Normal School at Bridgewater ,Massachusetts, in 1839. After serving a term in Congress, Mann was elected President of Antioch College, Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he faithfully followed his ideas and ideals until his death in 1859. Although famed for his accomplishments, Mann is more noted for his high ideas and ideals. Many people believe that the modern world of education is based upon the thoughts and principles of the wonderful man who lived a hundred years ago. Lincoln has been called “The Great Emancipator”. Just as truly Horace Mann may be called “The Great Pioneer of American Education”. Walter Young, ’37. MAN’S CONQUEST OF NATURE In the early beginnings of the world, man was one of the weakest mammals. When animals came his way he had to run for a place of safety. Slowly he became stronger and with the aid of weapons, he faced the beasts from which he

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EDITORIALS DECISIONS According to Webster, “Deci sion is the power or habit of promptly and definitely deciding, especially on a course of action.” The need of making a decision comes to each of us many times a day. Sometimes these decisions are small and unim- portant; others may be of vital importance. In the case of grammar school pupils, big decisions are often made for them by parents or teachers. The course of study in school is already planned for them. In the high school, while a certain part of the course of study is planned for us, the remainder is elective. Here we have to decide, probably for the first time, what will be of the greatest value to each of us. This decision is the first im- portant stepping-stone on our way toward choosing a pro- fession. In our sports, we are often called upon to make quick and accurate decisions, and upon those decisions often rests the outcome of the games. Our personal life does not escape this need of making decisions, for upon those we make depends our characters. Therefore, let us all try to cultivate early in our lives, clear, quick, accurate thinking, as well as the careful weigh- ing of both sides of questions, to aid us in making wise deci- sions for ourselves. Bernard Baker, ’38, Editor-in-Chief.

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CANAL CURRENTS 7 once had fled. From this point on man took large strides in conquering nature until he finally built a permanent home and domesticated the wild animals. At this time he was traveling by means of logs on which he would recline in order to paddle with his hands. Now man has advanced beyond these early beginnings, for he travels faster and lives more fully than early man could have imagined possible. His boats are large steel ships carrying on trade between countries. He can travel by auto- mobile or airplane, both about the fastest means of trans- portation known. His home is heated by steam and run by electrical machinery. Maybe he works in one of the modern offices where the telephone and teletype are always at his elbow, while his children attend a modern school with labora- tories, gymnasiums and sunny clao.sroom.s. Not only early people, but even learned men of the eighteenth century would be amazed because mankind has finally reached a high level in civilization. As there is no end to the possibilities of man’s future conquest of nature, he will continue to make new discoveries and inventions which will enrich and benefit life. Ward Gibbs, ’37. PUTTING UP A BRAVE FRONT Each year, once every two months, many boys and girls become afflicted with that dread disease known as “the re- port card presentation scare”. Perhaps one of the best ways to overcome this is to put up a brave front. Here are a few instructions. Upon coming home, do not sneak in at the back door like a whipped dog, but boldly en- ter at the front, whistling as you go. As soon as you meet your Mother, do not thrust your card at her as if to say, “Well, here it is, I’m ready for the consequences!” Talk of how the next door neighbors’ dog ran away, how Sally has a new dress, or even about the weather. Then at the supper table, when everyone is present and Father won’t scold for fear of making a scene, calmly men- tion that the first of the month has arrived, and, (as if it had just entered your mind) that you received your report card. Then, hand it to him and as he looks it over, calmly begin to eat your supper. At the end of the meal, quietly slide out of the room where there is no chance of being called aside, and, after having it signed by your mother, wait until an- other first of the month when that same malady will again overtake you, and you will again become the reluctant vic- tim of “the report card presentation scare”. D. Federici, ’39.