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Page 16 text:
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GUEST SPEAKER ' S ADDRESS Our world has become a pretty complicated place with changes happening so rapidly that it is almost impossible to keep up with them. It is a different world than the one that 1 was brought up in at your age. We didn ' t know about television and the marvels of communication; we would have laughed at any suggestion of playing golf on the moon; we would have scoffed at the idea that a man ' s life could be prolonged by transplants of the heart and other organs; and the model T Ford provided very satisfac- tory transportation. Today you take for granted the ad- vances of Science and Technology and Medicine that have recently been developed. Up to now you have lived a pretty sheltered and pampered existence, accepting the miracles of today without question. Your parents and grandparents grew up in a different world and had different values, attitudes, and expectations. But you should realize that, in spite of two great wars and a devastating depression, they managed to pass on to you the advantages that you now enjoy — and they did it by hard work and sacrifice. I am not going to preach to you about how fortunate and privileged you are, but whenever I see a modern school with all the facilities such as you are used to, I think of the first school in which I taught over 40 years ago. It was a liny log cabin with dried mud between the logs. A hole in the window was stuffed with rags. When the little wood- burning stove smoked too much, we opened the windows until it became so cold that we had to close them again. In the mornings the ink in the ink wells was solid ice. There was no running water and there was no electric light. And the modern conveniences were in the woods. The seven or eight pupils came to school on horseback or trudged through the snow. For lunch they had a bit of bread and sticks of garlic. This was all that the children knew about the modern conveniences of life and all that they expected of life. But they were healthy and happy and had no con- cern about an unknown future. I think that you should remember that some of our great Canadians had just this kind of background and managed to build this great coun- try of which we are all so proud. Fortunately, we have moved a long way from that kind of world. Now you know that you face an unknown future that will be exciting and challenging. The possibilities are no longer in the area of science fiction but are real. In a recent speech a cabinet mmister suggested the following possible developments in the future: domes covering deserts and arctic regions to be used for agricultural purposes; orbiting greenhouses; energy from stars; the regeneration of diseased and damaged body parts; mental telepathy may put Bell Telephone out of business; direct links between computers and our brains. Only our imaginations limit the possibilities and you will be part of these developments. How exciting for you! Now how has your schooling prepared you for living in this fast changing world? Obviously, what you learn today may be out-of-date tomorrow — but this does not mean that it has no value. You have learned some basic and es- sential skills — at least I assume that you have. I recently read of a case in the States where a boy was suing his school board for $1,000,000 because he had not been taught to read. You have been exposed to much material which you have already forgotten. In case some of you feel a little discouraged about your results, let me tell you that schools aren ' t always accurate in their assessment of a pupil ' s potential. When Thomas Edison was a boy, his teachers told him that he was too stupid to learn anything; Isaac Newton did poorly in grade school; Einstein was four years old before .he could speak and seven before he could read; Beethoven ' s music teacher once said of him, As a composer he is hopeless. ; and Winston Churchill failed the sixth form in grade school. So don ' t be dis- couraged; who knows what genius lurks in that head of yours? But I think that there are some things that you have ab- sorbed that will be of value in any kind of world of the future — and I think that you have learned them at Brentwood College. You will no doubt label me as old-fashioned and square when I speak of those things that I hope that you remember and that will give you a greater chance for hap- piness and satisfaction in life. Truth and honesty still pay big dividends; there is a joy to be experienced from reward for hard work that cannot be found in hand-outs; tolerance, thoughtfulness, and respect for the other fellow bring satisfaction; there is a difference between good and evil, between right and wrong, between honesty and dis- honesty. And the difference is important. I hope that you have learned that you, a human being, are an amazing machine, possessing a body, an intellect, and a soul. You take very great care of your motorbikes, yours cars and your boats. Your own machine deserves even greater care and should not be abused or allowed to rust or run out of gas. I hope that you have learned to develop your intellectual muscles, and to judge, to criticize, to analyze, to make decisions. You should have learned, too, to care for your bodies — to take pride in their development, and to shun those abuses that destroy them. And I am sure that you have been building a code of moral values that will always support you. Regardless of the kind of world you live in tomorrow, you will find these basic principles will see you through. The challenges that you face are very exciting. There is some tendency today for people to withdraw in frustration and say that there is nothing that they can do about the dangers of pollution, the population explosion, the deple- tion of resources, the poverty in the world, the production of food, the power of government. You can and must do something about the quality of life on this planet; you must become involved in creating a better world. It is said that to move one grain of sand on the beach is to change the course of the universe. We look to you for our future leaders. You have been given a wonderful start by your parents and by Brentwood College. Now you must work towards the development of your great potential which you will never fully use. I have great faith in you young people and I am sure that you will work successfully towards the solution of the world ' s problems. We live in a wonderful world and it is worth sav- ing for future generations. But to save it will take the best use of your intellect, your skills and your energy.
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Page 15 text:
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HEADMASTER ' S ADDRESS From an academic point of view, the only change of major import is that, from now on, we have no more Government examinations. As no other authority has felt moved to fill the vacuum created by this departmental decision, we — and I don ' t mean just Brentwood — I mean all schools in British Columbia — therefore face the grave risk of having no standards to meet. We are the only country in the western world to go standardles s, and I believe the results may be disastrous. We here must give thought to this problem. We must seek co-operation from some institution or institutions of higher learning. We must sit down with them and establish some sort of in- dependent examining authority which can check what we here are doing, and how we are doing it. We are, as you know, already inspected regularly by a competent authori- ty, and I think that, if a check also is made of our graduating standards, it will be easier for you to continue to have confidence in what we are doing. Our Fine Arts Department continues to thrive. Most of you will have seen and heard the offerings of our Band and Choir. You might be intrigued to know that, in addition — and let me emphasize in addition — to our present staff, we are next year adding a full-time piano and instrumental instructor who is certain to improve on what I hope most of you will feel is already an acceptable standard of perfor- mance. Our Theatre Department put on a very successful production of The Gondoliers in February, and something in a different vein is proposed for next year. I was invited one day recently into Mr. Bunch ' s office where he, Mr. Johnson and Mr. Ford were listening to a record — I may say a not untypical activity in that area of the school! I accepted the proferred seat and began listening to what I immediately concluded was a series of bawdy songs. Answering my quizzical gaze, Mr. Bunch explained That is what the Theatre Department are putting on as a public performance next year. As my stupefaction still in- terrupted my powers of speech my objections remained un- uttered. Yes, he continued, That is DAMN YANKEES, and that is what we are going to do. So despite all of the objections stemming from puritanical in- hibition and my Chauvinistic background, arrangements for Damn Yankees have gone forward. Lola has been selected, (I am not sure if this is type casting) and the remainder of the cast almost completed. We hope to sur- prise and possibly shock you next February. Last, but by no means least in the realm of Fine Arts may I point out to you the extraordinarily fine work that is going on in the Art Department under the direction of Mr. Kempster who joined us this year. One look at his display will impress you more than a thousand of my words. In Sports our year has been relatively quiet. Our oarsmen returned from the Canadian Championships with a Silver Medal, but their performance was actually better than that of the team which won the Gold last year. In Provincial competition they won not only against all schools but also all senior teams they rowed against, in- cluding the top Heavyweight VIIFs of the University of British Columbia and Victoria. Four of these young men have been invited to represent the Province in the Canada Games next month. Our sailing team has been equally successful, sweeping — if that is what one does with a boat — all before them. Our Tennis Team won the Independent Schools Championship. For the rest, I think it fair to say that the year was vastly enjoyable. Mr. Bramall has already alluded to the tremendous success of our co-educational venture. I can only add two things. Firstly, it has been a great joy to have these young ladies with us and, secondly, the publicity which accom- panied their arrival has been absolutely incredible. It seems that every week at least one media representative will arrive with a camera and start snapping pictures. They have greatly added to the life of the school in all respects.
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