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Page 9 text:
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Our Fine Arts programme, something which we have been trying to improve above anything else, is fast reaching a stage where it certainly needs no assistance. ' The Gondoliers ' was well received, the choir impressed, and the art was unrecognizable over previous years. We finally have teachers of exceptional calibre without exception, and the future of this area of school life seems very bright. So far, this report largely resembles a headmaster ' s speech, but I now start commenting on faults, so here it differs. We had one major shortcoming in the school this year, and even then it is perhaps an unsolvable one. Apathy riddles all public schools and most private schools, including Brentwood. Considering, however, that we had a graduating class who were willing to in- itiate things, it was unfortunate that it became so apparent at this time. This is not to say that all the graduates were people who found satisfaction in starting things, or had the talent to do so. But many had the will, and this outshines any other quality when there is a force behind it. People are easily disillusioned by lack of support, and we became so. This school can and needs to be changed in many ways, even teachers are willing to admit mis- takes, and the Headmaster is always open to change, whatever any of you may think. We here hit the age- old problem of com- munication, which has recurred through history and been lec- tured upon countless times. It is even a favourite word of the young at present. Instead, you, and in this I include many members of Grade 12, preferred to sit back and complain among yourselves, and complainers only annoy and certainly do not con- vince or change people. The most sensible changes this school can make are those advised by the students, for you live and hopefully thrive under the system, and you certainly know what you dislike about it. The Grade 12 ' s speak because they have to speak. It is from them that changes are made, because they supposedly carry your likes and dislikes. Evidence of your dissatisfaction is that nothing was ever further from the truth. The Headmaster operates as unreachable, although he has repeatedly said that he is not. He will be receptive to your comments, he will appreciate your views, as long as they are sensible. He would not be a good headmaster if he didn ' t, and a poor headmaster wouldn ' t have lasted for thirteen years at a school of Brentwood ' s calibre. I leave the problem in your hands. If you consider it as such, you will do something. If you think it is unsolvable, which it may well be, this school will never be what it set out to be. Since this replaces an editorial, I suppose I should say something of this magazine. Unfortunately, this suffered as much as anything else from apathy. I do not blame you for that, for much of it is my fault. You were informed but not made in- terested and I eventually thought, in all my conceit, that I could write and produce the whole thing myself. That conceit quickly changed to fact — I did do the whole magazine myself, but I do not say that in pride, for I was too quick to refuse the help of others. There are mistakes in this book, and I take full blame for those. There are a few poeple I could thank, but they know who they are, and I think that that is probably enough. I offer my gratitude to you, and wish there were more like you. I would only mention the Headmaster, who allowed me to try it in the first place and certainly had numerous reasons to relieve me of it, but who let me finish it. This is one facet of school life that does need changing. But it is not something that one should rush into without considerable thought, something which I did and now regret. I am satisfied that I produced this magazine, but I realize that the manner that I did it in was detached. We all learn by our mistakes. And now to the future. As the 1973 school year opens, we have perhaps what is finally a staff without a weak link, although that again is a retrospective observation, a drive to update the school and add many new buildings, and many new goals to reach for. We have long-range plans and more immediate ones. People often say that this school is striving for the best it can achieve. That is true, for we should always be looking for as high a goal as we can practically attain, and even higher. The essence of progress is characterized by Tennyson ' s timeless lines — To strive, to seek, and not to yield. That is what the future of Brentwood College is all about. 1
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Page 8 text:
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IN RETROSPECT Perhaps it is unfair that the editor of this magazine should have the privilege, if it is such, to use his ' creation ' as a means of offering some form of personal comment on the past year. In this respect, however, I am prepared to accept whatever criticism my observations shall attract, for there will undoubtedly be much. I do not pretend to offer a collective view for I can only speak sincerely for myself, but I do not consider that what I have to say would be different from some other graduates, and thus there should be some universality in my comments. These observations are made by somebody ' looking back ' on his days at Brentwood, and this obviously will affect what I say, for anyone can and usually will speak favourably of something, especially a school, that he or she is no longer a part of. I realize that those who are still there think differently perhaps, but they would do well to un- derstand another point of view. It was a year full of beginnings, new ideas, success and failure, but I suppose that that in itself does not make it par- ticularly different from any other. To begin with, girls finally in- filtrated what is supposedly one of the last male bastions, the private school, although admittedly in limited numbers. They came after much discussion, consultation, observation, and perhaps trepidation. They were not necessarily totally accepted by the male population, both student and otherwise, for there will always be the dissenters and the people who will disagree with whatever this school does, however wise a decision that may be. That is not to say that I agreed with the move, for that will become evident in a moment. Initially, they were a novelty, one which eventually wore off, only to be replaced by what they did have to offer, which was considerable. They were not all scholars or athletes or actresses, which is the scale by which people often tried to judge them, but they all had some talent and were willing to try other things in which they had less ability. This was partly out of a matter of necessity, for one cannot form a grass-hockey team without 1 1 girls and that was half of what we had, but it made the so-called ' experiment ' successful. Many people use that word ' successful ' to describe their inclusion in the school, but it is really inappropriate. To begin with, there was never really any scale of failure that we were comparing them against, nor did we set any exact goals to judge their record or their performances by. The important thing is that they participated, and that is one of the prime concerns of Brentwood. It would not be practical for me to go through a long list of their achievements or failings — everyone would have a different one, and it proves nothing. Sure, there were difficulties in adjusting rules, an area where many boys felt they had been discriminated against, but it was the first year and we learn by experience. There was friction, though it rarely lasted and even then taught us all something, for we must all live together and get along to make this school operate with maximum success. Finally, though this is relatively unimportant, they brought countless photgraphers and copy writers behind them, and this school has never had so much publicity. Academically, we had our share of successes and disap- pointments. We continue to enter competitions and write scholarships, and we win our share, although I feel much of our success is due to reputation. We seem to win the same com- petitions every year and are unable to break into new ones. There are competitions and scholarships there which suit us, but we must reach out for them. But this is a personal ob.servation. The Grade 12 ' s, destined to write the last government exams, had very average results, but I think we were misunderstood. No graduating class has been under such close observation nor has begun with so much to prove. We were primarily the ones who had to make the introduction of girls a success, and whether we accomplished that or not is a matter of opinion. We organized new activities (Santa Claus breakfast, Slave Days), ran estab- lished ones (tuck shop, school magazine), and formed a grad committee, all of which was previously in the hands of a reluctant staff or was only an idea. As a prefect, I realize where we made our mistakes. In some cases, we were a little too concerned with our own positions, we made our share of mistakes (ones which we have admitted so that future prefects do not make them), and in all the supposed ' heat of responsiblity ' , many also had heavy athletic and artistic loads. Among these variety of events, we forgot the most important thing — academics. Our priorites were wrong, and I think that this is one thing that must be stressed in the future. I do not offer the past explanation as an excuse, but as a clarification. We were largely at fault, for the school cannot go on blaming the government exams for ever, something they won ' t have to do anymore anyway. The point I am ultimately reaching for is that the brains and the talent were there, but these must be heavily complemented by study, and in most cases the latter just wasn ' t there. Athletically, we had overall a somewhat average year, but some particular areas shone brightly. Our rowers again excelled, our rugby players and sailors preformed well, and the tennis team was again the strongest in the Independent School ' s chain. For the rest, the age-old rationalization that we were good sports fits well, although I do not mean that in a sarcastic note. For we are good sportsmen and we do participate, and that in my mind is more important than winning. We must be patient — other sports will have their glory years and others will have lean ones, even the ones which are successful at present. Accepting that is not admitting defeat, but fact.
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