Brockton High School - Brocktonia Yearbook (Brockton, MA)

Page 30 text:

f 7, Personahtx I mn t be 'nz to tell you ZQM l I . A. , Civv nu' flu' sinzplf' lye . ,

Page 29 text:

may be worthless unless 1t IS used wrsely ln any case it IS definitely only an auxlllary to the other requirements of an educated person Another mrsconceptlon of today IS that a person IS w1se or shall we say educated? slmply because he has passed through college and acquired degrees But he IS not wise lf he uses his trained mind for evil A college bred villain IS far worse than one who IS totally unschooled For example a few of the blackest scoundrels 1n modern society are university men Surely one does not conslder Ioseph Goebbels Heinrich l-limmler or Hideke ToJo as truly edu cated' Yet they are college graduates Goebbels even flaunts a Doctor of Phrlosophy degree Besides the college we attend may stress only the vocational side of life One may well graduate from such an institution knowing only one subiect thor cughly but blind to the broader aspects of life and ent1rely ignorant of one s duty to one s fellowmen In the words of Dr Wlllldm Perry Faunce late DIGSI aent of Brown University Vocatlonal training necessary and valuable as it IS does not attempt to liberate but to concentrate not to broaden a man s horizon but to focus his mind on his Job Therefore merely holding degrees or diplomas does not signify enlrghtenment 1n the general sense Such honors may denote only proficiency in the special field of endeavor for which they are awarded A third delusion rs that possession of wealth or high worldly position means that the person involved is educated and deserves respect To explode this false idea we need only to consider the multitude of petty thieves who have garnered their money through graft No the degree of respect a person deserves or the quality of his education 1S not determlned solely by his financial status or social rank or professional rating Thus We find that knowledge learning or the mere possession of diplomas degrees or riches does not make one educated Therefore further analysis of culture Webster says that it IS the tra1n1ng or refining of the moral and in tellectual nature In the word moral we have the very heart of the matter To teach man s brain alone and to ignore h1s soul IS to pour water into a sieve ln this day and era with the world suffering from the savagery of war and irternatronal distrust and suspicion everywhere ethical development through education has become lncreasingly rrnportant In fact Dr Richard Cabot in his splendid book Honesty goes so far as to say that what the schools of today need is not more academic sublects and vocational courses but on each faculty a teacher of ethics an lnstructor in the 1deals of conduct He believes with the Bible that the strength of a natlon 1S ln the number of its wise men its good men Whose alert mlnds and gentle manners are 1nd1cat1ons of their f1ne souls So then we arrive at our conception of what the term educated should mean to us Along with the acquisition of culture 1t involves the strengthening of our morals and our sense of responsibility to all who walk the earth True educa tion respects the rlghts of every decent mdzvidual regardless of his convictions Voltarre advises us to think for ourselves and to let others enioy the privilege of doing so too In conclusion may I offer as a working definition of educat1on the splendid summary quoted so often by the late Dean Hawkes of Columbia University The qualities desirable in any educated person are a good mind a sound body tolerance of the ideas and opinions and manners of others appreciation of the beautiful a character above reproach As we of the graduating class pass this flrst important goal in our educational life let us keep in m1nd the loftiest 1deals of true culture and by our personal conduct in l1v1ng according to the Golden Rule prove that we have profited from all the rlchness of learning and from all the ideals that have thus far been 1nculcated by our parents and our teachers 25 , : ' ' , n r I I ll I ' our subject leads us to the top of the ladder-to real culture. In his definition of I I v , I I

Page 31 text:

rf ll! f6f SI I flfl ll Pl Ill p.w I Ill 11114 fu I I iff! 4,-.ox