Columbus North High School - Log Yearbook (Columbus, IN)

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HISTORY OF THE NATIONAL HONOR SOCIETY The first high school honor society, having as its primary aim the en¬ couragement of high scholarship, was Phi Beta Sigma, organized in 1903 by five girls of high scholastic standing in South Side Academy in Chicago. Soon honor organizations were formed in various parts of the country, as the high schools had long been desirous of emulating the activities and ac¬ complishments of Phi Beta Kappa, the honorary fraternity, in colleges. The movement spread rapidly. In some sections of the country a num¬ ber of schools agreed upon the same standards for their organizations. After the successful operation of such societies was noted by educators, the Na¬ tional Association of Secondary School Principals, at a meeting in 1919, con¬ sidered the organization of a national honor society. The committee appointed faced the problem of providing an organiza¬ tion broad enough to meet all of the varying needs of the numerous societies already formed. Scholarship only seemed too narrow; therefore, character, scholarship, leadership and service were decided as the fundamental princi¬ ples most worthy of encouragement. Consequently, the National Honor So¬ ciety was founded in 1921 at the Atlantic City meeting of the National Association of Secondary School Principals. This society has made a rapid growth, having today more than twenty- two hundred chapters with a total membership of two hundred fifty thous¬ and in various states of the United States, Porto Rico, Hawaii and Philippine Islands. Now chapters of some states have organized state associations and hold conventions for discussions and interchange of ideas. Due to the expansion of this organization, two enterprises were launched last year. First, a Revolving Scholarship Loan Fund was established for the purpose of aiding members in securing higher education. Forty scholarships of two hundred dollars each are available only to members in the upper three years of college, preferably the third and fourth. They are made upon the basis of financial assistance required and the level of scholarship maintained. Second, the first publications of “Student Life” appeared in October, 1937. This periodical deals chiefly with student activities and projects in the Ameri¬ can high schools. The Columbus Chapter of the National Honor Society was granted its charter in June, 1928. It has at present two hundred eighty-one graduate and active members. Miss Edna Folger, Sponsor Page eleven

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THE PURPOSES OF HIGH SCHOOL “In the lives of most people the years between fourteen and eighteen are of utmost significance for it is during these years that most youths acquire habits and attitudes, make decisions, have experiences, acquire friendships, which for better or worse, will determine their happiness and success during the remainder of their lives. Secondary schools are maintained to the end that young people may, during these important years, live their lives richly and wholesomely, learn about themselves, their fellows and the world they live in, become seekers after truth, and helpers in the common cause. While some of the students of the Columbus High School have not taken full advantage of their opportunities yet many graduates of this school have won distinction and a host of others are bravely and success¬ fully carrying on the work of the world. It should be the first duty of everyone connected with this school to protect the chance of every student to attain scholarship, self mastery, worthy ideals, and a proper regard for the rights and welfare of others.” Mr. Donald Dushane. Our schools prepare youth to take up adult living; but life is com¬ plex. Our greatest thoughts and our smallest actions are conditioned by our inheritance from the past and by our contemporary environment. Plato, Magellan, Washington, Jefferson, Mendel, Edison, Ford—shape our daily lives. Athens, Rome, Nazareth, London, Paris, New York—all dominate Columbus, Indiana. This complexity of influence, however, is focussed simply enough upon a single purpose—the enlightenment and well being of mankind. It would seem that scholarship, the learning of these civiliz¬ ing forces, would be the sole fundamental of our schools. And it would, if youth were to be trained for observance rather than for participation. But the actual living of life demands in addition to scholarship, or learning, the other great qualities which have characterized the contributive efforts of men and of cities toward civilization. These qualities the National Honor Society For Secondary Schools has recognized and emphasized. Columbus High School is proud to work under the keystone marked banner of the organization and to give primacy to scholarship, character, leader¬ ship, and service. Mr. Harley E. Talley. Page thirteen