Farmington High School - Laurel Yearbook (Farmington, ME)

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22 THE LAUREL of his class, has only about one chance in eight of surviving the freshman year. He notes, in the third place, the attitude that the student has towards his work. Is he satisfied to 'just get by'? Is he in school just to make grades? Or on the other hand, is he working up to his limit, and is he de- termined to gain real mastery of his work? Has he developed a life long interest in some worthwhile problem? If the student has learned to place supreme emphasis where superlative values lie, there is high promise for genuine suc- cess in college. All colleges have a hearty welcome for students who come thus en- dowedf' End quote. From William S. Carlson, the Director of Admissions and Records from the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, we learn that, quote, The first evidence as to how well a student will succeed in college is found in his success in previous school work. Gen- erally speaking, those who do well in high school will do well in college. Those who get through high school with low standing cannot expect to succeed in college. Some students spend their high school years in play and do better work in college because they have become more mature and serious, but the number of students who show this change in attitude is small. Usually it is too late for this when students come to college. We are constantly searching for addi- tional means of making the prediction of college success or failure more certain and dependable. One valuable source of infor- mation is the estimate of the high school principal or faculty advisor regarding those qualities which largely determine the out- come of the student's efforts. The student,s high school principal or teacher will be glad to discuss these things with him. Another source is the information given by the stu- dent himself in his application for admis- sion. All this information is used judicially in the light of long experience to supplement and correct the college aptitude rating and to help or guide the student to do that which will be to his interest. End quote. Lctls take the University of Wisconsin for example. Some of the questions that they now ask about a student are these: How does his appearance and manner affect others? H Does he need constant prodding or does he go ahead with his work without being told? Does he get others to do what he wishes? How does he control his emotions? What progress has he made in learning how to think? Has he developed habits of study? The Uni- versity of South Dakota asks for such traits as the ability to study effectively, ability to read intelligently, curiosity about some in- tellectual ideas, love of books, willingness to work, good character, high school grades that are average or above. These are typical questions of universities and colleges all over the country. But, perhaps you are not going on in an extended phase of education. Nevertheless you will find that the qualities required in the colleges are very similar to those required in business corporations. Seventy-live cor- porations were asked to list, from their own experience, the most common causes for the discharge of office and clerical workers. Fol- lowing, in brief, are the results of this study. About ten percent of the people who lost their positions lost them because they lacked specific skill in shorthand, typing, English, bookkeeping, the use of office machines and the like. The thing that may be surprising to you, however, is that the approximate re- maining ninety percent were discharged be- cause they were considered deficient in cer- tain character traits. Among those which led in importance were non-cooperation, careless- ness, laziness, lack of ambition, dishonesty, lack of courtesy. I. Edgar Hoover of the Federal Bureau of Investigation states, quote, There is noth- ing secret about the manner in which the Federal Bureau of Investigation operates. Its formula is a simple one- intensive training, highly efficient and carefully investigated

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THE LAUREL 21 When Bill wrote to Ted of this new job it seemed fine-wonderful, but he smiled wanly when he received his younger brother's thoughtless reply. It was fine he had the job, sure-But the letter was mostly of the cute little colleen he had met at one port and of the exotic French femme in another. I'm versatile, he wrote. Give me ad- venture and plenty of it Cwith dashes of romance here and therej and I shall be tres content. Didn't he too long for excitement and action? Didn't he too, want to really serve his United States? ' His chance to do this came sooner than he thought. It was during those grey, dis- mal hours of early morning. Things were pretty quiet when Bill was suddenly all at- tention. Z-38 off Brazil was sending a message to X-21 stationed on a submarine somewhere in the Atlantic. Bill became more and more excited as he adjusted the recorder to take the message. When it was decoded Bill knew that Z-38 had given to X-21 the location of an American airplane carrier which they were planning to torpedo. Thrilled and excited, Bill called his chief. His official duty done Bill's next impulse was to get home and shout aloud his news or write a letter to Ted. Hadn't he saved an airplane carrier from being sent to Davy Iones' Locker? Hadn't he done- On second thought though, would it be wise to make known to the public this little lfit of glory that was his? Bill, always prac- tical, always careful, decided not. But inside he was happy- for always now, Bill could have a sense of equality, a sure confidence in himself. What was that quotation they had learned in high school? Milton said it- he was blind-Oh, yes- They also serve who only stand and wait. Irene Goodspeed '42, ADDRESS T0 UNDERCLASSMEN T is to you, Underclassmen, that I dedi- cate this address. I will not attempt to advise, but I will attempt to point out to you some facts that I, as a senior, think are im- portant. We seniors are today confronted with the question of the future as you too will be in your time. To our minds come these ques- tions: Does your high school record really count? ,I Can your school be of any help when the time comes for you to look for a job or to go on to college or university? Will your superintendent, principal or teacher ever be called upon to recommend you? Have you ever asked yourselves these questions? Perhaps you have been saying, Iill get down to business after I get out of high school. I'll have my diploma and, after all, that's the important thing! Have you ever stopped to realize that this is not the important thing in whatever Held you may seek? The attitudes and qualities which you are developing in your high school days are important factors in your future success, and it is certain that sometime in the future-next month, next year or per- haps several years from now -your superin- tendent, principal .sr teacher is going to be asked to recommend you. Their recom- mendations will be based on such qualities as courtesy, dependability, cooperation, and industry, as well as your scholastic standing. If, for instance, you have decided to further your education by study in the col- lege or university, have you ever thought seriously what qualities will be required? Curtis Merriman of the University of Wis- consin says, quote, state laws and college regulations require that the student present a certain number of units of work that must be arranged to fit certain patterns of work. These are important, of course, but really the admissions officer wants some evidence along at least three other lines. He wants the freshman to come with a rather well balanced broad training. Many students have specialized too narrowly. He wants, in the second place, the record to show high quality because he knows that, in general, the student who has graduated from the high school in the lowest quarter

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THE LAUREL 23 personnel, rigid requirements in education, conduct, intelligence, ability to concentrate, alertness, zeal, and loyalty, plus careful schooling in which we do our utmost to make every man to a degree self-sufficient. End quote. In conclusion if I were to set down a list of those old-fashioned virtues that still hold good, it would read something like this: honesty - industry - resourcefulness - courage - good manners - adaptability - dependability and hard, hard work. Ieanette Gould '42, YT' BEHIND THE. LINES T has been said that it takes fifteen people behind the lines to keep one soldier in the lines. These fifteen people do a great many varied jobs. They make the ships, tanks, and planes, they build the machines and produce the raw materials to make them, they transport them over wide lands and broad oceans. One of the most humble yet most necessary war occupations is that of the farmer. He must feed the soldiers in the front lines and feed the workers behind the lines. Mine is the story of such a farmer. Iudge Brown picked up the reins with a Get along there, Bill 5 whereupon the disgusted horse ambled down the road at a slow trot, but Bill wasn't the only disgusted one that day, for the Iudge, whose real name was Samuel Ieremiah Brown, was com- pletely disgusted-completely and thor- oughly disgusted. When the Iudge, usually of good temper and naturally jolly, got roiled up he really went on a rampage. Now, as he slapped the stubborn horse with the lines to get him out of the slow walk he had quickly fallen into after the first burst of speed, the Iudge kept muttering, Ninety dollars a week! Ninety dollars a week! Well, what do I care! Samuel Brown, more often called The Iudge by his neighbors, not because of any relationship to the court bench, but because of his knowledge of everything in general, was the owner and sole operator of a two hundred acre farm, that is, he was-but at the present time he was also the foreman, hired hand, and chore boy. His son, Samuel Brown, Ir., had joined the air corps the year before just after finishing high school. The Iudge took that as it had to be. He wanted young Sam to be a success and aeronautics did seem to be one of the most promising fields. Of course, the Iudge had hoped that by now his son and heir would be running a corn-planter insteadx of an airplane. But he was proud of his son's part in the war effort. The war effort. That was what got the Iudge. He didn't seem to be helping in the least himselfg and he wasn't fifty yet, cer- tainly not old enough to be put away on the shelf. The boy had left in the spring, the hired man had left in the fall. Iake, that was the hired man, had considered it his duty to go to work in the ship yards, and now he was getting ninety dollars a week- more than the Iudge could pay him a month. Sometimes the Iudge had begun to wonder if it was all patriotism. As he pulled into the maple lined drive- way that led to his farm buildings, the Iudge scanned the road behind him and remarked to Bill, There hadn't ought to be so many cars on the road if the farmers can't get enough gasoline for their tractorsf' Bill flicked an ear. The tractors are necessary on some farms. Even this last remark didn't bother the staid Bill anyg he knew his master was too proud of good horse flesh to worry about tractors and the Iudge's next remark was his usual explanation, Well, the gasoline that will run the neighbor's tractors would run an army tank. What tha- This last was caused by Bill's abrupt halt at the corner of the house. The Iudge soon saw the reason for the in- terruption in the progress to the stable door, for parked in the middle of the driveway in front of him was as new a car as there is the Iudge thought, wondering whom they had for company now. A quick glance around showed him an official look- ing stranger walking down his cow lane.