Fowlerville High School - Commander Yearbook (Fowlerville, MI)

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The Value of usic GOLDIE BAKER The value of music is manitold-cultural, educational, ethical, social and vocational. Strictly speaking cultural and Hedueation- al'i should be synonymous, but there is a differ- ence inthe commonly accepted meanings of the words and they are here used in that sense. On the culture side music must rank with literature, painting and sculpture as one of the greatest factors in the development of the higher nature and the appreciation of finer things. All true culture is unconscious and is incidental to the educational pursuit of the subject. So the study of music in school is based on its educa- tional value, not because of any lack of sympathy with the :esthetic cultural phase, but because that is included in the other. To educate is not to till the mind with facts but to develop powers. In this development there is no other one subject that can do as much as music. Be it understood that the ordinary endowment is meant. The genius cannot be suppressed under any circumstances, and the public school does not attempt to make artists. Music trains physically, mentally and morally. This has been said so many times and by so many people that much of its force has been dissipated. Vocal music, in that it requires deep breathing, develops the body and in- creases vitality. It gives greater power of physical endurance and a stronger mental grasp. The pupil who is taught to listen to tones will gain more from his instruct- or's lecture on any subject than the one whose ear has not been trained. The one who reads music will read his English with greater accuracy and under- standing. Music, properly taught, is pre-eminently a sense trainer. Intellectually, the proper study of music demands absolute attention and the concentration of every faculty, a habit of inestiluable value to the student in taking up any new subject. Morally, its iutiuence is like that of good literature. With this added force, through song, young people may be led to express and therefore feel more deeply sentiment to which ditlidence makes them unwilling to give expression in words. Moreover, the composer acts as an interpreter and the song makes clear the meaning of the poem. Socially, music is of more value than any other subject studied in school, unless it be English. No social or public function is complete without music. The christening, the wedding, the funeral, the public meeting and informal social gatherings all require the services of the musician. Because of this general social use it has great value as a vocational study. Owing to the nature of the subject it is true that no amount of hard work in later life can make up for the loss of the study in earlier years. Time and gradual growth are important factors in the study of music. If primary music is looked upon as the foundation for advanced music study just as primary reading is the basis of high school and collegeliterature, many mists and vapors will disappear. We should study music for the pure and noble thoughts it brings to us and develops within us.

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of the educational mill largely depends upon the condition of the raw material. The school can no more build agood man from a diseased boy tit matters not whether the disease is mental or morall than the sculptor can make a perfect statue from faulty marble. We can then come to no other conclusion than this: In order to obtain the best results the home and school must work in unison. It has been estimated that a high school training is worth several hundreds of dollars a year to the child in his after life. If this be so ought not the child be taught that he must give as close application to his school as the business or professional man does to his business or profession. Should he not under- stand that regularity and punctuality are the cardinal virtues? Should it not be impressed upon his mind that he cannot dissipate two or three nights in the week and expect to get from his school all that there is in it? The duty of the home is to see that the child attends and that he is in the proper physical con- dition to receive instruction. Very few children can master the high school course without constant and steady application of their work. If all external conditions are met there can be no excuse for the high school that does not measure up to the full standard of excellence. cience in the High School IDALENE WEBB ,.. During the last few years the position of science in the high school has steadily improved. As once taught by text-books, recitation and ex- t periments tif anyl by the teacher, the subjects X became a mere exercise for the memory and were soon forgotten. Now, with the aid of good lab- oratories where the student is taught to observe accurately and to draw correct conclusions from A l what he sees, the disciplinary value alone is 1 worth all the time spent upon them. lt is not the purpose of the high school to make every student a scientist, but rather to make the person live. The pupil is brought into closer touch with the things about him, his hor- izon is broadened and his hold on life intensified. Now and then a pupil develops a love of science for science's sake. He should be encouraged to continue his studies at college or university. Occasionally a parent says: I don't want my child to waste his time on chemistry, botany or Zoology. He is never going to be a a teacher nor go to any higher institution of learning. Give him something practical. The girl may make just as good bread ifshe does not understand the chem- istry of bread-inaking, and the boy make a very successful farmer and not know why the second crop of clover produces the seed, but it certainly will make work less of a drudgery to know why certain things in every-day life are as they are. The study of the natural sciences, especially, teaches one to ob- serve more closely and to discover for ourselves new beauty in bee and butter- fly, tree and flowerq in fact, teaches us to live so as to enjoy the world about us. XI, -. K

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True music comes from the true heart, and great music is the thought of great men who are pure and noble and who are anxious to write nothing but the best. Great good will come to us if we study daily the music of such men as these. This constant presence and influence will mold our thought to great- er strength and beauty. atin-English LILLIAN ITSELL The essential work in English is: to master the fundamental ideas underlying the language, to express thoughts intelligently and accurately, and to come in contact with the spirit of litera- ture, that one may take real pleasure in its truths and beauties. It IS extremely ditiicult for one knowing no other language to master his own. Another language is needed for comparison, and should be enough like his own in thought, content, and structure, as well as in vocabulary, to make the comparison striking and effective. The require- ments are met admirably by Latin. In the Latin I x A vocabulary we have the ideas that are at the fl 2,5 basis of more than half of our English words, thus making it an excellent instrument for Eng- lish instruction. The grammatical sense is developed, and declension and con- jugation begin to mean much. The relation between English and Latin gram- mar is seen, and by comparison many constructions in our unintlected speech uma n 3, :, may be explained. Along with the increasing grammatical sense comes the appreciation of the riches of our English vocabulary through the study of Latin words. The trans- lation of selections, if well done, is proof of great linguistic ability. Every les- son lil Latin may, or ought to be a lesson in English, an exercise in English composition, for one must determine how to express with equal brevity, clear- ness, and force in our own language the thought which the original author has expressed in his. This helps us to appreciate our own language, and the ulti- mate end will be to make the learner an artist in words and n conscious master of his own tongue.