Framingham High School - Philomath Yearbook (Framingham, MA)

Page 11 text:

'THE CPHILOMATH P !4eNf e went to school merely to be educated in the basic principles. Reading, 'riting and 'rithmeticf' the three all-important 'fR's, were greatly stressed, and when they were mastered, a person's education, at least his public education, was thought to be sufhcient. But these people who were graduated from our schols were our lead- ers, and as such were expected to execute various social and political tasks. People began to realize that our citizens lacked education along certain lines. A most per- plexing problem faced our great educa- tors. How could our young people be taught to be worthy citizens without inter- fering with their scholastic education? The problem was studied and restudied by many eminent scholars. Did they solve it? Certainly they did, and in a most creditable manner. The method is found in a description of the governing bodies of the Framingham High School. The foremost student-governing organ- ization in the school is the Student Coun- cil, which is in reality a sort of miniature House of Representatives, composed of members elected from each home-room. This is our Legislative Department where problems of school government are solved and where school laws are made. These solutions and laws are subject to the approval or veto of our Principal, who is the executive head of our school. Aiding the Principal in the enforcement of the school laws is the Marshal Force, which is composed of students elected by the members of the school. The chief duty of the latter is to supervise inter- class passing. Our judicial Department is vested in the Executive Committee of Marshals, in the Executive Committee of the Student Council, and in our Principal. Thus we have right here in our own school a small but efficient government, which has as its model the government of the United States of America! What bet- ter training could there be for our future citizens? Along with the various courses which the students are pursuing, they learn how to vote, supervise elections and execute laws. They learn to put aside personal feelings and to elect candidates that are best suited for office, to study situations carefully, and make laws wise- ly, and last of all to obey each and every law that is made. It is in this manner that the civil training of students is cared for in the Framingham High School. Now we come to the social education, which includes pleasant things like the planning of parties and dances, as well as the more touching but none the less grati- fying task of caring for those who are in need of aid of a practical nature. The former business is cared for by the class or organization which is sponsoring the social function. The students carry out every phase of this work-refreshments, checking, and building-patrol. You may be puzzled at the phrase Ubuilding- patrol,'l and consequently I will endeavor to explain it. At every social affair of the year, several students volunteer for so- called ffpatrol-dutyf' Usually they bear some mark of distinction such as arm- bands or badges. These boys and girls act as marshals, directing guests to their various destinations and preserving order in the hall and in the corridors. How could these socials be other than success- ful with such eager, willing cooperation? As a sweet-toothed child leaves the frosting on his cake to eat last of all, so I have left until last what we consider the most beautiful work of all, our charitable work. This is a more recent development in our school, and indeed it is our finest and most interesting project. As an in- stance of this eagerness to help these less fortunate people, let me describe to you the splendid work done by our high school during the last Christmas holidays. Our Principal, the executive head of the

Page 10 text:

P 3eEf3f7f 7-HE CPI-IILOMATH only to create new pieces of woodwork, but also to repair broken ones. There are many lessons to be learned in building new things and in renovating the old, surely those who have been enrolled in this course for the past three years have prohted exceedingly from their ex- periences. Each course offers an opportunity for choosing varied electives, but for some pupils the General offers most of all. Some might claim that by following it, one would gain very little, and this would be true if a pupil desired to enter the busi- ness world or to go to college. In this case, he could certainly not be advised to enroll in this curriculum. If, however, a student is undecided and has no definite ideas concerning his future, he may, by entering the General Course, and taking diversified subjects, find something which really stirs his interest and furnishes him with a broad education and a more defi- nite goal. The fifth and last division, the College group, may be divided into two sections, scientific and liberal arts. However, in high school there is not such a marked distinction between them as in college. One foreign language is required and almost everyone studies two. In every course a year of some science must be taken. The aim of the College Course is to prepare everyone enrolled in it to meet the requirements of the school or college which he desires to attend after gradua- tion. In considering the possibilities in all the courses offered, it is easily understood that a student can not fail to profit by enrolling in any one. In addition to his regular duties, almost everyone engages in extra-curricular ac- tivities. Many avail themselves of the opportunity to participate in the different sports, namely, baseball, football, basket- ball, and hockey. Every year, many clubs representing varied fields of interest are formed. Each one is sponsored by some member of the faculty, a.nd all are very well attended. In every way, our High School life brings uncountable blessings to us. How- ever, it is a recognized fact that one can not obtain something for nothing, and certainly this principle holds good in high school. We always reap what we have sown, and we derive benefit from our high school in proportion to the amount of time, energy, and thought that we have put into our daily work. It has very aptly been said that 'Success is ninety-eight per cent perspiration. Sudden bursts of genius will not help us very far along the road of life. On the contrary, faithfulness in doing our daily tasks counts more than anything else. Our high school life not only teaches us the value of faithfulness, but also of cooperation, which helps us to form social contacts and leads us to develop many admirable and necessary traits of charac- ter which assist us in achieving success. Indeed, I am sure that we all feel that we can never fully repay the debt of grati- tude which We owe Framingham High School' Mary Garfield, '31. so Essay The Wider Scope of Public Educafion My subject this evening is one with which, I believe, most of you are not familiar, namely civil and social educa- tion. I am not going to mention this sub- ject in connection with training in private schools, for indeed we all know the vast number of schools offering such educa- tion. No, my subject is to be more local, more personal. It concerns the social and civil training of your own children, our future citizens, in our own public schools. Let us travel back in our minds to eighty years ago. At the time, students

Page 12 text:

Page Ten 11' school, made the suggestion that we con- tinue the Christmas work begun in 1928. The matter was then thoroughly dis- cussed in the Student Council and the plan was adopted. A committee was appointed by the president of the Council to supervise this great project. Each home room in turn elected a committee to take charge of its business. Then a family was assigned to each room. These families were designated by numbers and the students were told the number of individuals in the family for whom they were providing, as well as the age and sex of each member. For two weeks the building was buzzing with the voices of cheerful givers as they heaped boxes high with supplies. At last the final day for contributions came. Such goodies, such clothing! Boxes just crammed with cheer for those less fortunate than we are! Yes, indeed, their Christmas would be a happy one, but those eager, generous, young providers were blessed with the merriest and most beautiful Christmas ever! Nor is Christmas the only time that such work is carried on, for every Thanksgiving huge boxes of food are dis- tributed and during the year articles of clothing are provided. In this manner the problem of educa- tion along social lines is solved. What better solution could be found? Surely there is no better, for by this method we actual experiencewand are taught by experience is the best teacher. Before closing my talk, I shall ask the of the Student Council Senior members and the Marshal Force to rise. Your duties, fellow-classmates, have been many and difficult, but during your three years at Framingham High School you have done your work willingly and well. Your services have been deeply appreciated. Not only are our leaders to be con- gratulated, but also all the other students HE CPI-IILOMATH of the Framingham High School who have so kindly cooperated to make our school outstanding in all its undertakings. May our students, so carefully and excellently trained along the lines of good citizenship, ever continue to work for the honor and glory of our nation, as they have worked in the past for the honor and glory of our school. Virginia McNally, '31. J-5 Class Orafion The Necessify for a Liberal Eclucafion We, the Class of Nineteen Hundred and Thirty-One, shall soon be citizens of the world, in which intellectually or physically we shall be responsible for carrying on and contributing to civiliza- tion. The question here arises as to how we can best fit ourselves to do our share in life with the greatest efficiency. The only solution lies in the continuation of our education, by attending higher schools of learning if possible, and, if we cannot have that privilege, by teaching ourselves. It is to this paramount question of educa- tion that I should like to call your atten- tion this evening. Modern education falls distinctly into two types: first, cultural education, the study of liberal arts, in- cluding such subjects as languages, his- tory, music, philosophy, and pure mathe- matics, secondly, technical education, re- lating to the study of science and applied mathematics. The first type needs no introduction, for mankind has been acquainted with it since the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, when the scholars of that eventful period called the 'fRenaissance eagerly de- voured all the classical manuscripts of Greece and Rome, and built a foundation of classical learning which has been flourishing to this day. Classical sub- jects have been quite frequently studied and have been zealously sought for, but