Granite City High School - Warrior Yearbook (Granite City, IL)

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KIH TATION ANI RECONSTRUCTION. (Condensed). Tonight we meet together for the last time as a class. This evening we have reached the crest of the foot-hills. We have encountered many obstacles in our upward climb and now at the top of these hills we again see confronting us diffi- culties far greater than before. The problems of today are difficult ones indeed. Right now we have the problems of reconstruction which are divided into two classes, foreign and domestic. France. Belgium and Armenia and all the war-stricken territories devastated by the Huns must be rebuilt. Rebuilding not only means the rebuilding of the beautiful palaces and buildings which were erected thru generations of unremitting toil but also the establishment of self-government and all that it stands for. We must show them the real meaning of self-government in order to develop their resources and raise their ideals and standards of living. This great task will depend largely upon the t ' nited States. boremost, among our domestic problems, we must consider the returning soldier. He has sacrificed everything just to save his country. Give him back his job. If he had no job when he left find him one now. He was ready to do anything, to give his time, his life, his all. Can we do less than find him employment? Another large problem at present, is the distribution of food, but underlying all these problems are the educational conditions. The actual necessity for a betterment of educational facilities in the Cnited States was not felt until the recent war A large per cent of the men were found to be illiterate when the great drafts took place and with the reconstruction work under way the value of education is becoming greater every day. We have reached the point where skilled labor and education are practically essential. Thus, vocational guidance demands its place in the educational system. It enables men and women to take as their life’s work that occupation for which they are best fitted. Lack of efficiency is another great problem in our educational institutions, highest efficiency but in order to obtain such trained men they must receive a in study and preparation. These institutions demand men of the salary in comparison to the years spent The basis of reconstruction, therefore, lies in the schools, for the demand of today is for college-trained men and wom- en. Thus the higher the efficiency of the schools the higher will be the standard of skilled labor and statesmanship. o secure efficiency in this matter of food-distribution, we must have managers of ability, intelligence and thoro pre- paration. Another question is that of reforestration. Ships, aeroplanes, and other war materials have made heavy demands upon our rapidly diminishing supply of timber and here again there is a call for experienced men of ability to take over the work in hand. Edward Moschell: “The world knows nothing of its greatest men.” Page Twenty

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all his work outside of school hours. Now the big question is. “What can be done to relieve the situation? One way to relieve it would be to build a Junior High School, or to transform this building into a Junior High School and build a new High School. This, of cou rse, takes money but it is absolutely necessary. A Junior High School would aid the situation in several ways. First, it would accommodate all the students of the seventh and eighth grades and the first year of High School, relieving pressure on the grade buildings as well. Secondly, it would probably solve the problem of Freshmen failures. Now if we had a Junior High School the students would be- come acquainted with the system of study in that school so that by the time they reached High School they would be thoroughly familiar with its workings and so less apt to fail Junior High Schools have proven successful wherever they have been established. In St. Louis they have their Junior High and it is very successful and 1 believe if such a school were built here it could never be built too large, for a town of this size. Many people object to sending their children to High School on the ground that we are too crowded to ac- complish good work, so you see that the problems of education are becoming greater every day. There is one more factor which in my opinion is very great and that is the Kindergarten. In St. Louis it has proven greatly successful, for it gives the small child a year of preliminary training before starting out on actual school work. In this city a child starts school at six years of age. Why not lower the age limit and give him a year of preliminary training? In Kindergarten the child learns the first principle of order. In many of our schools the child receives only a half day of schooling. Now isn ' t this wasted time? With the Kindergarten we would gain in the long run. for after starting school the child could settle right down to school work without wasting time on these preliminaries. Now. people of Granite City, we have tried to put before you some of Granite City ' s educational problems as they ap- pear to the students in the schools. Do you feel that they need attention? Do you realize that these are your problems wheth- er you have children in your home or not? Your problems because Granite City is your city and a part of the great coun- try which depends on the education of the masses for its security and prosperity? 1 leave for you to consider. ERNEST VEIHL, Valedictorian. Russell Moore: “He doesn ' t let study interfere with his good time.’’ Page Nineteen

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Another vital point is the reclamation of desert lands which will supply not only food for thousands but also labor for the unemployed. We have wonderful opportunities for such projects but this work requires educated men of char- acter and clean politics. During this reconstruction period there will be unlimited opportunity for graft and we must edu- cate our voting population up to the point where they will be able to overcome this menace to society which leads directly on to Bolshevism. We the men and women of today, the citizens of tomorrow, must arise to the situation and defend ourselves with the armor of knowledge. We must have knowledge, for knowledge Is power; we must have honor, faith, truth and brotherly love, for they are the arms invincible, and with these, the spirit to go forth, whatever the cost, we must win for the world the battle of truth against error, of government against anarchy and of right against wrong. WILLIAM HOLST, Salutatorian. (Him EXTEM EXT KXEIH’ISES. CLASS OF MAY, HMD. GRANITE HIGH SCHOOL, GRANITE CITY, ILLINOIS High School Auditorium. May 29th — 8:15 P. M. Processional Prayer Salutatory — With Second Honors, “Education and Reconstruction” Vocal Solo Valedictory- — With First Honors. Education and the Problems of Granite City’ Presentation of Class Principal W. F. Coolidge William Holst Maude Mueller . Ernest Veihl Address to Class Award of Diplomas Song — “America” . R. H. Lamer, Pres. Board of Education Audience Elmer Miller: They stumble who run fast.” Page Twenty-one