Hanover High School - Hanoverian Yearbook (Hanover, MA)

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10 THE HANOVERIAN THE ART OF STUDYING HE art of studying: here is an art that very few have ever fully perfected. The young people of today have a greater chance to master this great art of studying because of the very interesting radio programs and the swing sessions that are being broadcast across the nation. So that you may accom- plish the feat of mastering this art, I will describe a very efficient method of concentra- tion which will help you study. First, pick out the least interesting of your books fa French grammar, for examplej and stand in front of your radio: or, if it is con- venient, you may put the book on top of the radio and lean on it. Now tune in on a hot THE CAT FRIENDS OF FTER all, when one has just been mar- ried, there aren't many things, however disturbing, that can penetrate that shell of bliss: but two Siamese cats in the close con- fines of a car proved to be an alarming source of worry to one happy couple. Having detached the old shoes from the rear bumper, the well-known explorer and his new wife climbed into the car with a backward, affectionate glance at the kittens in a box in the back seat. How sweet and well-behaved, and what good company they will be! were the thoughts of the newly- weds. But, apparently the only thing re- straining the latent spitlires was the un- familiarity of their surroundings. Mile after mile reeled itself out, and many a stop for gas was also an emergency stop for the cats. Reaching Marietta, Ohio, Cfoi this was a cross-country tripj, the fun be- gan in earnest with the two animals fighting for a coveted position atop? the exp1orer's head. At each successive bump, the cat in possession of this perch would be severely mashed between the man's head and the top of the car, and would yowl loudly. The ensuing felines' mad dash all over the car was, to say the least, very disquieting, and at last the bride exclaimed in exasperation, jam session and start studying. When they start swinging it, you should start trucking on down, balancing the book on your lin- ger. When they really let loose, you should forget the book and go to town! lt's remarkable the amount of studying you can get done in this way because of the concentration which you lavish on the French grammar. By practising this method you' should soon be able to master the art- or flunk French. Because swing is comparatively new this method is not old enough to be approved by the board of education. XVILLIAM CiORRILL, '3 9 THE WHIRLING DERVISH Dear don't you think we could leave these beasts at the next town? I think they're getting almost unmanageableln Determined by his years of experience in the jungle and on the lecture stage to stick this ordeal out, he refused, with some feeble excuse that they didn't know any better. Lol-the next dawn rose on two changeg lzitens. No longer did they race madly and viciously around everything in the car. but sat demurely in the far back corner, licking their paws. The day has come, thought the two humans, when those brats know bet- ter, but did they see that fiendish gleam in the 'Abrat's eyes? They did not, and the unsuspecting wife lifted one of the animals by the scruff of its neck into her lap. lt was like a spring released! With one fell swoop, that cat let loose with every claw and tooth on the poor woman, while the other raced wildly, defying all laws of grav- ity, around the inside of the car, screeching at every bound. Two hours later a shaken, banged soul fairly fell out of a Nevada hos- pital-yes, it was the wife, being treated for a prolonged case of nervous exhaustion. This anecdote should serve to warn all newlyweds to take their whirling dervishes on a swing record, not on a honeymoon! ELEANOR Poor., '40

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THE HANOVERIAN 9 PROSE and POETRY A MEDITATION ON THE NEARING COMMENCEMENT S I look back on last year's commence- ment l recall one feature which neither news nor pictures can describe for you: The thoughts and emotions felt by the forty-four young men and women who walked across the stage to receive diplomas from School Committee chairman Mr. Joseph Church. I watched the faces of these young people as they passed by near me. They were fine- looking young peopleg alert, attractive, wholesome, eager. Many of us were a bit sentimental over the fact that many of these grown-ups were just kids four years ago. And I felt a bit awed, too! What a tre- mendous responsibility our teachers have to be human engineers these days. If I had the opportunity to influence the bodies, minds, and attitudes of young people during these troublesome days, exactly what would I teach, and how would I teach? Our teachers try to be conservatively liberal: and, when in doubt, pretend that the young people arc their own, and act accordingly. In the back of my mind there was a large question mark. What would this upside down world do to these young people? I hadn't the faintest idea. I had one assurance, however, I realized that they would start the battle with some reasonable ideas and some high purposes. These young people had felt the impact of good books, hard work, games, good living conditions, friend- ship with classmates, a certain amount of religious background, comradeship with teachers young enough to understand them, yet old enough to advise them. Those, and a thousand other experiences, would surely stand these young people in good stead as they try to carve a niche for themselves. These thoughts and others too numerous to mention return to me now that my com- mencement is near at hand. What does thc future hold in store? Will we all step out to try to cope with a barbaric warring world, or will we find fair conditions and advan- tages in which to start our careers? We have all the advantages, and more, that the young people started with last year. I just hope and pray that every one of us will do some job well and that we will leave this world a bet- ter place for our having lived in it. JOHN CLOUGH, '39 ON SCHOOL TEACHERS HERE are two classes of school teachers. The iirst and more painful is the group which attempts to pour in information, and the second is the group which attempts to draw it out. To take a course with one of the first group is a very simple matter. All that is necessary is an unlimited number of ques- tions and the power to look completely in- terested when you are thoroughly bored. If the continual babble stops for an instant and the teacher shows signs of asking for last week's one homework paper, Cone paper be- cause the teacher can't stop talking long enough to give a daily assignmentj it's time to ask one of the limitless number of ques- tions and start the babble all over again. A course with a teacher of the second group is not easy but it is interesting and, in some cases, very enjoyable. Class discus- sion takes the place of the teacher's lecture in the other class. It isn't necessary to guard against homework because it is thoroughly understood that a paper is expected each day. Of course the assignments are carefully given! Occasionally, when the class has done par- ticularly good work, there is a night with no assignment. It depends entirely on the purpose of the course which teacher is preferred. For a much-needed five points, the first group is recommended. For five points and an ade- quate knowledge of the subject, the second is much preferred. RUTH WI-IITING, '39

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THE HANOVERIAN l 1 MEDITATIONS OF A PENCIL HAT is my place in the world? Rather a useless question, is it not, when you stop to think how often I am used by many people each day? They put me into the hands of children in school or at home, and I am a harmless tool so far as influencing world af- fairs goes. I am used by every artist, carpen- ter, writer, by those in almost every profes- sion, to do good to some one person, town, or nation: and there is great satisfaction in being a part of the building up of a race. I, as a tool in the hands of these men, do carefully and willingly imprint on paper that which the mind and fingers of the Writer bid me to pen. And with all this good that I share in doing, I'm afraid I'd get rather a swelled head and consider myself above all other implements of as common usage as I, were it not for the incessant reminder of the part I am taking in affairs abroad. There IF I HAD MY WAY If I had my way I'd no longer stay In this world of Hitlers and wars But I'd go to a land Where they don't keep the hand In salute to his majesty's laws To a place where they love The symbolized dove As a blessing of peace and good will Where the people don't groan At an ominous drone And the rich man's money is nil. In an ideal place With a perfect race Where the honest man holds sway A country of bliss With nothing amiss My home: if I had my way! WENDELL HENDERSON, '40 I am snatched up by the dictators, hurried- ly pushed across a paper, forming words that my conscience will not let me forget, for they send to slaughter or to slow tor- ture the very people that should be allowed to write their own fate. And all that kind of writing I do not do willingly! Heaven forgive me for all the harm that I have done so unwillingly: for, as I wrote the words of the politically insane,- I cringed and would gladly have turned and written in letters of flame across every heart The downtrodden shall arise! Alas, I cannot: and I am afraid I shall have to go on, dividing my time among the build- ers and the wreckers: but I will never give up hoping that the very last word I ever write Will be from the mind of the greatest builder of them all, and will bring new hope, comfort, and security to all who read its message. ELEANOR POOR, '40 EFFORT ON SPRING Poets, they often write of spring When northward all the birds do wing, Although I'm not of poetic thought Yet spring in me a change has wrought. Bright flowers springing from their bed Put glad new thoughts into my head. Bright shines above the bright new sun So that through broad fields I would run. Now this poem's such awul tripe That it will surely draw fruit, ripe, Though this, the teacher will not please Her little rank book, 'twill appease. Now through my head there runs much thought But set on paper it goes for nought. For when the teacher reads this rot The mark I'll get won't be so hot! HARRY HANSEN, P.G.