Holden High School - Clarion Yearbook (Holden, MA)

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uman .sfaftons U2 jncfusffzbtf Good relatrons between management and labor are one of the most rmportant aspects of modern rndustry Even though a company has the most efhcrent and modern machrnery avarlable rn thrs techmcal age, rf the men who run thrs machrnery are unhappy and maladjusted the productron wrll be consrderably less than that of a company rn whrch the morale of the workers rs hrgh Let us take a qurck look at the relatrons between employer and worker over the centurres see how the supervrsors treated the laborer long ago and how condrtrons have rmproved VVe find the first wrrtten records rn Egypt and Assyrra prcture wrrtrng five thousand years old on the walls of pyramrds and slabs of sun baked clay These prctures show the foreman of that day a. brute of a man carryrng a spear rn one hand and a whrp rn the other the whrp to enforce hrs orders and the spear to deal wrth msubordrnatron The laborers of thrs day were slaves who cowered and torled at the back breakrng tasks of haulrng huge trmbers and stones The supervrsor had the terrrble authorrty of lrfe and death and many trmes used thrs authorrty rn dealrng wrth the men In the Mrddle Ages the lot of the workmg man rmproved slrghtly over that of the slave Laborers then were called serfs and served under a lord or baron workmg rn hrs fields or fightrng rn hrs army The serfs were not sold as slaves but were transferred wrth the land when rt was sold They were forced to lrve rn unsamtary huts and recerved a very meager share of the crops whrch they worked so hard to rarse Agam the rmmedrate supervrsor wrelded the whrp and had the power to send the serf to the dungeon for torture starvatron or even death At about thrs same trme groups called gurlds were formed whrch were the forerunners of modern unrons These gurlds were comprrsed of master craftsmen who banded together to obtam certarn rrghts The old master craftsmen often took young men as therr apprentrces who worked long hard hours but were treated much better than the ordmary serf for they lrved rn the same dwellmg wrth thcrr master and ate at hrs table wrth hrm In erght to ten years the apprentrce mrght hrmself become a journeyman or a master craftsman Gradually as the centurres rolled by and govern ments of natrons became more enlrghtened the work man fared better Laws were passed grvrng hrm more basrc rrghts and he now was pard for hrs servrces Although he was not sold as property he neverthe less was looked upon as a commodrty thought of as materral to be purchased at the lowest rate possrble and drsposed of at the pleasure of management I other words he was not thought of as a person wrth feelrngs The next great change rn workmg condrtrons co rncrdes wrth the rnventron of the steam engrne rn the late erghteenth century Human muscle was now partly replaced by mechanrcal power Desprte thrs fact laborers torled srxteen or erghteen hours a day and women and chrldren were sometrmes chamed to looms and other machrnes Many overseers strll carrred a whrp or stout cane to beat sleepy workers Sanrtary condrtrons rn these first factorres were ex tremely poor and wages were so low that workers could afford only the barest necessrtres The fore man of the early factory was not a burlder of team work or loyalty he was feared and hated because he was a symbol of power and cruelty As the years moved on employees garned further rrghts and achreved greater freedom Use of physrcal force was rare true, the foreman sometrmes knocked hrs workers around a brt by a rrght to the chrn or a stout krck but usually he enforced hrs washes by firrng the vrorker When Henry Ford rntroduced assembly lmes, many exrstrng Jobs were de skrlled The great prrde whrch the craftsman once felt when he vrewed the finrshed artrcle he alone had made has now vamshed I do not mean that the worker does not take prrde rn hrs work but the prrde rs not as great as that of the craftsman In the same manner the great amount of skrll requrred to make the Hnrshed artrcle rs also gone Such rs the hrstory of employer employee relatrons A new trend rn mdustry began to make rtself evrdent at the turn of the century Elton Mayo an Australran rmmrgrant turned Har vard socrologrst was the father of modern technrques rn rndustrral human relatrons he rncreased produc tron by understandrng the rmportance of the human factor He found that every human berng lrkes to feel lrrs work rs rmportant and that the employer apprecrates what he does The four chref desrres of workers accordrng to Mayo are securrty whrch rs the rrght to work contmuously at reasonably good wages a chance for advancement treatment as a human bemg and the preservatron of hrs drgnrty Actmg rn collaboratron wrth the Natronal Re search Councrl the Western Electrrc Company for three years engaged rn an attempt to test the effects of lrghtrng on the worker and hrs output In 1927 at the companys Hawthorne works rn Chrcago two groups of grrl workers were put rnto two separate rooms One room had varrable lrghtrng whrle the other had the usual lrghtrng The experrmenters were surprrsed when they saw the productron rn both rooms rncrease They finally realrzed that rt was not the lrghtrng that affected productron but the fact that the grrls had been srngled out for specral atten tron They no longer felt they were merely cogs rn the factory and therefore produced more The Hawthorne Works has now rssued to all rts employees rts ten commandments of management These commandments have been xery effectrve rn burldrng morale and efficrency rn the plant They are to marntarn reasonable hours of work and safe work mg condrtrons to provrde contmuous employment consrstent wrth busrness condrtrons to place employees rn the krnd of work best surted to therr abrlrtres to help each rndrvrdual to progress rn the companys servrce to ard employees rn trmes of need to encour age thrrft to co operate rn socral athletrc and other recreatronal actrvrtres to accord to each employee the rrght to drscuss freely wrth executrves any matters concernrng hrs or her welfare or the companys rn terest to carry on darly work rn a sprrrt of frrendlrness and to pay all employees adequately for services rendered These commandments are the basrc prrncrples of modern rndustrral human relatrons I shall now con srder some of them rn detarl Marntarnrng reasonable workmg hours rs a very rmportant part of modern rndustrral human relatrons For example a company rn England rn 1893 tned the experrment of reducrng weekly workmg hours from fifty four to forty erght hours After a trral of about two years rt was found that productron rn creased consrderablv whrle the amount of lost trme decreased Fven though thrs experrment proved shorter hours yrelded greater productron rt was many years before any great number of compames used the plan At present the work week has been cut even shorter rn most companres generally to forty hours X ' I 1 . . - . U . ,, . 1 . . . . . V . . . . . . . U . ,, . , . 1 1 ' 1 1 - 1 ' 1 ' . . . . . ' . . . , - 1 . r ' 1 1 1 - 1 1 H ,, . . . . . . , . , - - 1 ' 1 . , . . 1 - 1 1 1 1 , . ' ' ' ' Ar 11 ' ' . . , . . . . . . U ,, ' . . - 1 ' - . . ' . . 1 ' 1 . . . . . . . , 1 ' 1 1 ' - 1 ' 1 ' 1 1 1 1 1 . . . , . . H ' 1 1 . 1 . . . . . . . H ,, . . . 1 1 - 1 ' 1 . 1 1 1 ' 1 1 ' . ' ' . ' . . , .

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A judgment test was then glven ln which the teacher was asked to wrxte the names of the pupnls she judged would get the most votes and those who would get the least Forty erght percent of the teachers comclded ln thexr opmxon w1th the soclo metrlc test m respect to the two most chosen and thrrty elght percent as to the ones least chosen Through the tests those who are shy or have unfortunate personalxty defects can be dxscovered The teacher then tnes to correct their personallty defects through sympathv and understandlng The teacher rs constantly searchmg for ways of gnvxng these over looked students some form of recognntxon. Frequently thxs end may be accomplxshed through human rela txons classes by brmgmg these chxldren into more class prommence In Toms Rlver New jersey classes srmrlar to the human relat1ons classes were mstrtuted for hlgh school students m 1942 by Edgar M Fmch supervlsmg prm crpal of Toms River The two courses were for hrgh school jumors and semors and have been called by one mterested observer Toms Rlvers answer to dxvorce These courses are deslgned to mtroduce students to the problems they wxll face ln marned 1 e The two courses Soclal Behavior and Family Re latxonshxps are one as far as class discussions are concerned They speclfically emphaslze conslderatlon for others The d1scuss1ons are spontaneous and frequently center on ltems m the daxly newspaper Topxcs range from courtesy and socxal adjustment to marrlage and parenthood Former students who have marrxed come to dxscuss the problems of home- makmg w1th the present students Even parents come to the school to talk thxngs over Follow up letters were sent recently to one hundred slxty srx former graduates of the hlgh school Replies were recewed from all but elght All highly com mended the courses Among other school experrments are the use of group therapy and the socrodrama Group therapy was orxgmally devised to reduce neurosrs and to determlne the value of group therapy ln reducmg race prejudxce The Pittsburgh Guxdance Center made the therapeutlc group a part of nts set up These groups are valuable as they give an oppor tumty to observe racral and cultural factors as to the role they play In a chrlds emotlons The basic arm of the work IS to help an mdrvxdual accept others as hnmself and so become secure The groups consist of chlldren referred for treat ment Groups are small and presxded over by a psychmatncally tramed soclal worker Through groups there ns a more spontaneous expressnon The feelmgs of the children are brought out ln a controlled srtua txon Usually we thmk of a pre school chxld as not affected by prejudjce yet he learns early the attx tude of hls envxronment A pre school group con sxsted of a Jewxsh boy a Yegro and two boys of Irxsh Enghsh descent all about four years of age The Jewrsh boy was unable to adjust to rules He had struct parents who had lxttle patxence and drd not understand hrs needs He showed an anxxety toward adults and a need to release actxve energy At first he showed a reluctance toward the Negro boy but soon the two teamed up A Chrlstmas party was planned at whlch the teacher asked hrm to smg the Jewlsh Chrrstmas song He was deltghted The other chxldren admmred his unusual language Through hrs experxences he got a feehng of acceptance from the adults and from the other chlldren who admired and enjoyed h1s performance In socjodrama whlch IS unprepared dramatlzatlon the teacher chooses a sxmple sxtuatlon wxth the mam rssue mxolvmg personalltres The xssue should be one arlsmg from different behefs desxres hopes The teacher usmg the students background places him m a role whrch w1ll benefit hrm The students should be gn en a few mmutes ln whxch to place themselves m the role The teacher dlrects the audxence to observe the actlon as though each were actmg A class dlscussron follows rn whlch the talk centers around how people feel why they act as they do and the llke Through the employment of human relatrons courses and other techmques whrch I have mentioned schools wall be able to turn out chrldren who are more secure and have a better understandlng of people therr de- srres and fears chlldren who have gamed a better understandmv of themselves and of thelr emotlonal strengths and weaknesses chrldren who wlll be able to face any cr1s1s wrth self assurance falth abrhty and understandmg chrldren wlth strength to over come the evxls of mtolerance and hate T1s human fortunes happlest thought to be A sprrrt melodxous lucid polsed and whole JOHN IOSEPHSON V . . . Q , , l . . S . ' ' 1 A 1 ' . - , . 1 1 1 1 ' I I 1 . , - . . . U . , . . 1 . ,, . . - - - 1 ' 1 . . . - . . V . . . . 1 - 1 1 - . . . . - , - - 1 1 . 1 1 - 1 1 - rs 1 ' 1 1 1 . , ' . . tn 1 - 1 ' . . , v . . . . . . . ,, . . . . ' ' ' ' , .

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A safe shop grves the workers more confidence Srmple safety measures can prevent very serrous accrdents By educatrng the men rn accrdent preven tron prrncrples through the use of classes pamphlets, posters lectures and motron prctures compames have reduced the hrgh frequency of accrdents throughout the factory The prmcrple that a man works better when he works at somethmg he lrkes has proved true Many factorres now have aptrtude tests by whrch the abrh tres of the prospectrve employees are found Proper placement rncreases productron by a great amount and thus facllrtates shorter hours and better pay Employee benefits such as srck benefits rnsurance pensrons termrnatron allowances rn case of lay offs and employ ee loan funds greatly rmprove the morale of the workers When properly admrnrstered they prorrde the sympathetrc consrderatron needed by the worker rn trmes of crrsrs If men play together they wrll work better together Many factorres have provided recreatronal facrlrtres for therr employees For an example close to home vue may take Nlorton Company Thrs company now has rts own gymnasrum athletrc field and swrmmrng pool Workers are encouraged to take part rn recre atronal actrwrtres Any employee may partrcrpate and so toremen sometrmes play on the same team as the men or er whom they presrde when they are workmg Thrs assocratron makes for exceptronally good man agement employee relatrons These are some of the basrc prmcrples of modern mdustrral human relatrons Thrs new scrence rs however strll rn rts rnfancy Companres like Norton s and lVestern Electrrc are proneers and they are few and far between It may be noted rn conclusion how ever that where compames have adopted these prrn crples the decrease rn strikes rs amazrng production has rncreased and so also have profits all because the compames keep therr men happy' EARL WILLEY afzecuaff 'zen XVrth seemrngly mcredrble swrftness our four years rn hrgh school have passed leavmg us with many fond memorres and many a deep felt thank you These have been rrch and rewardrng years We have made lastmg frrendshrps we have learned to cooperate and to assume responsrbrlrty we have learned sports manshrp and tolerance Most rmportant of all we have learned somethmg of how to lrve as well as of how to make a lrvrng At thrs trme we pay trrbute to the faculty of Holden Hrgh School for therr sm cere efforts and therr untrrmg patrence Thelr hrgh ideals have been an rnsprratron to every one of us A burlder burlded a temple He wrought wrth care and skrll Prllars and grorns and arches Were fashroned to meet hrs wrll And men sard when they saw rts beauty It shall never know decay Great rs thy skrll O burlder Thy fame shall endure for aye A teacher burlded a temple She wrought wrth skrll and care Formmg each prllar wrth patrence Laymg each stone wrth care None saw the unceasmg effort None knew of the marvelous plan For the temple the teacher burlded Was unseen by the eyes of man Gone rs the burlder s temple Crumbled mto the dust Prllars and grorns and arches Food for consumrng rust But the temple the teacher burlded Shall endure whrle the ages roll For the beautrful unseen temple Was a chrlds rmmortal sou All that we have learned rn these four years all that we have acqurred through experrence and gleaned from our books goes rnto the burldrng of our character and becomes the basrs for our relatronshrps wrth our fellowmen We have had to learn how to get along wrth our schoolmates and wrth our teachers and to work for the team rather than for rndrvrdual stardom Such experrences have been part of our basrc tram mg rn human relatronshrps and thrs trarnrng wrll contmue throughout our lrves The more proficient we become the more successful our lrves wrll be All hrstorv rs the story of mans relatrons wrth man the story of hrs hopes and hrs fears hrs successes and hrs failures hrs rnfluence on others and therrs on hrm Thrs story of man has been wrrtten from the begrnnrng of trme and wrll contmue to be wrrtten as long as human berngs shall exrst Durrng the last century screntrfic and rndustrral advancements have far outdrstanced rmprovements rn human relatrons In the scramble for comforts and Iuxurres man has lost srght of the moral and sprrltual values Before we can fully enjoy our materral advancements we must brrng human relatrons mto step ruth them The burden of makrng these rmprovements must be dealt wrth rn the home the school and the church Successful human relatrons begrn rn rnfancy I the home thrs problem lres almost completely wrth to establrsh a sympathetrc understandrng between parent and chrld Therrs rs the duty to teach the chrld moral and ethical prrncrples understandrng and tolerance and to lay a foundatron for relrgrous belrefs The school prepares the rndrvrdual to take hrs place rn the commumty and therefore has an rdeal oppor tunrty to rmprove relatrons wrthrn the commumty Every school rn the country especrally the elementary It could be set up on a natronal scale through edu catronal televrsron programs These programs mrght present true to-lrfe srtuatrons and rllustrate acceptable as contrasted wrth unacceptable behavror reactrons Relrgrous trarnrng rs the core of a chrlds prepara fron for lrfe True Chrrstrans realrze therr rndrvrdual responsrbrlrty toward the world The churches must grve us an effectrve lrvmg relrgron They must help us to realrze our drfferences and to rron them out peaceahly In The Outlrne of Hrstory H G Wells has sard Relrgrous emotron may presently blow through lrfe agarn lrke a great wind burstrng the doors and flrngrng open the shutters of the rndrvrdual lrfe and makrng many thrngs possrble and easy that rn these present days of exhaustron seem almost too drfficult to desrre Let us hope that this second Reformatron takes place before the dry rot rn our moral and ethrcal prrncrples destroys completely the foundatrons of decent human conduct Our government plays an rmportant part rn thrs field of human relatrons To rt falls the task of creatrng unrty wrthrn the natron and of betterrng relatrons among the drfferent racral relrgrous and economrc groups Thrs rs a task worthy of the best eHorts of a democracy In order to accomplrsh thrs arm the government must have a posrtrve program of group understandrng and co operatron In the hope of bettering mternatronal relatrons the Unrted Natrons was orgamzed followrng World . . . . . 1 . . V . Y . Y g. . V - 1 ' . - . v .... ' . . ,' ' Y . .- . ' . . , , r 1 1 ' ' , . . . . . , v ' ' 1 . . ' ' , Y 1 V Q n f . . ' ' Y ! , . 1 ' . , ' - H YY ' ' . . , 5 ' . , 3 , ' . ' . . . . . , . I . . . . . - Y. h . n H ' ' - Q q . , 1 ' , , , the parents. Theirs is the task and the prrvrlege ' ' I e , e 1 - , 1 . , . . . . . G I , . . 1 Y l . . . H . . I . . . . . I , . . . . ,- ' - , . . . . ' 3 . . . I A : . . . . . . , - H , ' y 1 . 1 . V. . . . . U ' . . , A rx . ' - n v h . .- H . . . ' ' . , . Ln' - Y 9 . . . . . ,, . . u , 1 A v , . y . . ' . Q . . . . , . . . - . Y .. . . ' . A i . . . ' Q . V , . 57