Huntington North High School - Modulus Yearbook (Huntington, IN)

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. of speech, and that where the European is developed intellectually, the ■| American possesses in addition a social and physical development as well, i i ] a weakness in our plan of education. Rev. A. H. Gray of Scotland who ] has been a worker in the Y. M. C. A. in this country for some time, was •j asked to give his impression of the American student as he saw him. He did so and a part of his opinion was published in a current magazine. I We may accept his statements as being general and unstudied, since he J devoted little time to the study of the situation but merely gave his can- I did opinion. It is well, however, to weigh the impartial criticisms and, j :? ' ; with those as a key, discover where our discrepancies lie. The one big startling statement which has aroused the indignation ' of many patriotic American students is that they are intellectually j docile, suffering from a strange paralysis of the will, and that a ' great number of them will become later on the victims of mere fash- ' ,1 ion and the dupes of popular orators. We hesitate to accept the stirring .1 criticism and decline to receive it as a general statement, but we know I that this summary is embarrassingly true in many cases. Then the ques- .1 tion arises, whose fault is it? Is the boy or girl naturally inferior in .1 intellect and will to the European youth who is credited as being intel- .1 lectually rebellious? Has the general American home-life been too leni- J ent to promote deeper reasoning, or the nation too progressive to pro- I duce an intellectual independence in its youths? We cannot see it thus, I and these reasons have not been given by Rev. Gray, but he attacks the ' educational system itself which we have always prized so highly, only • ' to find it torn to shreds by the onlookers of Europe. The colleges, we be- lieve, contrary to the statement of Dr. Gray, are well controlled and gov- erned, and with such a large number of institutions and pupils as are found in the United States, better system of management could hardly be hoped for. We do agree, however, that there is too much of a paternalism ' of the faculty over the students and that the pupils as a whole look up- on the opinions of their respective instructors as being indisputable. Thus the true purpose of a teacher, which is to be a challenger and pro- moter of thought, not merely a source of information, has been modified in America and the psychology of the student ' s mind overlooked by the faculty. Too often the teachers fear to provoke the original ideas of the pupils, due to the partial belief of the superior authority of some narrow regulation of the school. The word education is derived from the Latin word educo, meaning to draw from. Hence, education is not the fill- ing of the mind but the withdrawal of the latent forces endowed by na- I ture. The opinion of our foremost educators and critics is that this prin- I ciple is overlooked in normal training, and the false basis of education ' has developed to a degree in which it is harmful to the students. But we will not accept the criticism that the will of an American boy or girl is inferior to that of a European of the same age. We need but reverse the criticism of American intellectual docility to state that where the Euro- pean student possesses a rebellious intellect and independent mind, he lacks the American freedom of nature, physical fitness, and frankness

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ESSAY ON THE AMERICAN STUDENT By Erma Burton For too many years the American people have been content with the education which they have been offering to their children, and have not realized its deficiencies. Indeed, they have thought that our sys- tem of public training was superior to that of Europe and hence, need- ed no readjustment. But now, we are beginning to awake to the real needs as a result of the severe criticisms broadcast from Europeans, and we no longer look upon the foreign statements as being mere criticisms produced in jeal- ous minds but as suggestions, which in many cases, would be of great con- structive value if applied to our educational system. Yet we do not say ; that there are not hundreds of misstatements made about us nor a total j lack of jealousy and rivalry among our European neighbors. We know j that the youth of America is an easy prey for those foreigners who have j for their sole purpose the finding of all the fallacies possible in our stu- • dents to the exclusion of any commendable features. But this severe • criticism is given by a few only, and a fairer decision and authority rests j in the reports of various Europeans who have entertained as guests ■ or watched as scholars the American students who have toured the major j countries of Europe for educational purposes. The people of those na- j tions who are thrown into direct contact with and who make acquaintance j with these youths, unconsciously submit their criticisms to American j investigators and, as a rule, the reports are favorable. f Only recently did such a band of college graduates enjoy a tour of | Europe and an American correspondent in that great division of the world j reports the general conclusion of the people concerning them in an article j in the Outlook entitled The American Student Abroad. Primarily j he mentions their natural revelation of the true American spirit of I | want to know. But, he states further, I noted as well their superior { qualities of manner and deportment. They were not noisy, boisterous, ) or bumptious. They had a quiet serenity almost beyond their years. j Their habits were really austere; not one of them gave the impression J of not having been well brought up. In speech they were simple, sincere, j frank. They constitute the kind of virgin soil in which good or bad j seed quickly sprouts. In other portions of the article the author states j that they were hospitably received everywhere, which opened the way j for propaganda of all sorts and made them an easy prey for the dissem- [ inators of false reports. In all, he says, the students were appreciative ( and displayed a desire for truth. I This summary of the natural characteristics of our students we ac- I cept most gladly, believing it to be a report of the true type of high j American moral and scholastic standards, and hoping that our youths j might always inspire the same hospitality and favor. j At the same time the impression made by our students abroad is j quite different from that contracted and expressed by a few Europeans I who have visited in this country. The latter impression invariably reveals J r I

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i 1 proving the character of the American student to be advanced farther in the plan of a four-fold life than the European scholar. And thus, while we are unmercifully criticized for the deficiencies which we suffer, we are waiting for the critics to unveil to us the European country wherein the students have a more sincere and affectionate disposition, a more honor- ' able character, and a greater religious, civic, and political freedom than ' the youthful citizens of the United States of America enjoy. 4 THE HUT IN THE HOLLOW I, , By Orvilla Kruse •- •. Patty Jane slumped into a disconsolate little heap beside a large pil- lar which helped to uphold the roof of the porch. She placed her elbows on her knees, rested her quivering chin in her cupped hands, and although her snow-white forehead was marred by a distracting wrinkle, she present- ed a beautiful picture in a beautiful setting. Her golden hair was bobbed, the curly ringlets an unruly mass of wealth ; her full, red lips were slightly parted, disclosing even rows of dazzling pearls ; and her hazel eyes were opened wide, gazing unseeingly into space. Behind her. on the large, roomy porch, v as every luxurious conveni- ence ; before her the green grass was as beautiful as a carpet of velvet ; while all about the great mansion bloomed flowers. What if the birds did sing and roses perfume the air? I All the sunshine of her life was now transformed by a blow as sudden as a shaft of forked lightning. ' They say lightning never strikes twice in the same place, she cried impetuously, But it ' s not so! First my own lovely mother and daddy were taken from me by that dreadful automobile wreck ten long years ago. Now my poor, dear Don has so mysteriously disappeared and I shall probably never see him again. Now Honeychile, don ' fret, case yo ' mammy ' ll try and help yo ' ef she can, crooned Mammy Lou, suddenly emerging from the hallway. Her head was turbaned by a large, red, cotton bandanna handkerchief and her shiny visage expressed great concern and love for her adorable mis- tress. Mistah Waldon dest telephoned an ' sed ter ax yo ' ef yo ' all won ' t come on a fox-hunt. She had discreetly changed the subject. Patty Jane slowly rose to her feet and sighed, then replied, As it is, I ' ll have to go, for to refuse even once more would show discourtesy on my part and with that she followed her loyal servant into her home. A half of an hour later she again made her appearance, wearing an ; expensive brown riding habit, and as she walked down the stately steps . she abstractedly drew on her gloves. The stable boy now came into view, leading a beautiful horse, whose glossy, brown coat glistened in the sunlight. The saddle upon its back ; was the best to be purchased, and Pepper whinnied for joy as he can- tered up to his owner.