James Madison High School - Log Yearbook (Brooklyn, NY)

Page 8 text:

W. wg Qi 1 .L if 1 , , M- Q: 'Q- Wi iv .. z 7 nw ,rr ,. , W? , N K 4? f -N 1 ' 4 4 rx, Q A was , Mr. Newfield, Principal 'tuli- r. Brook, Acting Principal

Page 7 text:

fzgf lf W 7. :L 'in We have made close friends, with whom we've shared the most important years of our lives. We have met people who have influenced and changed our outlook. We have worked together, and we have learned together . . . Four years of growth, four years of grappling for a faith-for a basis on which to build our future-four years of maturing . . . We leave nothing behind us, for all that we have done remains a part of us. Ahead of us lies an uncertain future. Yet, we are certain in our aims. We leave high school full of the hope and optimism of our youth. We will build a better world! We will create a community based on brotherhood and peace. We will create our tomorrow with love and with understanding, with justice and with truth, with hope and with faith. Vicki Koltun

Page 9 text:

To the boys and girls of the Class of June, 1959: A trip to the countries of the Far East imparts a new perspective upon the most commonplace aspects of American life. One of these aspects is education. To you, education is as ordinary a thing as bread and water that is fit to drink. You have had it gratis from your earliest years. You have accepted it casually as your due, sometimes with considerable reluctance, some- times with complacence. The notion that it may be a rare commodity for which millions of people elsewhere hunger has probably seldom occurred to you. Our American tradition, secure behind ramparts of established law and order, guarantees to each boy and girl the opportunity for self-development and improvement at public expense. Asian countries too have accepted the ideal of betterment of the lot of the masses, both economically and educationally. But the obstacles to be overcome before universal education is a fact are enormous. When the bare necessities of life are obtained only by perpetual toil, schools tend to be regarded as luxuries. Thus, in Hong Kong where a half-million penniless refugees live in congestion and squalor we were told that requiring school attendance would be impossible. Since so many children spend all their lives on boats said one official, how could we possibly round them up? My mentioning these under-privileged peoples is not intended to saddle you with a feeling of responsibility for them. My purpose is to have you re-appraise the importance and value of all that Madison has tried to do for you. Have you gotten out of your course-work a substantial share of the ideas and knowledge placed before you? Have you developed socially so that you can count on a circle of friends to which you will belong? Have you emerged with a fairly clear idea of your plans for the future? lf your answer to these questions is in the affirmative, society's expenditure for you has been worthwhile. Max Newfield Principal