Lansingburgh High School - Odyssey Yearbook (Troy, NY)

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- JI- THE ODYSSEY 'T' less fortunate citizens. Who can measure not only the great amount of sin and crime that have been prevented but also the immense amount of joy and life satisfactions that have been inculcated and developed by these means among these people! The new creative view of education claims that young people already have native powers of exceptional educational value. Listen to the words of the poet Milton written before the Machine Age was dreamed of: I shall detain you no longer in the demonstration of what we should not do, but straight conduct ye to a hillside where I will point ye out the path of a virtuous and noble education, laborious indeed at the first ascent, but else so smooth, so green, so full of goodly prospect and melodious sounds on each and every side that the harp of Orpheus was no more charming. -DOROTHY A. WHLTWELL llgllistory, wtlhe Great Vllweaclher ISTOPY' That stupendous pageant that goes back to the 1 ,!FY.Qa:7r!? N ' 1 1 . It Z times of the old patriarchs with their flocks and herds, the Sv keen-eyed Greek, the stately Roman, the watching Jew, the uncouth Goth, the horrid Hun, the settled picture -of the un- kind' '21 changing East, the restless shifting of the rapid West, the rise of the cold and classical civilization, its fall, the rough, impetuous Middle Ages, the vague warm picture of ourselve and home. Dionysus said, History is philosophy teaching by example. Surely, then, it is our task to be historically-minded, to judge tolerantly, to see things in the proper perspective, to study the thoughts and actions of different men in different situations. We should follow the lead of this great teacher, History, in our effort to describe an ever-rising curve of civilization. Life is too short for us to stumble through blindly. The chronicle of man is full of examples which serve as guides and signposts in national politics, in community politics and certainly most greatly in our individual lives. Every event has a result. This statement in itself is practically axiomatic. However, carrying this idea a little more in detail, and study- ing closely any portion of the world's history, we evolve the interesting fact, that any abnormal or unusual event is followed by another event which acts as a balance wheel. A war is an abnormal event, and every one of them is followed by a balancing event, which is called an aftermath. The aftermath of the Civil War, the Reconstruction Period, was characterized not only by a political revolution, but by economic, social, and intellectual revolutions as wel . The whole economic life of the South was upturned, the social pyra- mid was stood upon its apex,' ' and great intellectual progress in educa- tion, newspapers, religion, and literature was realized. The aftermath of the World War has been characterized by dis- turbances even greater. By reason of several complex factors the United States has been established as a great creditor nation of this world, second only to Great Britain. In short, what was ruinous to other nations, bol- stered us up. The depression of 1921 was deeper by reason of primary and secondary causes of the war. It has been cited by numerous histor- 19

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'F' THE ODYSSEY 4' '-L While the development of talents and the growth of personality are primary goals of recreational leadership, character development is the crowning achievement. There is probably no other time so opportune for the recreational leader to exert his influence upon a youth as during a game. It is at this time that an individual gives himself most fully and is most liable to adhere to suggestions. The game is the greatest testing medium for conduct and character. Formerly, in school work, competition was considered as offering something as a goal for which a student might work for. Now, however, there are definite signs of a renascence. Cooperation is surviving, while its opposite, competition, which often is based on the law of the jungle, is being abandoned. Pupils are no longer urged to vie with each other for the sake of proving their own superiority. On the contrary, they are taught to play their part for the love of the work or the game-not for the prize. Many have discontinued the plan of keeping score in athletic games, to bring out the idea of playing for the sake of play, rather than for victory. To give proofs of this one view of modern education let me mention dennite examples. The Cora Williams School in Berkeley has for years been without a system of report cards even to report attendance or citizenship. Likewise, Chicago University has recently abandoned the marking system in underg1'aduate activities. Bronxville public schools exercise a plan by which each pupil is measured by standards adapted to his own capacities. He is n-ot compared with other members of his class, but graded on his owe effort according t-o his own ability. Furthermore, the New York Times recently ran the report that Hamline University will reorganize its whole curriculum so that intellectual maturity and not grades and credits will be used as a basis of college advancement. The Machine Age seems to have turned youth's mind from cultural interests to vocational interests. I might explain that according to Dr. Lowell, president of Harvard University, the object of a cultural educa- tion is to broaden and deepen the range of thought, while that of the vocational is to prepare one for a definite occupation. The vocational plan, of course, does fit in well with this modern industrial world. But there is a question whether or not these finer arts of the world on which our civilization has been built, and which so characterized those ancient heroes of the first centuries, should be forsaken. It is held that if one has acquired a cultural approach to learning-that is, not merely a super- ficial acquaintance with many things, without thqroughly comprehending any of them, he will recognize the difference between profound and shal- low knowledge. Such a person will be capable of entering deeply into other things because he will be able to think for himself 9 whereas, one who has merely touched upon various subjects may shine as a great talker but will prove to be a poor thinker. Thus, according to President Lowell, cultural education would seem to include a solid knowledge of some sub- ject sought for the purpose, not of practice in the subject, but of mastering it from the standpoint of intellectual curiosity. Considering the extent to which the cultural studies are being pushed aside by the vocational, this advice of President Lowell seems very timely. So far in our discussion we have considered the educational situa- tion only as it refers to normal people. Time will not permit us to men- tion the immense efforts that have been established for the education of the physically and mentally handicapped children of the nation. Prac- tically every state in the union maintains great schools for the care of its ' 18

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il 'I' THE ODYSSEY '5' ':' ians, notably'John Maurice Clark of Columbia University, that the present crime wave now rampant in our country is a result of the war. Plunge four million young men, many of them uniit for their careers, into a country which has no frontier, for an outlet of energies as this country had in previous wars, and something must happen. The stabilizing in- fluence of the frontier is no longer present and the inevitable balancing result must take place in some other form. These previous examples have shown the balancing result after an unusual event. We learn of the balanced symmetry of history, and thus we learn to expect and to prepare ourselves, with foresight, for results that must come about. Lessons of history are not confined merely to such things as results of wars or causes of ec-onomic depressions and crime waves. Carlyle has said, The history of the world is the biography of great men. The human element is one of the most interesting and enlightening phases, fraught with its human Weaknesses and human bravery. As Pope so aptly stated, The proper study of mankind is man. We often wonder what makes -one man a hero, and another man of similar experiences and similar station in life, a traitor? Perhaps two men who best illustrate this point are to be found in our own history of the United States. Benedict Arnold and George Washington are perhaps the greatest examples of a contemporary traitor and hero, excluding Jesus Christ and Judas Iscariot. Gamaliel Bradford says the following of Benedict Arnold: The complexity of Arnold's tragic adventure is what makes it fascinating and has led so many novelists and dramatists to use him as a central or a subsidiary figure. He was no mean, sneaking, cowardly, con- sistent rascal. He was a splendid fighter, a quick-eyed soldier, apparently a sincere and earnest patriot, admired and esteemed by thousands of his countrymen, praised and trusted by Washington. Yet he was guilty of the blackest treachery, and sold the personal trust of Washington for a cash reward. Could there be a soul more interesting to probe in its subtle mixture of darkness and light? In 1741 started this career of furious action. At the age of iifteen, Arnold plunged into the French and Indian War. He spent his early manhood in several adventurous affairs about New Haven and was active in the Revolution from the start. He was with Ethan Allen at Ticon- deroga, his naval enterprise on Lake Champlain is famous, as is his heroic march to Quebec in 1775. About this time he was slighted by Congress, when five major generals were appointed. However, he overlooked this neglect and took a hero's part in the Saratoga campaign, which is re- garded as one of the most important battles of all time. Because he was severely wounded, Washington gave him the military governorship of Philadelphia. This was the beginning of his downfall. He married a loyalist woman, lived extravagantly, made speculations, and in general irritated the citizens. He was finally tried by court martial and sentenced to be reprimanded by Washington. These factors, accompanied by a temper played upon constantly by furious passion, by need of money, by the baser elements of ambition, and by vanity, led him to start negotiations with the British for the delivering of West Point to them. Then follows the well-known story of Major Andre's capture, the discovery of the plot, and of Arnold's escape to the British. 20