Lee Academy - Crescent Yearbook (Lee, ME)

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THE CRESCENT 9 Carlyle has said, A man without a purpose is like a ship without a rudderf' If one's heart and soul is not in his work, it can never be made a thorough success, therefore, he needs Hrst to be thoughtful in the choosing of his life work, and strive for the best results. It matters not, what the occupation may be, from the highest to the lowest, the conditions remain the same. The province of the merchant is to clothe and feed the state, of the physician to keep the state in health, of the clergy- man to direct his fellowmen into the right paths of life. VVhat, then, is the province of the teacher? Since the main purpose of our school is to train teachers, this is a question which needs to be per- fectly understood by every student tak- ing the Normal course. There are two other courses offered, the English and College Preparatory, but the majority of the pupils are taking the course which fits for teaching, and for this reason, among others, the state has appropriated five hundred dollars more than in previous years and every effort is being made for good instruction along those lines. From our class of seven members, five plan to teach, and although we realize that we shall fall short in many respects yet we will ever strive to live up to the highest standards. The greatness of our country, of any country, depends principally upon three instittions, the family, the church and the school. The strongest element is the family. No nation is strong without pure, consecrated fathers and mothers. We have an example of this in the Spartan homes. It is a sad fact that one of the greatest troublesin American homesisthe frequency of divorce cases. One of the teachings of Pestalozzi was that maternal love is the Hrst agent in education. Through it the child is led to love and trust his God. Only rarely does the child become a noble character, where the home life is not pure. The church and school are closely related, one depending upon the-other. A great many of the larger schools of our country have been founded and are supported by christian organizations. In turn, the church to do its work in the twentieth century, requires the help of the school. lVhich has the greater in- fluence, teacher or preacher, saying or do- ing? The preacher is with the child much less than the teacher, therefore, it seems a natural consequence that the school should have more to do with the molding of the child's character, than the church. The preacher sets the standard for the teacher to follow and it is her duty to fulfill these ideas to the best of her ability. just so far as she fails to meet these requirements, just so far is she deficient in the qualities that make up a true teacher. The teacher's influence for good or bad upon the child, is great. Faith is

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'T eq- 1 . WW v vga' 5 fly ' . 1 .. 2' Gb 8 N W m l' 7 E- E T e llvbik fl' T N- 1 , fi' fe' 1 415555 af .sv f Z 5' -' n e V ali, M55 fig, SALUTATORY' THE MISSION OF THE TEACHER Friends, Teachers, Parents: Spring comes and winter goes, we have with us once again, the singing birds and green leaves. Nature has never seemed more beautiful than today. Each budding plant and babbling brook, after the long winter, bids us Welcome. Even so, the class of 1911, after its four years of toil, bids you Welcome. We thank you for? the interest you have manifested in us,-not only by your presence here tonight, but by your kind- ness shown throughout our school course. Teachers: We wish you to under- stand our appreciation off all your helpg we feel that if We have -not made ini- provement under your instruction We have ourselves only to blame, for we are not unmindful of the fact that you have labored long and patiently. VVe ask you to accept our heartfelt thanks. To you, our parents, We feel that We owe a debt of gratitude. VVe realize the sacrifices niade on your part that We might acquire an education and we Wish to please you, not only today, but in the days that are to come. It is our wish to be of some help to the World. No nation is great without the Work of each succeeding generation and we feel that today the twentieth century calls for even greater Work, than the nineteenth. May the Welcome that 'consists not of mere Words, but the sincere welcome that comes from the heart, be yours, this evening. Believe me, the class of l9ll bids you a hearty Welcome. 4. 4, 4. 4. .g, The essential quality, necessary for success, during life, is purpose. Thomas

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10 V THE CRESCENT the bond which unites teacher and pupil. Unless his faith is shaken in her, she ranks next to his parents in his estima- tion. But children are quick to dis- tinguish the false teacher from the true and for this reason she needs to be sincere in her woik. It is important that the teacher should be well trained, prepared for her work and with the ability to present the subject in an interesting manner, but the power of a high moral purpose is the strongest factorinherinstruction. If she has a high moral purpose she will consider it her duty to be earnest, patient and persevering. She will realize that the parents have entrusted the children to her care at an early age and that it is of great im- portance that they be started aright because the influences of our childhood days are those that have the most to do with the formation of our character through life. How great, then, is the work of the teacher! How great her mission! If the teacher fails to impart and practice the truth, who will? Upon her stand for truth in the community depends the future of the race. The mission of the teacher, in brief, is to manufacture manhood of the best quality, to lead the pupil into the occupa- tion that will make him of the greatest usefulness to himself, his parents, his nation and his God. MEARL12 E. MAXWELL, '11, HISTORY OF THE CLASS OF 1911 Historians have related many strange adventures, but stranger than all their tales is the history of the class of 1911. Qur class did not have any organization during our early academy days. To use the words of Topsy, we just grew. Five of our members: Ethel Merrill, Lena Merrill, Mearle Maxwell, Ernest Delano and 1 entered, Lee Normal in the spring of 1906. We were there greeted with that detestable, insignificant title, Freshmen. But we all agree now that it was well suited to the nature of each one of us. The next fall Edith Weather- bee and Herbert Laskey entered our class from the Model School. Paul Cofhn had attended the academy several terms before we entered, but hnding the previous classes not suited to his nature, he wisely decided to unite with the brilliant class of 1911. Others, 1 ani sorry to say, have taken adifferentview of our class, for example, Mr. Laskey, the poor dear. He left us in the spring of 1910 never to return. We miss him, particularly in the laboratory where he always made our work very enjoyable, although he broke up so much glassware that our laboratory fees were greatly increased. Mr. Laskey returned from the Boys' Convention at Augusta broken in health and somewhat the worse for wear and tear. The Dr. recommended a change of climate so he entered Coburn Qlassicalllnstitute last fall.